Dear Pinterest,

How could you?

I loved you so much, I cherished every moment we spent together, I was loyal and faithful to you from the moment we met. And you… you stabbed me in the back! Suspending my account?! No reason, no explanation just an automatic message to confirm the ugly truth…

And you don’t answer my emails, blind sending me some template messages instead. Have you even read the crap you send me? Potential spam? Nude content? Not obeying the policy?

DO YOU KNOW ME AT ALL? In case you’ve forgotten, I pin cakes and cookies and pretty food pictures. And I am the most rules respecting person there is.

And my 31 followers have you thought about them at all? Do you know how hard it is to find 31 people who share the same esthetic sense as you in today’s chaotic world? Maybe 31 is nothing to you, but they mean the world to me. How could you be so harsh and senseless? You broke my heart.

If you ever change your mind, you know where to find me. I hope someday will be friends again. Till then, I made these Strawberry and Chocolate Petit Fours, which you will never see. They are magical and you can only blame yourself.

Updated: We are friends again!

 

 

Strawberry Chocolate Petit Fours

/makes ~12 petit fours/

 

Chocolate Sponge Cake

/Adapted from The Professional Pastry Chef: Fundamentals of Baking and Pastry/

• 25 gr. (1 tablespoon +2 teaspoons) butter
• 3 eggs
• 80 grams  (¼ cup + 2 tablespoons) sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 45 gr. (1/3 cup) all purpose flour
• 25 gr. (1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons) cornstarch
• 15 gr. (2 tablespoons) cocoa powder

 

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (370°F), butter and flour a 24 cm (9 inches) pan.
2. Melt the butter in  the microwave and leave aside to cool.
3. Beat the eggs with the sugar and the salt with a mixer on high speed, until pale and thick, when you pick the beaters the batter should fall in a thick ribbon, around 5 minutes.
4. Sift together the flour, cornstarch and cocoa powder.
5. Gently fold the flour mixture into the eggs until fully incorporated.
6. Fold the melted butter into the batter.
7. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 15 minutes until the cake starts to pull away from the pan, and springs back when pressed in the center.
8. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

 

 

Strawberry Puree

• 500 gr. (~ 1 pound) strawberries
• 30 gr. (2 tablespoons) sugar

 

1. Place the strawberries in a large bowl and sprinkle with sugar. Let macerate at room temperature for an hour.
2. Use an immersion blender or a food processor to puree the strawberries until smooth.
3. Pass the puree through a fine sieve and place over medium high heat.
4. Let the puree boil, turn down the heat and let simmer for approximately 15 minutes, until it’s reduced to approximately 1 cup.
5. Divide the puree in two equal parts, ½ cup each and let cool.

 

Strawberry Buttercream

• 3 large egg whites
• Pinch of salt
• 130 gr. (1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons) sugar
• 200 gr. (1 scant cup) butter, cubed and at room temperature
• ½ cup strawberry puree

 

1. Mix the egg whites, sugar and salt in a large bowl and place it over a pot of gently simmering water, without letting the bottom of the bowl touch the water.
2. Whisk constantly until the sugar is fully dissolved, approximately 5 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat and beat with a mixer until stiff peaks form and the meringue cools down.
4. Start adding the butter while beating on medium speed, adding a few cubes at a time. Beat until the butter is fully incorporated.
5. Add the puree in 3 additions while beating on low speed. Beat until incorporated.

 

 

Chocolate Ganache

 

• 200 gr. (7 oz.) dark chocolate
• 200 ml. (7 oz.) heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon honey

 

1. Chop the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl.
2. Place the heavy cream and honey in a heavy-bottom saucepan and heat until it reaches the scalding point. Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate.
3. Let sit for a minute and whisk using a wire whisk until smooth and glossy.

 

 

Assembly

 

1. Divide the cake in two equal parts horizontally. Using a 5 cm. (2 inches) round cookie cutter, cut each half into 12 small rounds.
2. Brush the inner part of each of the 24 round pieces with the reserved raspberry puree.
3. Spread a thick layer of buttercream over the puree on 12 of the pieces. Place another cake piece over the buttercream with the strawberry side down, thus forming the 12 petit fours.
4. Place in the refrigerator for 1 hour, so the petit fours can set.
5. Place them on a wire rack and pour the ganache over each one. Let the ganache set at room temperature and then cool in the refrigerator for 1 hour.