DELIGHTFUL PETIT FOURS

PREP + COOK TIME 1 HOUR 30 MINUTES (+ COOLING, REFRIGERATION & STANDING) MAKES 15-20

4 eggs

¾ cup (165g) caster sugar

2/3 cup (100g) plain flour

1/3 cup (50g) cornflour

½ teaspoon baking powder

¾ cup (240g) apricot jam

2 tablespoons hazelnut-flavoured liqueur

100g marzipan

500g ready-made white icing, chopped coarsely

1 egg white pink and green food colouring

½ cup (75g) white chocolate Melts

1 Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan. Grease a 23cm x 33cm swiss roll pan; line base and all sides with two layers of baking paper, extending the paper 5cm over sides.

2 Beat eggs in a small bowl with an electric mixer for 8 minutes or until pale and thick. Gradually add sugar; beat until sugar dissolves. Fold in sifted dry ingredients. Pour mixture into pan. Bake cake for 15 minutes. Stand cake in pan for 5 minutes before turning, top-side up, onto a wire rack covered with baking paper to cool; remove lining paper. Trim all edges of cake.

3 Heat jam and liqueur in a small saucepan until melted; strain into a small bowl.

4 Cut cake in half crossways, then split each half horizontally. Place one of the top cake layers, top-side down, onto a tray; brush cut surface evenly with a quarter of the jam mixture. Continue layering with cake, and brushing with jam mixture, until all four cake pieces are used, finishing by brushing top with jam mixture. (When layering, use one of the cake bases, bottom-side up, as the top of the cake for a smooth top.)

5 Roll marzipan between sheets of baking paper until large enough to cover top of cake. Place on top of cake; invert onto a tray covered in baking paper. Wrap sides of cake in plastic wrap. Top cake with baking paper; place another tray on paper. Weight with a brick or other heavy object; refrigerate overnight.

6 Remove brick, tray and top piece of paper; invert cake onto a board, so marzipan is on top. Cut cake in half crossways. Cut one half into 3cm squares. Use a deep 3cm round cutter to cut other cake half into 3cm rounds. 7 Place the ready-made icing in a medium heatproof bowl over a medium saucepan of simmering water; stir until smooth. Stir in egg white and a little water, if needed, until the icing is the consistency of pouring cream. Working quickly, pour a third of the icing into a small bowl; tint with pink colouring. Pour half the remaining icing into another small bowl; tint with green colouring. Leave remaining icing white. Cover icings with plastic so they don’t dry out.

8 Separate cakes into three lots; place one lot of cakes on a wire rack over a tray. Quickly pour pink icing over these cakes; spread icing around sides as each cake is iced. Return excess icing from the tray to a heatproof bowl; reheat over simmering water, then pour over cakes until completely covered.

9 Repeat with remaining cakes and green and white icings. Stand the cakes at room temperature until set. 10 Gently melt chocolate; cool slightly (it must still be melted, but not hot, or it will melt the icing). Spoon chocolate into a piping bag fitted with a small plain tube; decorate petit fours with chocolate. Stand until set.