What a I would call a disaster, my family called amazing.

This was my first ever attempt at making petit fours.

 

 

They were quite tasty, I just had no idea how much of a pain in my rear end they would be.

How to assemble a Petit Four:

• Bake the cake.
• Cut into cubes.
• Cut cubes in half.
• Spread jam in between halves.
• Drizzle with icing.

It doesn’t sound too hard, right?!? It wasn’t a disaster until I got to the icing part.

I was expecting to find a way to get the icing just perfect and looking beautiful with no cake showing underneath. Well, it’s harder than it looks. The good thing is that they pleased my customers (my adoring fans: a.k.a. My family). They couldn’t get enough of the little things!!!

 

Lesson: Not everything has to look perfect, as long as it tastes incredible. 🙂

If I made them again here’s what I’d change:

• I’d make my cubes larger (I made 70 cubes…make only 24).
• I wouldn’t even bother cutting them in half and filling them with jam. The jam looks pretty, but is only minor in the grand scheme of things. Think ease. No jam.
• Finally, I wouldn’t freak out about trying to cover them so well. I’d just drizzle enough icing on the petit fours to cover the top, let the icing drain down the sides and leave it at that…even if cake is showing.

 

 

Petit Four Cake

adapted from Land O Lakes

Ingredients

• 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup softened unsalted butter
• 6 egg whites
• 1/2 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
• 1 cup skim milk

How-To

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
2. Grease and flour a 13″x9″ pan and set aside.
3. Combine the flour and baking powder in a large bowl and set aside.
4. With an electric beater, beat the sugar and butter on medium speed until creamy (about 3 minutes).
5. Beat in 1 egg white at a time, beating well after each addition.
6. Add the vanilla and reduced the speed to low.
7. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk, beating well after each addition, just until mixed.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes or until a cake tester (or toothpick) comes out clean.
9. Cool on wire racks for 10 minutes.
10. Loosen the edge of the cake with a knife and carefully remove the cake from the pan, set it on the wire rack and allow it to cool completely.
11. Trim the edges from the cake and cut the cake into 24 (1 1/2 inch square pieces).

Petit Four Pourable Icing

adapted from Wilton

Ingredients

• 6 cups of sifted powdered sugar (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract

How-To

1. Combine the powdered sugar, water and corn syrup in a sauce pan.
2. Heat on low until the sugar mixture gets to 100°F on your candy thermometer. (Don’t let it go over 100°F).
3. Stir in the vanilla extract and any food coloring you’d like.
4. Pour into a measuring cup with a spout.
5. Pour icing over petit fours that are laying on a wire rack with parchment paper underneath to catch the drippings.
6. After you pour all of the icing on the petit fours, scoop up the icing that has dripped off onto the parchment paper.
7. Reheat the remaining icing until it becomes loose and pourable.
8. Repeat the process until your petit fours have been covered or you run out of icing! 🙂