Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Petis Fours- want some?

Photobucket
Photobucket
I have a refrigerator full of these things and a husband who hates cake...
Sigh
.

Jenn, our anointed sovereign's monthly joust is here again. Do you guys realize that the winner now gets an apron with their blog name on it AND free Tupperware? Not to mention being able to brag to all their friends and a sweet logo for their blog.

At home in my kitchen, I wear a nappy, apron that I stole from a now defunct vegan hipster restaurant where I was once a cook. Complete with stains from curried tofu scrambles and textured vegetable protein sausage of yore.
Just sayin' is all.

Last month's winner and now proud owner of said apron and Tupperware was Elle who chose raspberries, lime, and almonds for our battling ingredients.
The Pacific Northwest is berry country. People in Michigan or wherever can argue this all they want (I have arguments about this all the time with our Michigan-born sous chef. Somehow when the first flat of local strawberries arrives, he sings a different tune.), but it's true. The berries up here are the shit..
....In July.
Needless to say, I was wary of planning a recipe around a sucky California berry. Luckily for me, I'm a genius. Last year, I was able to get my hands on a flat of local black raspberries. I turned them into a seedless compoty-freezer jam type concoction that I still have several jars of.
The Jousting wheels were turning.....
Photobucket
Garnished with the snubbed California raspberries that actually turned out to be really good. Not Washington good, but good.

I had announced on the forum that I would think outside the box and come up with a savory entry.
Lies.
The compote was wanting to be made into a dessert of some sort. So I entered Petis Fours country- not a zone for pastry pussies. After glazing your 112th teensy little cake, the urge to stab someone can come on pretty strong. I decided to scale down my recipe to a meager 24 petis fours. I ate one- they turned out delicious, and now I have 23 of them sitting in the fridge. Trevor wont touch them with a ten foot pole. They are a pastry- which he hates, and painfully girly. He wont admit to that being a factor in his disdain for dainty little tea cakes like this, but he's not kidding anyone but himself.

Heres how I made the little bastards:
Photobucket
Almond butter cake- sliced horizontally into 4 layers (makes 2 separate cakes)

Photobucket
Shmear with lime swiss buttercream and black raspberry compote

Photobucket
Sammich it together

Photobucket
Cut into quaint little squares, then glaze with lime fondant. Prepare to be doing this activity for a good hour. An episode of Deadwood makes for excellent company while performing this task. Hearing the word cocksucker coming out of my TV makes it so I don't have to shout the profanities myself
Photobucket
I am completely out of steam and cannot type this nonsense anymore. If you want the recipe for these ingredients, here is the link to my post on the forum.
I'm going to bed.

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Just one thing, Dude. D'ya have to use s'many cuss words?" ~The Stranger (The Big Lebowski)

Making a batch of fondant-covered petits fours for fun? Now that has got to be just a little crazy.

Brittany said...

neas- yes I do.

toontz said...

I DO want some, right NOW!

Anonymous said...

feel free to send me any cake that your husband will not eat. because the texture of that cake looks fricking perfect.

i would never have the patience to make petit fours, i would just make one big 'un and call it a day.

Brittany said...

Oh cocksucker...those look like heaven!

LisaRene said...

These are luscious, my kind of dessert! I bet they just melt in your mouth. Petis Fours are very girly and adorable, I'm always intrigued by them. The three ingredients really do make for a lovely and refreshing dessert. Very well done!

My Sweet & Saucy said...

Those turned out lovely!

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Very pretty and extremely delicious looking! Your petits fours make me drool...

Cheers,

Rosa

Thistlemoon said...

Damn girl! After the last post and not these little babies going untouched in your fridge...I think I need to get me a plane ticket! Any software positions out there? Roberto is job hunting...

Brittany said...

Michelle and Toontz- I think I need to figure out a way to ship these. They're still sitting here.

Michelle- I can't believe you withheld an f-bomb!

Brittany- Thanks you cocksucker!

Lisarene- Thanks! They are girly indeed. Maybe a chocolate flaovor would be more masculine. Or perhaps a beer/beef variety?

RYY and M.S. & S- Thanks!

Jenn- well, theres this little company called microsoft out here....

Heather said...

Damn girl. I'd eat the shit out of those petit fours! And you are right, EVERYONE TAKE NOTE: Pacific Northwest berries pwn all other berries. Volcanic soils ftw!

We need to hang out sometime this summer, I've decided.

michael, claudia and sierra said...

oh man
that right there is like my favorite thing ever
i am so the one who loves cake
glazed cake just like that
i could eat 6 of them in one sitting
your husband is out of his mind

hey heather and brittany? tell me when dinner is served and i'll fly up... but only if you make these for me. see how i shamelessly invited myself?

Anonymous said...

You can bring those on over to our house anytime.....Mom

Emily said...

I've got to start watching Deadwood while baking. Do you think the Sopranos would work? I'm sure they say "cocksucker" quite a bit.

Tell me this was on Tastespotting! It had to be. They look fabulous. You deserve to win again.

peter said...

Al Swearengen would never eat those. Bullock, he probably would- but he'd look around all squinty first to make sure nobody was watching.

Anonymous said...

Awesome post :D

And you thought I was crazy for having the patience to deal with fava beans!!! Blimey girl, this looks like a ton of work. Keep up the great pastries and colorful language!!
Your husband is nutty not wanting to eat these.

Brooke said...

I'm so proud of you! A single tear falls down my cheek. You mastered the hateful little S.O.B. petit fours. Now do that during a 6.5 earthquake (and still ace the performance test)...GO.

I think you're ready for the wedding now, eh? Need no help from your ole sister.

Anonymous said...

that looks so yummy! how pretty.

Brittany said...

Heather- Totally! berries are just one of the many things in this part of the world that is vastly superior. We must definantly hang- I think the two of us could make miracles in a kitchen.

Claudia- Bring the booze...

Mom- I may need to take you up on that! They are STILL sitting here.

Emiline- I am a Sopranos fan for sure, but there is just something about Deadwood. If you have not seen it yet, you must. It will become a sick addiction.
Tastespotting actually accepted a picture from this post. Thats 2 in a row now. I'm still in shock.

Peter- Definantly!"Sweggin" is a canned peaches and whiskey sort of guy. You know who would be totally down with these? Alma Garrett's dead husband. You know he would have nibbled daintily of them. I'm thinking Merick would also enjoy about a dozen of them.

Matt- I could create an entire blog dedicated to all of the things that are crazy about my man. I mean, he married a fucking PASTRY chef! What the Fuck?! There are so many men who would love to be in his position for the dessert perks. GOD he's a douche.
He's lucky I love him.
(an especially colorful responce, just for you!)

Brooke- YAY! I made you proud! Something tells me yours would have been prettier. You're all "artsy" and whatnot. I still don't know how you managed to pass your performance test in the biggest earthquake this area had seen in years. Did Chef Berger give you bonus points for that? ...Probably not. Thats not his style.
What a dick.

Diva- Thanks!

Peter M said...

Brittany, I'll have "quatre", sil vous plait!

Sophie said...

My goodness! I'd be completely out of steam after glazing 112 cakes too! Not sure of it's of any consolation to you, but they look so adorable and cute. I love the light pink sugary aura about them too. I can't believe your hubby doesn't like cake! I'm a fan of all things carby and sugar-ridden :D.

I just discovered your blog via Emiline's; it's nice to meet you :). I'll be back soon, I love all the desserts!

Sophie

NĂºria said...

Wow Brittany! Seeing the row of pictures doesn't look that difficult anymore... but you are born for this and the "little bastards" just shine on your hands :D. I couldn't do that!

Great job!

Susan from Food Blogga said...

Pretty in pink! That's what these are. and as for Northwest berries, the most succulent marionberries and blackberries I have ever had were in Portland, OR. I swear I'd fly there just to get another pint of those marionberries.

Ann said...

They're so DARLING! Plus, loved that you called them bastards. :)

Norm Schoen said...

For the record this entry got my vote on Royal Foodie Joust....you were robbed!





Thanks Norm!