Petit Fails

I would venture that there is no food more beautiful than petit fours. Even the my beloved cupcakes must stand aside for these exquisite little cakes. So having always been an admirer from afar I decide to have a play in the kitchen and see if I could make some. Admittedly I didn't quite have the right ingredients to have a proper go at it but I am sad to say I ended up with rather pathetic little petit fails. 

But it's ok! Always one to embrace a learning experience I highlighted where I think I went wrong...

1.  Cake needed to be denser - I'll use 50% SR 50% plain flours next time
2.  Cake need to rest for longer- patience is a virtue
3.  Too much and too runny filling - ganache all the way next time!
4.  I let my fondant get too hot so was too thick

So with all that in mind I hope my next round will be better! On the plus side I remembered my awesome butter cake recipe that I created by combining recipes from a dodgy 70's Womans Day cook book and a cookbook I made in Kindy, oh happy days.. but here it is;  delightfully easy and I think  better than scones to serve when having afternoon tea!

Ms Cupcake's Buttercake from times gone by

70g softened butter

3/4 cup caster sugar

1 cup SR flour

1/4 cup room temperature milk

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small mixing bowl hand whisk the butter and vanilla until pale, add the sugar then the egg. You should have a smooth mix, beat it for a few minutes ( sing a song...that's what I do!)

Like all cakes you want to punish the butter but pamper the flour so switch your whisk for a scraper and gently fold in the sifted flour 1/4 cup at a time, alternating with the milk, until just combined..it doesn't mater if it's not perfectly lump free...it'll sort itself out and this way you'll have a really light cake.

Put this into a 15 cm square tin and pop into a 190C oven for 20 mins. Cut it into squares and eat with jam and tea...so good!