Mini Almond Tea Cakes

Sometimes I dream about hosting a tea party, just so I can think of fun finger foods to make!  I love the idea of people gathering in huge hats and drinking tea from tiny glass cups.  The tables would be decorated with flowers and fun cucumber sandwiches as we listened to classical music in a Jane Austen style sitting room…or out in the lawn as our husbands played cricket and discussed politics.  I mean, I’m not set in stone about it, but that’s a general idea of how it would go.

So to prep for my most marvelous and classy tea party that will most likely never happen as I believe it will (sigh!), I decided to make some adorable little tea cakes, using the Babycakes Cupcake Maker that my brother got for me for Christmas last year.

This awesome little machine bakes tiny cupcakes in about 5 minutes…so it’s the perfect way to test my crazy batter recipes!  This time I decided to flavor up a box of yellow cake mix I had in my pantry.  I added some almond extract and, voila!  Adorable almond tea cakes!

Naturally you don’t have to use the Babycakes Cupcake Maker to make these sweet little things…but it does create the cutest little cakes!  I topped each cake with an orange glaze and an orange peel and ate to my heart’s content…and then some.

Almond Tea Cakes

Ingredients:

1 box yellow cake mix and the required ingredients (usually oil, water, and 2-3 eggs)

2 teaspoons almond extract

Zest of one orange

Juice of one orange

5 tablespoons powdered sugar

Directions:

1.  Mix cake mix as directed on the package, adding the extract at the end.  Bake in your oven or in the Babycakes Cupcake Maker as directed on the package.  Let cool completely.

2.  Place powdered sugar in a bowl and add orange juice a teaspoon at a time, until your glaze is runny and pourable.  Either dip your cupcakes in the glaze or pour it over all your cakes and top with a little piece of orange zest.

3.  Devour…or serve eloquently with tea and lemon.

Every Monday is a “Reci-bee” post, where I share my favorite recipes, recipe collections, and cooking and baking hints and tips.