Poured Fondant Petit Four Icing Food

QUICK POUR FONDANT ICING

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine confectioners' sugar, water and corn syrup. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until it reaches a temperature of 92 degrees F (33 degrees C.) Mixture should be thin enough to pour, but thick enough to coat cake. Stir in the almond extract.
• To cover cake: frost cake smoothly with buttercream (see Editor's Note) and place on a cooling rack with a cookie sheet underneath. Pour fondant over iced cake, flowing from center and moving out in a circular motion. Touch up sides with a spatula.
• Excess fondant can be stored, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for about four weeks. Reheat over a double boiler just until pourable.

PETITS FOURS ICING

Steps:

• In a heatproof bowl set over (but not touching) simmering water, mix sugar, corn syrup, 1/2 cup water, vanilla and almond extracts together until they are warm, well combined, and smooth. Stir in enough food coloring until desired color is reached. Do not overheat. Let cool about 8 minutes before pouring.

PETITS FOURS ICING

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, hot water, and cream of tartar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly for 5 to 9 minutes or until the sugar dissolves.
• Reduce heat to medium-low. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the saucepan. Cook until thermometer registers 226 degrees, stirring only when necessary to prevent sticking. Remove saucepan from the heat. Cool at room temperature, WITHOUT STIRRING, to 110 degrees (allow about 1 hour).
• Add vanilla flavoring. Stir in enough powdered sugar to make the icing of drizzling consistency. If necessary, beat the icing with a rotary beater or wire whisk to remove any lumps. If desired, stir in a few drops of food coloring.

QUICK POUR FONDANT ICING

Steps:

• Cover cupcakes lightly with buttercream icing. Let set 15 minutes.
• Place sugar in saucepan. Combine water and corn syrup; add to sugar and stir until well-mixed. Cook over low heat. Don't allow temperature of mixture to exceed 100°F Remove from heat; stir in extract and icing color.
• Place cooled cupcakes or mini cakes on cooling grid positioned over cookie sheet or pan to catch excess icing. Cupcakes which will be covered completely should be turned bottom side up. Pour icing on center of cupcake using pan or measuring cup. Or, pipe icing from a cut decorating bag. Cover the cupcake completely, or use your coating as a glaze to simply cover tops and drip over the sides. Touch up any bare spots with spatula. Let set.
• Excess icing may be reheated just to pouring consistency. Don't overheat the icing as it will lose its shiny finish.

FROSTING FOR PETITS FOURS

Steps:

• In a saucepan, stir together the white sugar, cream of tartar and water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and cook without stirring until the temperature is between 223 and 234 degrees F (106 to 112 degrees C), or until a small amount of syrup dripped from a spoon can spin a long thread.
• When the syrup comes to the proper temperature, remove from heat, and stir in confectioners' sugar about 1/2 cup at a time until the icing is thick enough to coat a metal spoon. (You may use a food processor for this step.) Test by pouring over a small piece of cake. Adjust the amount of confectioners' sugar as needed to get a good pouring consistency.
• Use while warm, or reheat over simmering water. Keep covered with plastic wrap when not in use to prevent a crust from forming on the top.
• To decorate cakes: place sliced petits fours on a cooling rack set over a jelly roll pan. Pour the frosting over the cakes, moving slowly down each row and back again, letting the icing spread over the cakes and drip down through the rack. You can re-use icing by reheating it.
• When the frosting has set and the cakes are dry, lift them from the rack with a spatula and trim the bottom edges with a sharp knife. Decorate as desired.