Tea Travels!™... Reva's Rose Petit Four Cake


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Photo By Ellen Easton© - All Rights Reserved. I adapted this recipe by Ellen Easton.

Your tea party for one or many always has room for a pretty petit four cakes. The cake and filling can be of any variety of your preference. 

Check out more of Ellen Easton's Tea Travels articles and recipes.

Learn about the History of English High Tea and more delicious Afternoon Tea and High Tea Recipes.
 

Petit Four Cake



Petit Four Cake

Recipe Type: Cake, Afternoon Tea & High Tea
Yields: serves many
Prep time: 30 min


Ingredients:

1 store-bought Pound Cake or Sponge Cake (any flavored pound or sponge cake of your choice)*
Filling (Nutella, fruit preserves, lemon curd, etc. of your choice)
Buttercream Icing (see recipe below)

* If desired, you may make your own cakes for this recipe. You want a cake that is not too light and crumbly, but one that will hold up under the slicing and decorations that comes next.
 

Preparation:

Either refrigerate or freeze the cake (once chilled or frozen, the cake can be easily cut into different shapes).

Prepare Buttercream Icing; set aside.

Use a long serrated knife, slice the cold cake in half or layers (depending on the size of your cake). You can measure the sides and mark them with toothpicks to help guide the knife; gently saw your way through. Cover cake layers with plastic wrap until you're ready to assemble them. Spread the filling (of your choice) between the layers. Place the top layer over the top of the filling.

Remove any crumbs from your work area.

Position the petit fours 2 inches apart on a thin mesh wire cake rack suspended over a baking pan (to catch drips).

Once your cake layers are filled, the simplest decorating technique for petits fours is to glaze or frost the top of the whole cake, and then cut it into shapes (squares, rectangles, rounds, or triangles, as desired). Each individual Petit Four cakes are usually about 1-inch square. With a warmed flat knife, spread the prepared Buttercream Icing over the top and sides of each individual Petit Four and decorate as desired. Decorate the top of your petit four cakes with sprinkles, dragees, flaked coconut, edible flowers, or a design of whimsy.

Allow frosted cakes to sit until they are dry, then remove the cakes from the rack, trimming any excess frosting away from the bottoms with a sharp knife.

Once your cakes are baked and cooled, they can be wrapped well and frozen for up to one month. Thaw the wrapped cakes at room temperature.
 


Buttercream Icing

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature*
1/4 cup milk, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of rose water or rose extract
1 pound box powdered (confectioners) sugar
Pastel food coloring (to color icing)

* Use vegetable shortening when pure white icing is needed.


Preparation:

In a large mixing bowl, combine butter, milk, vanilla extract, rose water or rose extract, and powdered sugar; and mix at a low speed until smooth. NOTE: If stiffer icing is needed or the weather is very warm, add a little extra sugar. 

To create pastel colors, divide icing into a separate bowls for each desired color. Using a toothpick, add one drop of color at a time and mix until desired color is reached.

Chocolate Buttercream Icing: To create a chocolate icing, add 2 tablespoons of dark cocoa to the above recipe.






ELLEN EASTON, author of AFTERNOON TEA...TIPS, TERMS and TRADITIONS, Manners Do Matter™ and Good $ense For $uccess™ (RED WAGON PRESS), is a consultant to leading hotels and tearooms, including The PLAZA and LADY MENDL’s, is speaker and designer of related products to the hotel, food service, retail, and special event industries.

REVA PAUL, an internationally acclaimed confectionery artist, hand decorated floral sugars and mints are available by special order for teas, weddings, and special events. Wholesale/Retail - Bulk & Gift boxed. All prices on request via RED WAGON PRESS (212) 722-7981.
 

AFTERNOON TEA...TIPS,TERMS and TRADITIONS By Ellen Easton
72 pages of how to’s, history, etiquette and FAQ about afternoon tea, serving styles and more. 

 

TEA TRAVELS™FOR THE HOLIDAYS By Ellen Easton
64 pages, 21 color photos. A complete holiday menu includes 25 easy to prepare recipes; theme teas, decorating & gift ideas; invitation template & secret sources.
 

Each 5 x 7 paperback book fits into an A-7 envelope for easy mailing, great gift or party favor item. Each book is $20.00 post paid. Continental US Only. Final sale. (Wholesale and Fundraising accounts are welcome. Call for Special Prices) Please include your name, address and telephone number for shipping. Please make check or M.O. payable to: RED WAGON PRESS and send to: RED WAGON PRESS, 45 East 89th Street, Suite 20A, NYC, NY 10128-1256

TEA TRAVELS™, Wishing You Happy TEA TRAVELS!™ and Good $ense For $uccess™ are the trade marked property of Ellen Easton/RED WAGON PRESS.