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 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! ❤
No comments:
Post a Comment