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200g cold butter, cubed
1/8 liter double cream
3 free range egg yolks
100g fine caster sugar
1 teaspoon of cornflour
1 packet small biscotti
white & milk chocolate buttons and marzipan
red and yellow food colouring
cocoa, raspberries and eggnog to taste
How to make luxurious butter cream
Start by making the basic butter cream, which you can use as it is if you stir in some vanilla essence.
How to give butter cream a chocolate, raspberry and eggnog flavour flavour
- Chocolate butter cream, add a chocolate paste (2 tablespoons of cocoa stirred into 1 tablespoon of milk) to the hot amilk.
- Raspberry butter cream, stir sifted raspberries (or jam) through the butter cream.
- Eggnog butter cream, add storebought eggnog to taste to the butter cream (this contains alcohol in Holland) and stir it quickly in.
Cube the butter, place it back in the fridge. Bring the cream/milk to the boil then remove it from the heat.
Mix egg yolks, sugar and corn starch pale and creamy, the sugar should dissolve, warm the bowl au bain marie.
Pour the warm cream slowly into the bowl while beating until the mixture binds. Sift any lumps out.
Place the bowl in ice water, to cool quickly. Beat in the cold butter cubes 1 by 1 until the cream has cooled.
- Do not place the cream in the refrigerator but keep it in a cool place or it may loose it's smooth texture
- The cream stays smooth and firm when you use it in the petit fours which are placed immediately in the fridge
How to make Easter petit-fours
Having rolled little balls of buttercream place them 10 minutes in the freezer before you continue.
Melt the milk chocolate au bain marie.
Melt white chocolate in the same way
Roll balls of cream in between your hands.
Stick 2 almond halves into each bunny head.
Place the cream balls on ice, it works a lot easier.
Drip melted chocolate on the biscuits.
Press on the balls, allow the chocolate to set.
Divide the white chocolate over two bowls and stir in red and yellow food colours. Dip in the pink and yellow balls, let the chocolate dry.
Dip bunnies without biscotti in the cooled chocolate, let it set.
Stick the bunnies on bicuits, make chocolate eyes and noses.
Punch flowers from marzipan, stick on the pink petit fours.
Roll beaks for the chicks of orange marzipan.
Make chocolate eyes on the chicks.
Your delicious homemade Easter petit fours are ready!
Happy Easter!