Source: Ana Maria Kruger with help of many Masters.
Makes 1 serving.
Preparation time: 4 hours
Tips: Prepare one day, assemble the next.
Pastries - Nobel Bakery Style
Petite Fours from Childhood Memories
Ingredients
Preparation
1 recipe Plain Genoise, or Petits Four Sponge, see note (1)
1 recipe French buttercream, see note (2)
1 recipe Chocolate Glaze, see note (2)
1 recipe simple syrup or plain syrup, rum flavor, see note (2)
1 recipe apricot glaze, see note (2)
1 recipe white fondant, see note (3)
1/2 cup pineapple, apricot, raspberry jam, see note (4)
maraschino cherries, halves
1 cup shredded sweet coconut, toasted
All the listed recipes are needed to create the 3 pastries in this recipe picture, however amounts are hard to estimate. All creams, glazes and fillings can be kept refrigerated for a later use. I recommend that you prepare basics one day, assemble another.
1. Bake a thin sheet of genoise or sponge cake:
For round little cakes (A & B): While cake still warm, place sheet of cake on top of a warm wet towel. Quickly spread selected preserve or filling such as pineapple or apricot jam. Roll sheet jelly roll style tight, leaving towel behind. Drape towel over roll and let cool. Carefully with a sharp serrated knife cut cake roll into about 1-inch thick rolls. Place rolls in a shallow plate and carefully soak in rum flavored syrup making sure they are moist all around but not losing shape, turn over if necessary. Set in a dry plate to drip excess.
For square little cakes (C): cut sheet of genoise into about 1.5"x1.5" squares, using a pastry brush, moist each layer with rum flavored syrup, spread selected fruit jam ( raspberry for white fondant glaze) forming a 3 cake layer stack.
Pastry A: Apricot and Toasted coconut
1. In a 325 F degree oven place shredded coconut to toast evenly, watch carefully not to burn.
2. Carefully top round , apricot filled little cakes with a layer of buttercream. Top cream with a half maraschino cherry. Spread entire pastry top and sides with apricot glaze.
3. Using a frosting knife, cover sides of pastry with toasted coconut shreds making sure they stick to apricot glaze. carefully with a spatula transfer finis pastry to serving platter. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Pastry B: Chocolate cream towers
1. Start with a soaked round little cake filled with pineapple jam. Using little paper cones made of parchment paper. Cones should be about 2" high and the diameter of the round pastry. Fill cones with softened french cream. Carefully place cones in the freezer for about 20- 30 minutes to set hard.
2. Place each cream cone on top of each pastry and peel paper cones off. A dollop of soft french cream on top of roll may aid in keeping the cream cone in place. Place pastries back in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to glaze so that the butter cream is very cold when the hot glaze is poured.
3. Warm the chocolate glaze adding few drops of hot water if it appears too thick. Remove pastries from refrigerator and set over a frosting rack with a plate underneath. Quickly pour the warm glaze over each pastry to cover the entire pastry with a thin layer. The trick is to make the glaze cover without melting the buttercream cone., not too warm, not too cool. Return pastries to the refrigerator of freezer until chocolate glaze is set.
4. Using a thin sharp blade or knife. Warm the blade under hot water, dry with a towel. Whipping blade after each cut, carefully slice 3 or 4 cuts per pastry from the tip of the butter cone down as to forming flower petals and exposing the buttercream through the chocolate. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Pastry C: Raspberry and white fondant glaze
1. Starting with a prepared raspberry filled little square, place squares on top of a frosting rack with a dripping plate underneath. Spread a soft layer of french buttercream on top of the square and a very light coat on the sides to smooth surface only.
2. Place a half maraschino cherry on top. Place pastries in freezer just until buttercream sets.
3. Warm up fondant. You may test fondant by driping it over a up-side down cold spoon and see how thick it runs. Thin fondant with hot water as needed. Quickly and carefully pour over each pastry to cover with a thin layer in all sides. Let glaze set. Place pastries in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Once all refrigerated pastries are cool, cover them to prevent drying too much.
All 3 pastries are best if taken our of the refrigerator for about 20 minutes before serving.
NOTE: Pasteleria Nobel was the bakery in Monterrey, Mexico where all family birthday cakes came from, as well as a beautiful array of individual "petites fours" created by the owner a transplanted Spaniard. The recipes are here created only by childhood recollection of looks and flavors. Just close enough to take me back in time for a afternoon treat.
1) Find recipes under "Cakes and Muffins", or use other sponge cake recipe such as in Tiramisu recipe. For all recipes spread batter thinly, even if it means to bake a larger than called for sheet. For round pastries, too thick layer will be hard to roll and make a large pastry.
2) Find recipe under fillings and frostings.
3) Find recipe under filling and frostings or use a quicker version under "Cookies"/ New York Black and Whites.
4) If you can't find pineapple jam, use pineapple ice cream topping.
Makes as many as your patience will allow.
