who needs icing?

I practiced. I read. I prayed. And perfecting the petit four glace practical was not my destiny. What can I say? I'm better without icing. I prefer to keep things simple. Who needs all of that extra sugar anyways? Okay, you're right - it does make pretty much anything more delicious. But my clumsy, messy hands need even more practice than this.

These bites (without fondant icing) are the result of a practice round at home last Thursday. I was left with several ounces of chocolate decorations on a piece of parchment paper and even more chocolate running all over my hand from the top of the paper piping cone that I hadn't managed to fold up quite right. Greg was unprepared for operation chocolate rescue, but immediately insisted on licking both items thoroughly so none would go to waste. Good man.

My Saturday practical didn't turn out quite as I had hoped, but I gave it my best effort and now know what needs to be done for better success in the future. For example, the top layer of almond cake for the petit fours should be placed close to the bottom layer before flipping it on top to avoid the cake breaking in the middle and falling on top in pieces mid-flip. My personal flip out moment number one. Luckily I had some assistance saving that one. Also, when egg washing the tops of eclairs you should not use a fork to indent them with small lines or they will puff up and crack a bit, eventually looking like mini hot dog buns. Sigh. Here are my chocolate covered hot dog buns...with a mighty delicious pastry cream hiding inside.

And the final lesson: yes, chocolate makes anything taste better and can sometimes cover flaws, but the designs drawn on petit four glaces should be very thin and delicate. And the fondant should be thin enough to easily glide over the whole bite and cover every centimeter. Much unlike this.

The saving grace is that everything tasted delicious. And I made orange chocolate chip cookies yesterday to make myself feel better. No icing necessary.