Spring petit fours variation

Sorry for the lack of postings recently I went home for Easter this weekend and had lots of fun baking and cooking up a storm! On Easter Sunday my mom and I made these to bring to our family's house for dessert. As you'll notice theses are NOT healthy! I was going to health them up but mom said no no no. :) I was bargaining and tried to use splenda but she reminded me Ann is allergic to it... Well scratch that one! So here are some very very tasty bad for you little cakes.

Oh and check out how fun and old this food coloring is! We couldn't find a date on it but I suspect it's from before I was born :) Go mom go! :)

We used a 12 cup shaped cupcake pan, you'll see there are stars and other shapes, along with a 6 cup normal cupcake pan. The recipe is adapted from Cake on the Brain.

Spring petit fours variation
For the Cakes:
1 1/3 cups (170g) cake flour
3/4 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
6 T unsalted butter
3/4 cup (185 g) granulated sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 t vanilla extract
1/3 cup (80 ml) milk
1/2 cup (155 g) seedless raspberry jam

For the Glaze:
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 T meringue powder
1/4 cup milk
1/2 T vanilla extract
Food colouring as desired (pastel pink, green or yellow)

• Have all the ingredients at room temperature
• Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 350degrees F. Using a stiff brush, grease and flour the 20-well petits fours pan; tap out the excess flour.
• To make the cakes, over a sheet of waxed paper, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy and smooth, about 30 seconds. Add the granulated sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla just until incorporated, about 1 minute.
• Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour. Beat each addition just until incorporated, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Spoon batter into each well of the prepared pan. Gently tap the pan on a flat surface to eliminate any air bubbles. Bake just until the cakes are no longer sticky on top and slightly browned, about 15 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cakes cool upright in the pan for 1 to 2 minutes.
• Set the rack over a sheet of waxed paper, invert the pan onto the rack and lift off the pan. Let the cakes cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Using a serrated knife cut the cakes in half horizontally. Place about 1-to- 2 t jam on the bottom half of each cake, then replace the tops. (our cakes were a bit dome like so I cut the bottoms off to get a flat surface and then pieces all the domes together to make smaller cakes)

• To make the glaze, in a a large bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, meringue powder, milk and vanilla until smooth, about 1 minute. Whisk in the food coloring.
• Using a rubber spatula, transfer the glaze to a bowl with a pouring spout. Slowly drizzle the glaze over each cake, allowing it to completely cover the top and sides before glazing the next cake. Gently tap the wire rack on a flat surface to remove excess glaze. Let the glaze dry completely, about 1 hour, before serving.

Makes 18 petits fours. We had a lot of fun with these and used the glaze more drizzled then completely covering the cakes. We also added some yummy toppings. Enjoy!