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Petits Fours
Glacés (Cakes) |
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Recipes |
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Is it spelled petit
four, petit fours or petits fours?
pet·it four
is singular noun; pe·tits fours or
pet·it fours are plural nouns. The term
literally means "small
ovens" in French; centuries ago, little cakes were baked after the
large ones, when the brick ovens had cooled off. |
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 "Petits
fours" (PEH-tee fohr; puh-tee FOOR)
are a wide variety of fancy, miniature baked
goods, such as cakes, pastries, fancy cookies and sometimes marzipan or
small chocolates, served with coffee, tea or a glass of wine.
They are classy looking and
delicious and are often served at special events, such as a
Wedding,
a bridal or baby shower, a special luncheon or just for fun.
There are several
different types:
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Petits fours glacés,
the most commonly known type are
discussed here. They are any of various
tiny iced cakes (usually Pound or Sponge
cake) sandwiched with preserves, ganache, or buttercream. They are then
cut into shapes, such as diamonds, rounds, ovals,
triangles, or hearts, but square is the norm.
Afterwards, each filled cake shape is then glazed or
frosted and decorated individually. A
Poured
Fondant is the traditional glazing, but
Chocolate Ganache Glaze can be used as well as a
poured icing.
When set, delicate or elaborate
decorations
are placed on top!
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Petits fours secs
are delicate cookies often sandwiched with preserves, ganache or praline
paste.
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Petits fours frais
are miniature pastries like fruit tarts, cream puffs or éclairs that are
filled either with pastry cream or buttercream.
They can also be made from marzipan which
colored and shaped to resemble miniature fruits or from a variety of
chocolate truffles. |
DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS OF PETITS FOURS GLACES AND OTHER
TYPES:
There are a
different combinations of cake, fillings,
glazes and decorations you can make for every taste and occasion: try white
cake, strawberry jam, poured fondant, and tinted marzipan. Genoise, amaretto
liqueur, almond filling and a sprinkling of chopped almonds, finished with
almond slices and piped melted chocolate for an elegant luncheon. Pound cake,
maraschino liqueur, cream filling, poured fondant, and small pastille candies
for decoration can be served at the bridal or baby shower. A genoise cake
absorbs liqueurs and flavored syrups well, and so can be imbued with any number
of flavors.
Here are a few examples of the
wide variety that can be made:
 | Traditional Petits
Fours Glace: thin
layers of almond cake with layers of fruit preserves and coated with Chambord
flavored fondant; variety of colors and decorations
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Frangipane:
I use the ultra classical frangipane, an almond paste
confection for my petits fours, filled with
a THIN layer of raspberry jam. In my experience, cakes
with frangipane make the BEST petits fours because they stand up to cutting
into small pieces, which are easier to put them on a rack and ice.
Thin is the key. I bake my frangipani on full
sheet pans, about 1/2" thick, and sandwich them together when cool. Then I
freeze the whole thing, cut them, and hold them in the freezer. Glaze with
either fondant or chocolate glaze. I do this over a glazing rack, which I
place over a large bowl, to catch the drippings, to recycle them for the next
batch I'm about to glaze. This technique is very easy, and virtually
crumb-free. |
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Mini Layered Mousse Tortes:
our layer treat starting
with chocolate cake followed by two layers of rich creamy mousse and topped
with a decorative chocolate garnish. |
| Chocolate Honey Bees:
dark chocolate ganache
enrobes a honey flavored butter cream that sits atop moist chocolate cake.
Each with it's own almond bee garnish. |
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Lemon Meringue Tartlettes:
sugar tart dough filled with a zesty lemon curd and topped with a light
meringue
Chocolate-Dipped Almond Shortbread Hearts:
almond shortbread cookie dipped in either white or dark chocolate with a
candied violet garnish |
| Chocolate Marble
Boxes: nut meringue and
rum bavarian cream are sandwiched between two layers of dark chocolate cake
and wrapped in marbled chocolate, garnished with gold leaf |
| Mini Lemon Raspberry
Roulade: (in season) lemon flavored
sponge roll filled with lemon curd and fresh red raspberries with a white
chocolate ganache |
| Three Sisters:
raspberry, vanilla and chocolate creams sitting atop a Chambord-soaked
dark chocolate cake and enrobed in dark chocolate ganache |
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Heart-Shaped Linzer Cookie:
hazelnut flavored cookie filled with red raspberry preserves and dusted
with confectioner's sugar |
| Fresh Fruit
Tartlettes: sugar tart
dough with a rum bavarian cream filling and topped with seasonal fresh fruits
with a jewel glaze |
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Cream Puff Swans:
cream puff filled with bavarian cream, fresh berries and chantilly cream
with chocolate filigree wings |
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Tuxedo Strawberries:
fresh strawberries in "after five attire" using white and dark chocolates
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| Mini Chocolate Orange
Roulade: chocolate sponge
roll filled with fresh orange segments, orange curd and soaked in Grand
Marnier. It is encased in dark chocolate ganache with candied orange zest
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Miniature Eclairs:
coffee scented cream filling in delicate pate choux topped with a mocha
glaze |
| Almond Citrus
Biscotti: the
zest of lemon, orange and lime along with almonds make up this Italian dipping
cookie. (May be dipped in chocolate) |
| Tiny Raspberry
Cheesecakes:
creamy raspberry- studded cheesecake is baked into individual bite-sized
desserts that are small in size but not in flavor. |
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Assorted
Handmade Truffles:
a selection of decadent truffles
that may include raspberry, Jamaican rum, amaretto, hazelnut and Grand Marnier
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| Pecan Bourbon
Tartlette: a miniature
version of old-fashioned pecan pie, accented with a hint of bourbon.
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HOW TO MAKE
PETITS FOURS GLACES (CAKES):
 Petits
fours glacés, or tiny cakes, are made in a variety of
ways: with a single layer of cake or several layers of cake sandwiched with
marzipan, jam, ganache, pastry cream or other choices before covering with a
glaze.
To make Petits fours
glacés, a dense cake recipe or mix holds up best. A
Genoise,
or Sponge cake,
baked in a sheet pan, are typically used, although a
Pound Cake
(even from a baking mix) will also answer
the purpose, as long is it's sturdy.
Petits fours can be made with any flavor cake, though white
and chocolate are the most common.
The final assembled cake's height should be ideally no thicker
than an inch, including fillings. For example, a recipe may require 3 thin
layers of sponge cake, each about 1/4" thick while others are made from seven
thin layers of delicate cake and crème fillings that are carefully coated and
hand decorated. The cake can be made ahead of time and frozen. Assemble petits
fours at least 4 hours before serving or the day before.
When baking the cake recipe for the petits fours, no special
cake pans are required when baking the larger cake; a 9 inch round or square pan
will work just fine, but the most commonly used pan is a sheet pan. For petits
fours, fill the jelly roll pan with cake batter only enough to cover the bottom
of the pan, about 1/4-inch thick to 1/2-inch thick depending on what you are
making. After baking these sheets can be frozen and then finished later.
 After
making the cake in a sheet pan, I like to freeze it before I make the Petits
fours, even if it's a quick stay overnight -- freezing will tighten the
crumb of the cake, making it easier to cut and frost them. (Keep cake in pan
and cover with plastic wrap, then foil and freeze or cut cake into large
pieces). When I am ready to finish the cake, I remove it from the freezer,
trim and fill the cake, prepare the icing and then cut into shapes. I then
let the filled cake thaw before icing and decorating. (When filling a cake
with jam or a nondairy filling, you can freeze it afterwards. There's no
need to thaw when you take it from the freezer and cut into shapes. However,
you need to let the cut cake pieces thaw before you ice and decorate them).
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When the large cake has cooled completely, before cutting it
into smaller pieces for petits fours, you can fill it. First, cut it in half
horizontally. A serrated knife works well for this; gently saw your way through.
Lay one sheet of cake on the back of a parchment lined flat sheet pan. Brush the
liqueur over the cut sides, and then fill with a thin layer of jelly (about
1/8-inch) heated until warm making it easier to spread. A creamy filling
sprinkled with chopped nuts is also good. Try Buttercream Frosting, Almond
Filling, or Chocolate Meringue Frosting. Repeat with the remaining layer(s).
Flip the entire cake upside down, remove the top sheet pan,
and wrap the entire cake and bottom sheet pan with plastic wrap. Now place a
flat sheet pan on top. Weigh this sheet pan down with a couple of heavy pots.
This procedure assures the layers are firmly sealed together, and will make
cutting into portions easier when done later. Chill the cake for several hours
to overnight before cutting and glazing.
 Q:
Sometimes when I make Petits fours, my Poured Fondant icing will crack on
the sides of the cakes. What causes this to happen?
A: The Poured Fondant
Icing needs to adhere better to the cake and/or you need a firmer or compact
cake recipe. Ice with buttercream or apricot glaze prior to using Poured
Fondant; it should stick better. |
Using a serrated knife, trim of the edges of the cake and cut
the cake into an even rectangle. Cut into individual cake squares or diamonds, 1
1/2 by 2 inches with a sharp, serrated knife or Petits fours cutters. I find
that an electric knife works perfectly. Cookie cutters with simple shapes, such
as rosettes or rounds, as well as petit four cutters can also be used to cut the
cake.
Place the glazing rack (wire cake rack) over a parchment or
waxed paper lined sheetpan. Place a few Petits fours on it about 1-1/2 inches
apart. Using a spoon, piping bag, or fondant funnel, slowly pour the fondant or
glaze over each piece letting the excess drip down the sides of the cake. Using
a small offset spatula, quickly spread the frosting evenly over the sides of the
cakes. Scrape up drippings and re-use. It is important to completely cover the
exposed surfaces with glaze or fondant, or pour icing to prevent drying.
Ideally, you should faintly see the cake layers through the fondant or glaze.
Another way is to use a fork and pick up one of the petits fours.
Hold it over a small bowl of poured
Fondant. Using a teaspoon, quickly pour it over the petit four until fully
covered. Now slide the bottom of the petit four over the side of the bowl to
remove any excess Fondant. Now slide the dipped petit four onto the wire rack.
Alternately, you could also dip your petits fours. Here is a
good demo on the process. This will ensure
that the entire bottom of the small cakes are covered.
DECORATING IDEAS (to be implemented after
icing has set):
There are innumerable ways to decorate a petit four. When the icing
has set, use writing chocolate, piping gel, buttercream, nuts, candied
violets and fruit. NOTE: If using
Poured
Fondant, a poured icing or
glaze, set an edible object, such as walnut, pistachio half or candied
violet once the fondant or glaze forms a crust. This allows the decor to sit
on top of the glaze, not sinking into the glaze. Then, continue to pipe
designs, etc. after the glaze of fondant has set.
| Pipe a flower outline with dark melted chocolate. Fill
in the outline with melted milk chocolate. Pipe a dab of white icing in
the center. |
| Pipe two lines of white icing down the length of the
Petits fours. Decorate with a crystallized violet and a pistachio half. |
| Pipe a flower stem with melted chocolate. Use a
crystallized rose petal for the flower and pistachio halves for leaves. |
| Use a small tinted, molded marzipan flower and strips
of candied citron for leaves. Decorate with piped lines of melted
chocolate. |
| Pipe delicate lines of melted chocolate and decorate
with a quartered candied cherry. Sprinkle with ground pistachios. |
| Use a strip of candied pineapple and pipe a delicate
pattern of melted chocolate. |
| Dip one side of a walnut or pecan half in chocolate.
Dip the chocolate-covered half in ground pistachios. |
| Pipe a delicate lattice pattern of diagonal melted
chocolate lines, using both dark chocolate and milk chocolate. Decorate
with candied coffee bean. |
| Pipe melted chocolate for flower stem and one leaf. Use
a crystallized violet petal for the flower and a pistachio half for the
other leaf. |
| Use a tinted, cut-out marzipan flower. Decorate the
center of the flower with colored sugar. |
| Decorate with clusters of crystallized violet petals. |
| Decorate with a piece of candied orange peel and piped
lines of melted chocolate. |
| Place halved candied cherry in center and surround with
dots of melted chocolate. |
| Place a whole hazelnut in center and sprinkle ground
pistachios around hazelnut. |
| Pipe geometric lines of melted chocolate off-center.
Decorate with candied coffee bean. |
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STORAGE:
In general, store Petits Fours as you would as a filled and frosted cake
(Cake Storage
Guide). Always do a test beforehand to see how your combination
of icing, frosting and decorations holds up, especially if making large amounts
for a special occasion. Yummmm!
Petits Fours can be made
up to 24 hours ahead of time. Let dry completely before storing in an airtight
container. Refrigerate if contains perishable fillings and icings.
You can freeze Petits Fours unless it is covered
in Fondant and/or contains perishable dairy based items such as whipped cream,
custards, etc. (Fondant iced cakes become limp and sticky
on thawing). Keep them in their papers and
place in a plastic square and airtight container suitable for freezing. You can
then just take them out as you need them. They should keep well for about 30
days, but try and use earlier to prevent pastry from
absorbing freezer odors!
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