Cake Bites



     My sister-in-law and I recently went to a cake decorating class for petit fours and had a great time.   One thing we both realized was how time consuming the real petit fours are to make! 

 

     Petit fours are really delicious, but you can only eat a couple at a time because they are SO sweet!   I didn't know why until the class.  The instructor's recipe said to put butter cream icing on the bottom of the petit fours, THEN add fondant to the top of them!  After they were dry, she then decorated the tops of them...more sugar!  Oh my goodness....can anyone say sugar coma?

 

     So, with that in mind, I came up with an easier solution.  I am calling them CAKE BITES.   They still have some of the sweetness, but not as much as hers.  One thing I want to warn you about is- these take a couple of days before they are ready to eat!  By the time you bake the cake, let it cool, freeze it overnight, cut it into squares, make fondant and  pour over each square and let dry all day, it's a long process!  Not hard, just takes awhile before you can eat them....

 

So, lets get started!

 

 

Cake

 

1 box chocolate cake mix

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup water

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs 

 

 

Blend all ingredients together at medium speed for about 2 minutes.  Pour into greased pan that is 11 x 15 inches.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  Let cool completely.  Cover well and freeze cake overnight.  In morning, cut into approximately 1 inch squares while still frozen.  Makes about 80.

 

**Note:  You can make these with just about any cake mix.  Leave out the cocoa in the fondant if you don't want chocolate.



 

Fondant

1 cup half and half
dash salt
1/4 cup cocoa
2 lbs. powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
1 teaspoon butter
2 Tablespoons shortening

In double boiler, mix shortening, milk and salt.   Heat until shortening melts.  Remove from heat and add vanilla, butter, cocoa and powdered sugar.  Mix well with mixer.   I put three bite size pieces of cake on a spatula and pour the fondant on them with a spoon.  (See below.)

Put them on a wire rack with a cookie sheet under it to catch the dripping fondant.  Let air dry approx. 18-24 hours until set.

The hard part is trying NOT to eat them while they are drying!


These just melt in your mouth!  The great thing is, this recipe makes quite a bit and can last on the counter for 5-7 days.  They probably won't, because you can't eat just 1 or 2.

I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!