– Candy thermometer – Food processor – Small-grid wire rack – like this one – parchment paper – Pastry brush – Decorative cupcake papers for display – Ready-made rolled fondant *optional – Jumbo nonpareils *optional – Daisy fondant cutter *optional – Pearlized luster dust and soft paintbrush *optional

Cakes – 4 eggs – 1/2 cup sugar – 1 cup all purpose flour – 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract – 1/2 cup seedless black raspberry jam – 8 oz. marzipan canned almond paste will do in a pinch – Confectioners’ sugar for dusting – Shortening for greasing pan

Poured fondant – 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar – 1/2 cup water – 1/4 cup corn syrup – Liquid food coloring – Clear vanilla extract or other clear extract such as almond, orange, or lemon

Cakes – Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. – Grease an 11 x 17″ pan with shortening and line with parchment paper – Using an electric hand mixer, beat eggs and sugar together at medium speed in a heat-proof bowl until thoroughly blended. – Place bowl over a simmering saucepan of water and continue to beat with the hand mixer on high speed until the mixture is thick and pale.

– Remove bowl from the saucepan and add vanilla. Continue to beat with the hand mixer until mixture is cool and leaves a thick trail of batter on the surface when the beaters are lifted out. – Sift flour over the 4 egg mixture and fold together with a rubber spatula until smooth. – Pour batter into prepared jelly roll pan and spread evenly with an off-set spatula. Bake until cake springs back when pressed in the center, 7-10 minutes. 

Check at 7 minutes, this cake is thin and can burn easily. – When cake is done, let rest in the pan for a few minutes before removing. – Remove cake and cut into four even rectangles. – Place raspberry jam in microwave for 20 seconds to loosen, then brush the tops of the cake rectangles with the jam and stack them, one on top of the other, jam side up. You may not have to use the entire 1/2 cup of jam.

– Lightly dust a work surface with confectioners’ sugar. Roll marzipan into one large flat piece, about 1/4″ thick, then place on top of cake. Trim marzipan evenly around the top of the cake using a small plain edge knife. – Cut the marzipan-topped cake into 12-15 squares. Some people like to freeze the whole cake before slicing so the pieces cut evenly. I do not prefer this, but if you use this method, be sure to bring your cakes to room temperature before dipping them 

in the fondant. If you dip frozen cakes, it will quickly lower the temperature of the fondant and cause it to harden – worst case you’ll end up with a bowl of chunky fondant and at the very least it will ruin the evenness of the fondant coating. – Set cakes aside and make the fondant.

Fondant – Combine the sugar, water and corn syrup in a medium saucepan. Stir well. – Place candy thermometer into the mixture and place over medium-high heat. – Let the mixture bubble until it reaches 238 degrees. This is soft-ball candy stage. – When temperature is reached, remove from heat and transfer the hot liquid to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Do not process yet!

– Clean the candy thermometer and insert into the hot syrup. Let cool to 150 degrees, 35-40 minutes. – Have a large bowl ready in which to pour the fondant. Also have ready a wire rack with a large jelly roll pan placed under it to catch the excess fondant that falls off of the cakes. – When thermometer reads 150 degrees, add food coloring and flavoring, then process for 2-3 minutes until mixture has turned from a clear liquid to opaque.

– Immediately pour fondant into a bowl for dipping. – Hold a cake square with your forefinger on top -the marzipan side – and your thumb on the bottom. Dip each side in the fondant and place marzipan-side-up on a wire rack. Spoon fondant over the top of the cake and allow the excess fondant to drip off. – Give the fondant one quick stir, then repeat the process with another cake. Try to dip and spoon as quickly as possible. This fondant sets up quickly, so 

half-way through you may need to heat it in the microwave to loosen it up. – Let fondant covered cakes stand until completely dry. The bottoms of the cakes will be glued to the wire rack with fondant, so you will need a sharp knife to cut around the bottoms to remove them. The bottoms of these cakes are rarely perfect, but no one will know when you place them in pretty cupcake papers.

– If desired, use a daisy fondant cutter to make decorative fondant embellishments for the petit fours. Press a jumbo nonpareil in the center of the daisy cut-outs. Apply a dot of corn syrup or piping gel to the top of each petit four and place fondant flower on top. Brush with luster dust or edible glitter if desired.