These petit fours are a versatile dessert as they are welcome at everything from baby showers to birthday parties. They are delightful served alongside afternoon tea sandwiches. They have a reputation for being a fussy dessert as they’re so small and delicate, but the cakes are actually quite simple! There’s nothing overly technical here, and my step by step photos and tips make it super easy to create them yourself. Be prepared to impress your guests after whipping up a batch of these lovely petit fours.
For more sweet French treats that you can serve alongside these petit fours, you should try my Madeleines Recipe and Macaron Recipe.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE
Butter – I use unsalted butter, so if you use salted butter, make sure to reduce the amount of added salt in the recipe. Also, make sure your butter is at room temperature to avoid any lumps in the batter and over-mixing it. To tell if your butter is at room temperature, you can press your finger into the butter, and it should leave an impression.
Cream cheese – be sure to have your cream cheese at room temperature as well. The cream cheese helps keep the cake moist and soft while giving the cake a bit of tang. The cream cheese also helps give the cake a bit of heft to them as they’re quite small. Make sure you are buying full-fat bricks of cream cheese and not spreadable cream cheese from a tub; spreadable cream cheese will not give you the same results.
Vanilla – try to use real vanilla extract for the best flavor and avoid artificial vanilla.
Light corn syrup – light corn syrup is colorless, sweet, and has a hint of vanilla flavor, and it gives the white chocolate coating a pretty gloss. Double-check you are not using dark corn syrup, which has a toasty molasses flavor to it. You can substitute it for glucose syrup or omit it if desired.
HOW TO MAKE PETIT FOURS
1. Cream the butter and sugar in your stand mixer until light and fluffy. Then, add the cream cheese and add in one egg at a time before adding in the vanilla.
2. Slowly add the mixed dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt) in three batches alternating with the milk, mixing until almost combined.
3. Pour into a lined 12”x17” baking sheet and smooth into an even layer with an offset spatula. Make sure to tap the pan on the counter a few times to pop any large air bubbles before baking for 25 to 30 minutes.
4. Make the buttercream filling while the cake cools by creaming the butter before adding salt, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and milk. Adjust the amount of milk added based on how thick or thin you’d like your buttercream.
5. Once the cake has cooled, cut the cake into two rectangles and then cut each down the middle with a serrated knife.
6. Open the cake and spread a thin layer of buttercream on one half and a thin layer of raspberry jam on the other half.
7. Sandwich the cake layers together and freeze for about 30 minutes or until firm before cutting the cake into 1.25-1.5 inch cubes.
8. Prepare the white chocolate fondant coating and coat each of the individual cakes with it. You can use a fork to dip the cake in the fondant and then spoon some more overtop to coat the cakes thoroughly.
PRO TIPS FOR MAKING THIS RECIPE
- I make a cutting guide for the cake by marking a piece of paper at 1.25-inch intervals. Use the guide to make little cuts to help you slice perfect, uniform squares.
- You can fill the petit fours with jam, lemon curd, marzipan, or even caramel. Just make sure you use any filling sparingly, as the layers will slide around and weep if overfilled.
- If you don’t want to make a large quantity of petit fours, then wrap and freeze the extra cake. You can make more, or enjoy the cake as is later.
- Freezing the cake really helps get clean cuts; if you are not confident cutting the cake down the middle to make the layers, then freeze the cake first.
- Do not skip transferring the petit fours that you are not currently coating into the freezer. Since the cake can slip and slide around when at room temperature, it’s much easier to coat a petit four when it has just come out of the freezer.
- If you are not using a scale to measure your flour, be sure to fluff your flour with a spoon before spooning it into your cups and leveling it off with a knife. This method is the best way to measure flour without overpacking the cup.
- Make sure your butter, eggs, milk, and cream cheese are at room temperature to ensure everything is mixed and bakes evenly.
- Do not add all of the wet and dry ingredients together at once for the cake batter. When you alternate adding the wet and dry ingredients into the creamed butter, it ensures that the batter can be mixed evenly without accidentally over-mixing.
- When melting the white chocolate in a bowl over a pot of simmering water, you must not allow any water to go inside the bowl. The chocolate will seize and not melt smoothly.
- I used white chocolate bars for melting. White chocolate chips do not melt as smoothly. White chocolate also burns in the microwave so take the extra step and use the double boiler method of melting your chocolate.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What are petit fours?
Petit fours are delicate little cakes that originated in France. Their name translates to “small oven” in English as petit fours were baked with the residual heat of brick ovens used for breadmaking in the past. The bakers would use the lower heat to make pastries, and thus their name was coined.
Can I make this ahead of time?
You can prepare the petit fours ahead of time by wrapping up the cake before or after you layer it and then freezing it until you’re ready to use it. You can freeze this for up to 3 months. Allow the frozen cake to thaw slightly at room temperature before topping it with the white chocolate fondant.
What else can I top them with?
You can change up the white chocolate fondant on your petit fours with some gel food coloring. I would advise against liquid food coloring as the gel doesn’t change any liquid ratios. If you don’t want to top with a buttercream flower, you can always top with some decorative sprinkles.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this Petit Fours recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Petit Fours
Video
Equipment
- Serrated Knife
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (360g)
- 1 ¼ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ½ cups butter room temperature (339g)
- 2 ¼ cups sugar (450g)
- 8 oz cream cheese room temperature (226g)
- 5 large eggs room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla (10mL)
- ½ cup milk room temperature (120mL)
For the Vanilla Buttercream:
- ¾ cup butter room temperature (170g)
- 3 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla
- 3 tbsp milk or cream room temperature (15mL)
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 jar raspberry jam
For the Coating:
- 8 oz white chocolate chopped (226g)
- ¼ cup corn syrup (60mL)
- 3 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar (420g)
- ⅓ cup hot water more if needed (80mL)
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a half baking sheet (12”x17”) with parchment paper. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl, whisk together and set aside.
- Cream the butter in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a large bowl if using an electric hand mixer. Add the sugar and then mix on high until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl down as needed. Add the cream cheese and mix until combined.
- Drop the eggs in one at a time while mixing on medium speed, scrape the bowl down at least once, and then mix in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture in three batches alternating with the milk, mixing until almost combined. Finish batter off with a spatula, folding in any unmixed bits of flour or butter.
- Pour into a lined baking sheet and smooth into an even layer. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to release any larger air bubbles, and bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes or until the center is springy to the touch. Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack, peel paper off, and set aside to cool completely.
For the Buttercream:
- While the cake cools, cream the room temperature butter and salt, then add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla while mixing on low. Scrape the bowl down as needed, then drizzle in the milk or cream a tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached. If you want to decorate the petit fours with buttercream flowers, you may want to add an extra 1/4 cup of butter and a cup of powdered sugar to the frosting recipe.
For the Assembly
- Cut the cake into two rectangles (this helps the pieces be more manageable to cut and handle), then cut each down the middle with a serrated knife. Open the cake and spread a thin layer of the buttercream on one half and a very thin layer of raspberry jam (you can use any jam or lemon curd for the filling) on the other. Sandwich the cake layers together, so you have two-layer cakes with raspberry jam and buttercream in the middle. Place onto a baking sheet, then cover and freeze for about 30 minutes or until firm.
- Cut the edges of the frozen cake, then cut into 1.25-1.5 inch cubes and place them on a wire rack over a baking sheet. Return to the freezer to chill while you make the coating.
For the Coating and Decorating:
- While the petit fours freeze, melt the chopped white chocolate in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water, stirring occasionally. While the chocolate melts, sift the confectioners’ sugar into a large bowl and then add the hot water and corn syrup, folding together with a spatula until combined. Stir in the melted white chocolate until smooth if the consistency of the fondant is a bit thick, you can mix in more hot water a teaspoon at a time.
- Remove the cake cubes from the freezer, place one on a fork then dip the bottom into the fondant. Lift and spoon more fondant over the top until the sides are coated. Tap the fork on the bowl's edge to remove excess fondant, then return to the wire cooling rack (still over a baking sheet) to set. Repeat the process for the remaining cubes. The petit fours will take an hour or two to set.
- Decorate with a drizzle of melted white chocolate, icing, or you can use the remaining buttercream to pipe little roses on top using a small petal tip (102) and leaf tip (349).
Notes
- I make a cutting guide for the cake by marking a piece of paper at 1.25-inch intervals. Use the guide to make little cuts to help you slice perfect, uniform squares.
- You can fill the petit fours with jam, lemon curd, marzipan, or even caramel. Just make sure you use any filling sparingly, as the layers will slide around and weep if overfilled.
- If you don't want to make a large quantity of petit fours, then wrap and freeze the extra cake. You can make more, or enjoy the cake as is later.
- Freezing the cake really helps get clean cuts; if you are not confident cutting the cake down the middle to make the layers, then freeze the cake first.
- Do not skip transferring the petit fours that you are not currently coating into the freezer. Since the cake can slip and slide around when at room temperature, it's much easier to coat a petit four when it has just come out of the freezer.
- If you are not using a scale to measure your flour, be sure to fluff your flour with a spoon before spooning it into your cups and leveling it off with a knife. This method is the best way to measure flour without overpacking the cup.
- Make sure your butter, eggs, milk, and cream cheese are at room temperature to ensure everything is mixed and bakes evenly.
- Do not add all of the wet and dry ingredients together at once for the cake batter. When you alternate adding the wet and dry ingredients into the creamed butter, it ensures that the batter can be mixed evenly without accidentally over-mixing.
- When melting the white chocolate in a bowl over a pot of simmering water, you must not allow any water to go inside the bowl. The chocolate will seize and not melt smoothly.
- I used white chocolate bars for melting. White chocolate chips do not melt as smoothly. White chocolate also burns in the microwave so take the extra step and use the double boiler method of melting your chocolate.
