Making Pretties for Afternoon Tea Week/Nautical Petits Fours and Lime Infused Ice Spheres

Hello, friends!  Afternoon Tea Week occurs this year from August 10th through August 16th, so I wanted to put together a simple teatime shoreside with details indicative of summertime fun.  Petits fours with a nautical theme and lime infused ice orbs both made for a refreshing reverie waterside.  Here is how I put them together.

Nautical Styled Petits Fours

To make nautical styled petits fours, used a simple devil's food box cake mix.  To elevate the boxed cake, I added decorative elements as well as a bit of sweetness to enhance the flavor.  

First, bake the cake according to the directions on the box.  I wanted to make mini cakes that could be turned into petits fours, so I used a muffin pan to bake the cake.

Once the cakes were baked and cooled,

I lined underneath the cooling racks with parchment paper.

This will ensure you catch any drippings or crumbs, which will enable easier cleanup.

Next, I used a very sharp knife to carefully cut away the edges of the cake.  I put the remnants of cake into the fridge so that it can be made into cake pops later.

To add a bit of extra flavor to the cakes, I made a simple syrup.  To make the simple syrup, use one part sugar and one part water.  In my case, it was a small batch, so I used a 1/2 cup of each.  Boil the sugar and water on medium/high heat until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Once the syrup was cool enough to handle, I poured it into a condiment squeeze dispenser.  When the syrup has cooled, you may also opt to add flavoring (such as vanilla, maple, or similar extracts, etc.) if you desire.

I drizzled the cooled syrup onto the tops and bottoms of each of the cakes.

Next, I set about decorating each of the cakes with melted candy melts.  I wanted to make blue and white cakes, which would coordinate with the theme of my teatime. 

First, I began melting white candy melts to use as a foundation.

Add shortening as needed to allow for a smoother consistency and easier flow.

Pour the melted candy over the mini cakes.  While the candy is still warm, use a cake spreader or icing spatula to aid in frosting the sides and to achieve full coverage of the cakes.

Next, I melted some blue candy melts combined with some of the previously melted white to make a light blue color.  I added a bit of each of the melts in small amounts as needed until I was satisfied with the color.  I also added in a bit of shortening once again to aid in smoothness and flow.

I poured the melted candy into a piping bag.

I used the piping bag to pipe stripes onto the tops of some of the cakes, and to pipe a round foundational circle of candy melts to the tops of others.  When piping the candy onto the petits fours with blue rounds on the tops only, I placed them immediately onto parchment paper face down while the candy was still warm and popped them into the fridge.  This will ensure you have a flat surface on the top of the petit four. 

Next, I added the decorative elements.  Adding the nautical elements admittedly took a bit of trial and error.

First, I added gel food coloring as well as shortening as needed until I achieved the desired shade of blue.

Going a bit darker.

I used this adorable silicone mold to make mini anchors.

I tried several times to unmold the anchors in the shape of the anchors by themselves, but this mold is very small and the anchors kept cracking, no matter how carefully or gently I attempted.  I tried adding a bit of non-stick spray to the molds prior to taking them out...they still cracked.  I also added more shortening to soften them.  None of these methods worked.

Eventually, I figured out a multi-step method.  I poured the candy into the anchor and made sure the cavity was level-full, then I piped a circular round on top.  Next, I placed each anchor into the fridge so it could set up. 

I carefully unmolded the candy melt, then I used a toothpick to meticulously (or not, ha!)  remove and take away the circular round and excess candy, leaving the anchor remaining.

Completed petits fours.

Lime Infused Ice Orbs

In my opinion, a hint of citrus is the perfect addition to iced tea.  SO refreshing, especially during the super hot summer!  For my afternoon tea, I decided to make lime-infused ice spheres/orbs to be added to the tea for additional vibrancy.  I had ripe key limes in my garden, so it was perfect timing to use them!  To infuse your ice with a dash of citrus, it only requires a few steps.

Pick fruit.

Cleanse or scrub the fruit peel to ensure it is clean.

Thinly slice the lime.

I wanted the limes to be as close to the middle of the balls as possible, so I filled the bottom half  only of a round silicone mold to make the ice orbs.

I par-froze the bottom mold (solid enough to make a platform, but not so firm that the top of the mold would not fit inside the bottom).

Then I laid the sliced limes in each of the sections.

I closed the mold,

then used a condiment squeezer to fill each of the cavities with water.  I placed the mold into the freezer until the balls were completely frozen. 

Completed lime infused ice spheres.  This method would work for mint, lemon, or even edible flowers!

To see these petits fours and lime infused ice orbs featured in my shoreside tea setting for Afternoon Tea Week, you may read about clicking here.

 

I hope you are enjoying the Summer!

If you enjoy this post, please visit the archives!  You may also visit my full profile to view my other blogs. Connect with me on my Facebook Page, Parsimonious Décor Darling.   You might like to visit my other blog hubs,

The Marvelous Maison, a lifestyle blog hub and 

Frugal Fab Fashionista, my fashion blog hub. 

Follow me on Pinterest!!  Please be sure to kindly follow the board guidelines!  Thank you!  

Thank you for stopping by! ❤

Valentine's Sweets for the Queen of Hearts

This year for Valentine's Day, I decorated with an Alice in Wonderland theme.  The following is how I made these sweet little petits-fours perfect for tea with the Queen of hearts.

The easiest way to make petits-fours for me is to begin with a simple boxed cake.  I used a lemon cake for this recipe, because I wanted the flavor to be something atypical and surprising, which would coincide perfectly with an Alice in Wonderland theme.  My cakes are larger than a standard petit-four, and also are more akin to a cake pop.

Bake the cake according to the directions.  Allow to cool.

Once the cake is cool enough to handle, empty it into a large bowl.  

Crumble the cake.

To make the cake into a cake pop consistency (meaning easily malleable), to your crumbled cake,

add one whole tub of frosting.

To give my cake a bit of extra brightness, I added some extra lemon extract.

Now it's time to get your hands dirty (or you may opt to use gloves  like me, lol).  Combine the elements altogether with your hands

until you have a pliable, shapeable mixture.  Put aside into the refrigerator.  

Now, on to the design. 

You will need silicone molds.

I liked these because they each had roses as well as hearts, and they seemed pretty detailed.  Have them handy.

  

 I made two batches of candy melts.

Using a double boiler, heat candy melts on medium heat

stirring consistently until fully melted.

Add food coloring of choice.  I used gel for the black.

You may opt to buy pre-colored candy melts, but I was using what I already had on hand.  You will need to add a bit of shortening to the candy to allow for easier flow.  Coloring will cause the candy melts to thicken, but the addition of the shortening will alleviate that issue.

Add the melted candy to a piping bag.  I used mini ziplock bags, which is another option.

Once I added the colored melts to the bag, I snipped off a teeny bit of the corner,

and carefully piped the black candy melt into the silicone molds.

  

I piped in hearts, 

and the negative (?) details of the roses.

Once the piping was done, I placed both molds into the freezer.  Be sure to leave them in the freezer for at least a half hour or so, or until the candy is completely set and cold.

While those were cooling, I made my second batch of candy melts.  For the red, I used a typical liquid red dye.  Again, I added shortening for ease of flow.

Add to a piping bag or ziplock, and pipe the red directly over the cooled black candy.  Do this very quickly!  You do not want the black and red to melt altogether.  Place IMMEDIATELY into the freezer.

Allow a half hour in the freezer, or until the candy again is fully set.

While that is setting, take your bowl of cake mixture out of the fridge and allow to soften a bit.  Once the candy melts are fully frozen or set, and your cake mixture is warm enough to again be pliable, gently press the cake into the molds over the cooled candy melts.

Again, I put these into the freezer to allow to fully set and cool.

Once set and almost frozen, you will need to release each petit four.  Fill a shallow cup with hot tap water.

Carefully submerge each mold into the water until the candy melt is soft enough to release.

I initially was going to leave them as-is,

but I decided I wanted the sides to be red as well.  This decision was made in hindsight (meaning you could spread candy melts on the sides of the molds prior to freezing to accomplish this), so I had to improvise.  Back to the freezer they went!

I decided to frost each with a crusting buttercream.  A crusting buttercream is a very firm frosting that can be used for a smooth finish.  I did not want to make one from scratch, so again...I cheated, ☺️.

To make an impromptu crusting buttercream, simply add more confectioner's sugar (and a bit of shortening if needed) to premade frosting.  In my case, I used red.

Add enough confectioner's sugar until the frosting is a firmer version.  I also added a bit of  both the gel and the liquid food coloring to match the candy and compensate for the addition of the white.

Frosted and complete.

If you would like to see these featured in my Alice in Wonderland tablescape, you may view the post here.





Happy Valentine's Day!

If you enjoy this post, please visit the archives!  You may also visit my full profile to view my other blogs. Connect with me on my Facebook Page, Parsimonious Décor Darling.   You might like to visit my other blog hubs,

The Marvelous Maison, a lifestyle blog hub and 

Frugal Fab Fashionista, my fashion blog hub. 

Follow me on Pinterest!!  Please be sure to kindly follow the board guidelines!  Thank you!  

Thank you for stopping by! ❤