easy and elegant finger pastries

greeneyes ↓

Mon, Jun 02 2008, 9:52 pm

Before I was married, when I had more time and patience, I was really into baking, especially miniatures. Here are a few ideas, just let me know if you'd like any of the recipes:

miniature napoleans
miniature eclairs
yodels
mini cherry or blueberry tarts
miniature chocolate moose pies decorated with whip cream (these are pretty easy if you use those ready made miniature pie crusts)
mini cupcakes (baked in those tiny cupcake tins), frosted, & then decorated with a flower using a pastry decorating bag
you can also buy these cone shaped molds (from a good baking supply store), wrap a flaky type dough around them, bake, then fill with cream using a pastry bag, & the drizzle with chocolate (these are really pretty, and yummy too Smile

)

↑ greeneyes ↓

Tue, Jun 03 2008, 11:37 am

I'm glad I have that effect on you, smile. LOL

Here are the recipes you asked for:

Blueberry (or Cherry) Tarts

1 stick margarine
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp. vanilla extract

pie filling of your choice, such as blueberry or cherry

Knead all ingredients (except pie filling) into a smooth dough. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Roll dough into 36 walnut size balls. Place one ball into each cup of a mini muffins baking tray. Press dough, shaping it to line the sides of the cups. Fill each cup with pie filling of your choice. Bake for 7-10 minutes.

Chocolate Mousse Pie

(This is a great chocolate mousse that doesn't call for raw eggs.)

1 7 oz. milk chocolate candy bar with almonds or 7 oz of pareve chocolate or 7 oz. of chocolate chips
16 large marshmellows or 1 1/2 cups mini marshmellows
1/2 cup milk or parve milk
2 cups whipping cream, whipped (the pareve whip works out well)
1 pastry shell, baked or graham cracker pie crust or chocolate crumb crust

Place the chocolate, marshmellows, and milk in a saucepan; cook over low heat, stirring constantly until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Cool. Fold in whipping cream, and pour into crust. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Yield: 6-8 servings

To make miniature mousse pies: Prebake mini pie shells according to package directions. Fill with mousse. You can decorate them with whipped cream (using the small star tip on a pastry decorating bag), chocolate shavings etc.

↑ greeneyes ↓

Tue, Jun 03 2008, 5:35 pm

Chaylizi, do you have Spice and Spirit? There's a recipe in that cookbook for cream puffs, and they also write that you can make it into eclairs. I followed that recipe, and just adjusted the directions a bit to make the eclairs miniature. For the cream, I whip 1 container of rich's whip, and add 1/2 a package of instant vanilla pudding. (The cream they suggest is a lot more complicated.)

↑ chaylizi

Tue, Jun 03 2008, 6:08 pm

greeneyes wrote:

I have the purple one, is that what you meant?

Clarissa

Tue, Jun 03 2008, 7:20 pm

I make these delicious raspberry fudge bars that are very pretty. They're a little bit of work (placing the raspberries in rows and cutting carefully) but people love them. I'll give you a link if you're interested, they're from an old Bon Appetit.

↑ greeneyes ↓

Wed, Jun 04 2008, 8:42 am

chaylizi wrote:

greeneyes wrote:

I have the purple one, is that what you meant?

Yeah, I meant the purple, Spice and Spirit cookbook.

↑ greeneyes ↓

Thu, Jun 05 2008, 11:29 pm

Here you go, amitalmaia...

Yodels

Cake:
4 eggs, separated
5 T. sugar
1 T. vanilla sugar
1 T. cocoa
3 T. flour

Filling:
1 rich's whip
1/2 package instant vanilla pudding

Glaze: (enough for 2 cakes)
1 lb. baking chocolate
2 sticks margarine

Cake:
Separate eggs, beat egg whites with sugar until stiff on high speed. Lower speed & add remaining ingredients slowly. Bake for 13 minutes at 350 degrees on a lined 12 x 15 inch pan. Be sure to grease the pan well.

Dust a dish towel with confectioners sugar and invert cake over it. (Use a lot of confectioners sugar!) Roll up cake and dishtowel, jellyroll fashion, and set aside to cool.

Filling:
Beat the whip on high speed until stiff, adding instant pudding mix.

Glaze:
In a small pot on a low flame, melt magrarine and chocolate until smooth.

To assemble:
Unroll cake and place on a board or other working surface. Trim edges off the cake. Using a ruler, cut cake into 3 strips lengthwise, and 7 strips widthwise.

Place 3/4 t. filling in the center of each square of cake and roll up, placing on cookie sheet, seam side down. Freeze overnight.

When yodels are ready to be dipped, combine ingredients for glaze in a double broiler until melted. Drop each yodel into the glaze. Using a fork, turn yodel until all sides are well coated with chocolate. Transfer yodels onto a cookie sheet or wire rack to dry. Drizzle yodels with white chocolate for a really nice touch.

↑ greeneyes

Thu, Jun 05 2008, 11:30 pm

Clarissa wrote:

I'd love the link, Clarissa!