Icing-Coated Mini Square Cakes

Icing Coated Mini Square Cakes

Directions for Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and line a 9x13 cake pan with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, mix together your flour, baking powder, and salt.
With the paddle attachment in your stand mixer, beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy, then add the almond extract and eggs, one at a time. Once all are added, beat on high for five minutes.
On low speed, add the flour mixture, beating just until smooth. Pour into your 9x13-inch pan and spread until the top is smooth.
Bake for 35-40 minutes until a knife inserted comes out clean and the top is lightly golden brown and crackled.
Directions for Filling:
While the cake is cooking, let’s make the cherry filling!
First, steam your water and make an 8-ounce cup of Champs Élysées herbal tea (or Garden Grove green tea).
Take 1/4 cup of the tea and the rest of the cherry filling ingredients and place in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat on the stove.
Cook for 5-8 minutes, stirring consistently until the cherries get soft.
Remove the sauce from the heat and put them in a blender and puree. Return to your saucepan and cook for another 5-8 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened and reduced. Make sure to stir constantly.
Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Once your cake has cooled, cover it in tin foil or saran wrap and place it in the freezer for at least one hour.
When it is time to remove it from the freezer, carefully remove your cake from the pan by ensuring the sides are free and not sticking by running a knife along the edges, then carefully lift it out using the parchment paper.
Cut out the inside of your cake, leaving about 1” off of each side all the way around. Discard the outer edges (or eat them up—yum!).
Carefully cut this large piece into six rows along the longer length.
Using a serrated knife, carefully cut off just the thin top crust of the cake and place it into a bowl and set it aside (this will be used to make your filling, later).
Continue with this until all rows of cake are complete, then cut each row into 5 mini squares, leaving you with a total of 30 mini cakes. Cut each mini cake in half, keeping the halves stacked for now.
*Tip: I found it easiest to cup my mini cakes in half once all were cut to size.
In a small bowl, crumble up your cake tops into fine pieces and measure out 1/2 cup. Mix 1/2 cup of the cake crumble and 1/2 cup of cherry filling and mix well.
Remove each top half of the mini cake and spoon a small amount of the filling on and flip the top cake half over (so the middle now becomes the top) and place it back on. Do this for each mini cake.
Directions for Icing:
To make the icing, start by rewarming your tea (from the filling), then place all ingredients into your stand mixer. Mix until thoroughly combined, on medium speed with your whisk attachment. Add food coloring if you’d like.
Let the icing cool for about 10 minutes before frosting your mini cakes.
Transfer the icing to a measuring cup or a small container that you can easily pour from. Arrange your mini cakes on a cookie rack and place parchment paper (or wax paper) beneath. Pour your filling over slowly to coat all sides.
Feel free to decorate with sprinkles or other edible fine art.
Enjoy these delectable desserts!