But today… today is not about me… today it’s father’s day! And my mom’s birthday! Happy father’s day, Dad! Happy birthday, Mom! Here is a picture of their dogs:
 |
| My parent's dogs |
Apparently I don’t have any pictures of my parents**. I do have many of their dogs though. I also don’t think that will surprise anyone.
What do you get your parents when they have everything? This is a problem I struggle with every Christmas, birthday, father’s day, mother’s day, and flag day. This time I decided to go back on the age-old advice that, when in doubt, parents will value presents you make more than anything you buy. I didn’t think they would want a macaroni necklace, or a finger painting, so I decided I would work to my strengths and send desserts!
But gifting desserts to my parents comes with certain challenges. Namely, they live 786 miles away, and my dad is on a diet that is almost, but not entirely, something approximately vegan. I needed a shippable, vegan, ultra-low fat delicious dessert. And preferably a pretty shippable, vegan, ultra-low fat delicious dessert.
In other words, I needed the impossible. Every dessert I could think of that was shippable was not up to my dad’s healthy food standards, and every dessert that I could think of that was healthy enough for my dad was not shippable.
And then I remembered petit fours (also known as pedophiles to handful of weird Ohioans… you know who you are!). Petit fours, little cakes wrapped in fondant, met all my requirements—because the cakes are wrapped in fondant they retain their moisture well, so they wouldn’t dry up while traveling 786 miles. Also, fondant is made of marshmallows, sugar, and water (all on the dad approved food list), and a fairly respectable cake can be made with some minor alterations to meet my dad’s healthy requirements. And even better, you can decorate the petit fours to look like tiny little presents. Tiny little presents of cake. Perfect.
 |
| Petit Fours! |
SO, here you go! The solution to my parental-gift woes!
**This just in from my brother-in-law! A picture of my parents! Together! In the same picture! Eating the petit fours that shipped quite well!
“Healthy" Chocolate Cake Petit-Fours
Ingredients:
Chocolate Cake:
- 3 c flour
- 2 c sugar
- 6 T unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 t baking soda
- 2 t baking powder
- 2/3 c vegetable oil
- 2 c water
- 2 T distilled white vinegar
- 2 t vanilla extract
Fondant
- 1 lb small marshmallows
- 2 lbs powdered sugar
- 4 T water
- Crisco (just to keep the fondant from sticking to your hands, don’t panic, dad!)
- Corn syrup (for decorating)
- Food coloring
I used a 9X13 pan and baked it at 350 for about half an hour (but the recipe I adapted this from said 20 minutes, so check frequently). I also used cake release on the pan so it would be easy to dump it out when it was finished baking. If you don’t have cake release, be sure to butter and flour the pan well.
Cool the cake for about 10 minutes, then dump it out. The best way to do this is to take a cooling rack and place it on top of the pan. Then flip the pan upside down and when the cake comes out remove the pan. Then use another cooling rack to flip the cake right-side up. Just place it on top of the cake, and while holding both cooling racks, flip over. Next time I make a cake I’ll be sure to document this process…
Cool the cake to room temperature (another tip – the cake isn’t cooled until the bottom of the cake is room temperature, not just the top!). Then wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the freezer while you make the fondant.
Don’t be afraid of fondant. Fondant is your friend. And this fondant recipe is actually delicious! I promise! All you need to do is melt the marshmallows and 2 T water in a double boiler over simmering water. Stir it pretty consistently until the marshmallows are melted. Toss about ¾ of the powdered sugar on top of the melted marshmallows.
Now for the Crisco! Grease your hands and your counter top with it generously because otherwise you will have fondant-y fingers… and as delicious as that sounds, it becomes unmanageable very quickly!
Knead the fondant like you would knead dough, and once you’ve incorporated some of the sugar into the marshmallows, dump the mixture out onto the counter top. Start to incorporate the rest of the powdered sugar, and add water a little bit at a time if your fondant is dry and tears easily.
Divide the fondant into as many balls as you want colors. Then make a little divot in them and add the food coloring and begin working the food coloring in to the fondant, kneading and working the icing until it’s well incorporated.
 |
| Before |
 |
| After |
At this point, roll your fondant into a sphere and wrap in plastic wrap and set aside (you may need to refrigerate if you’re going to take a break). Now turn to your cake. Remove it from the freezer and cut into small bite-size-ish pieces. Put it back in the freezer while you’re preparing the next step with your fondant.
Spread out cornstarch (or I prefer powdered sugar) onto your work space and roll your fondant out until it’s fairly thin, but thick enough that you can work with it easily and not tear. For a much more expert account at fondant usage, see this blog post—it’s from someone who actually knows what she’s doing!
Now, cut your fondant into squares and use these squares to “wrap” your cake pieces just like you would wrap a present. Instead of tape, however, use corn syrup! You can use your finger or a small pastry brush to glue your fondant together to make your presents.
Once you’ve wrapped all of your cake pieces, take the scraps of fondant and decorate the cakes. I like to make little polka dots because they’re adorable and easy (I just use the other side of a pastry tip), but you can do whatever you want! I also like to use nuts (almond slivers are pretty) or chocolate chips for decorations sometimes too. You are only limited by your imagination! J Happy fondant-ing!!
And happy birthday to my mom, and happy father’s day to my dad!
No comments:
Post a Comment