La Saint-Valentin petits gâteaux

Here I sit in in the frigid 52 degree winter weather, pondering that chubby cheeked cherub we call Cupid.  That's right, folks, Valentine's Day is just around the corner and is, perhaps, one of the serial baker's most favored excuses to cakety cake cake cake!  Today, we celebrate the confectionery delight the french call petits gâteaux, or to us simple redneck folk, small cake.  Can you think of a more intimate dessert to share with your love than a tiny treat baked only for him or her?  Yeah, me either.  So today, I want to share with you four simple designs for one delectable petits gâteaux...

The first thing we need is, of course cake!  Now, most serial bakers, have tested hundreds of cake recipes to find the one that delights the palate.  It is, of course, the single most important element to any confectionery cake creation.  Of course, as a busy mother of three incredibly amazing and perpetually active minions, I have chosen to use a serial baker secret weapon.  Yup, I yield the culinary floor to master baker, Sir Duncan Hines.

So, I followed the directions given me by Sir Hines and created 4 mini red velvet (and a larger cake for a later project).

The mini heart shaped pans I used were not very well defined, so after chilling my cakes for several minutes, I carved a bit sharper detail into the curves of my heart.  You, of course, can do as you like! :)

Now, that we have four lovely ruby red canvases upon which to work, we should determine which artistic medium we would like to use to create a stunning background for our passionate pastries.  I chose to use King Arthur's Poured Fondant recipe.  (Yes, yes, I know I am mixing French and English today.  Just call me a Renaissance woman. )  

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/poured-fondant-icing-recipe

 Note the amazing camera work here...I bet you didn't know I employed Mr. McGoo did you?

 If you are like me, and have an affinity for wearing your ingredients, here's a little trick to help you along.  Grab a parchment triangle (if you use them) or some waxed paper to create a funnel for you to pour your powdered sugar into your sifter.  I am usually too impatient to spoon the sugar in, so this allows me to pour from my 8 cup glass batter bowl with ease.

 Allow me to introduce you to one of my most favored kitchen minions, Briana.  She has lived in the Mills Lair for about two years now, and is one of the most cheerful kitchen assistants I have.  I love her shiny red exterior....

 Speaking of shiny red...

Here is our finished fondant.  As you can see, it has cooled down during mixing time and isn't very fluid.  Not to worry, we will add a couple of tablespoons of hot water and pop Briana's shiny bowl into the oven at 200 degrees to let our fondant warm back to a pourable consistency.  (A true serial baker would be very specific here and tell you to bring your fondant to 100 degree internal temperature to achieve the perfect pourable consistency.  Good thing I'm just an amateur.)  What a beautiful shade of Valentine red...

 The absolute best part about a poured fondant, especially this thicker recipe is that there is no need to spread your glaze.  Just pour a very generous amount of glaze over your cakes, carefully covering all sides, and gravity will do the rest of the work for you!  (God bless Sir Isaac Newton!)

Oh my, how beautiful...


So now we have four beautifully glazed red velvet petit gâteaux.  but what do we do with all of that excess glaze? (Hmmm...my mind leans to the macabre with this picture.)

No worries!  We can reheat the glaze for other culinary confections!  Good thing I used parchment paper to keep my sheet pan clean.  What a clever cutie am I!

Now that we have our four shiny red canvases, it is time to boil our creative juices and produce some artistic steam!

Our  first cake will lean more to the traditional side of cake decorating.  Here I will use a cornelli lace pattern to cover the entire cake.  This elegant design is much easier than you would think.  To achieve this look, I will use a white medium consistency royal icing (which will be closer to a thin consistency of buttercream icing) and a Wilton Tip 2 to achieve our design.  Holding my parchment bag at a 90 degree angle to the top of the cake, I will pipe a random pattern across the cake, making sure not to cross over any lines, and to only have one starting place and one stopping place.  (No worries if you stop and pick up again somewhere else.  It isn't like your treat recipient is going to follow the pattern like a maze!)  It is also worth mentioning that you are not required to use royal icing here.  Many at-home-bakers have little use for royal icing.  If this is your situation, feel free to substitute a thin consistency butter cream recipe for the royal icing.  I just happened to have some readily available before beginning my project.

Covering the sides of your cake will not be as easy to achieve with a 90 degree perpendicular angle to the cake, but this is okay, this is a very forgivable technique!

Here is our finished cakelet.  I decided that the stark contrast between the shiny red glaze and the white was a bit much, so after the royal icing set, i dusted the surface with a violet pearl dust to give it a shiny pearlescent shimmer.  Lovely!

Our next cake is also a great old school cake decorating technique, but one not often employed which is a shame, since I think it makes a wicked cool effect...er um, I mean I think it is a lovely technique.

Behold!!! The mighty embroidery technique.  This technique can also be used with buttercream, but we are going to give it a royal treatment.  For this technique you will use your same medium consistency royal icing and tip 2.  You will also need a small dish of water or vodka to dampen your brush.  I like to work with vodka, not because I am a closet bartender, but because vodka is a clear alcohol with little flavor and it evaporates much faster than water.  You could also use clear vanilla extract if you prefer.

Working in small sections, pipe a zigzag line using a 45 degree angle around the edge of your cake.  Using a flat #2 brush, dampen the bristles and wipe away any excess moisture.  turning your brush sideways (so that the flat side of the bristles are perpendicular to the surface) gently pull the brush through your icing, careful to start in the middle of the icing towards the center of your cake.

Continue working in small sections until you have finished your design.

This is downright purty, but I think I will add a bit more detail...

Ahhh! A heart fit for a king...King Arthur perhaps?

Our third cake is for all of you wild at heart folks out there.  Here I will employ a simple piping technique  to give our treat a fun zebra print design.

It truly doesn't get any easier than this for decorating 101.  Here I employ a Tip 5, using a thin consistency chocolate buttercream to pipe some random zebra stripes onto my tiny torte.  It is important to note that you should use a consistent pressure when piping your stripes.  Be careful not to drag your tip across the surface of the cake ( a 45 degree angle is also recommended here).  Always release the pressure before your pull away from the cake with your piping bag.  This will allow you to avoid pulling the icing off of your cake as you pull away.  You can also use your damp paint brush to tap down any points you may have on your cake.  A serial baker would tell you that it is more important to use proper technique than to cheat with a paint brush, but it's a good thing that I'm a rebel....

(Don't you love how I lazily clipped the end of my piping bag instead of properly loading a smaller amount of buttercream and twisting the bag closed accordingly?)  Seriously, my laziness knows no bounds...



Okay, now on to cake #4...This one is probably my favorite.  Here we will use a very simple fondant decoration to make this cake uber awesome!

Having had access to many different brands of commercial fondant both here and in the UK, I have found that I really love working with Satin Ice Brand fondant.   Many home bakers like to make marshmallow fondant to use for their cake projects.  For this project, you can use whatever fondant that you like.  You could also use gumpaste if you prefer.  For this cakery adventure, we will use a small ball of white fondant mixed with a about 1/4 tsp. of Tylose Powder.  Kneeding in the Tylose will allow the sugarpaste (fondant) to have more elasticity, make it sturdier, and allow it to try faster.  Kneed, kneed, kneed!!!

 Once you have kneeded in the Tylose, you will want to roll your paste into a sausage shape and roll it out. It is a good idea to sprinkle a bit of powdered sugar or corn starch onto the surface before rolling, to keep your fondant from sticking to your work surface.

Once you have rolled out a long thin strip, use a sharp knife or pizza wheel to cut out a banner shape.  Make sure your banner is long enough to drape across the cake with about 2-3 inches to spare.

Now for the fun part!  Using a food color pen.  (I use Americolor brand) decorate your fondant banner as you please.  I was going for  the mom tattoo look, so I decorated my banner accordingly.

Note the small ball of fondant resting under the lid to my sugar shaker.  Fondant, modeling paste (what we call fondant that has been mixed with Tylose), and gumpaste are all allergic to air and will dry out very quickly, so it always a good idea to wrap your paste in plastic wrap or placed in an airtight container when not in use.

Ooooh!  What a cool cake.  If only I could be so cool.  I finished this cake off with the same bag of chocolate buttercream and tip 5 by adding a small teardrop shape to the top left corner and adding a small teardrop shaped border around the base of my cake.  (We'll save border techniques for another day.)

Well, look at that,  four  La Saint-Valentin petits gâteaux to make any serial baker proud.  These will definitely make the minions salivate tonight....

Happy Every Day & Happy Caking!

Confectionately yours,

Wendy

P.S.  Here are a couple of great sites to explore for Tylose and Fondant options

http://www.globalsugarart.com/

http://www.cakesupplies4u.com/