Perfect Petit Fours Recipe (with Tutorial)
Today (finally), I’m going to share my Perfect Petit Fours Recipe. These bite-size cakes are perfect for weddings, showers, or parties of any kind! Buttery cake with raspberry filling, cream cheese frosting and a hint of almond in the white chocolate icing makes them packed with delicious flavors!
Originally posted April 2015, updated December 2023
These vanilla petit fours don’t always look perfect… but the taste and texture… yep. Perfect!
I mentioned to a client they weren’t perfect and she said, “If they looked perfect, I wouldn’t believe they were homemade!”
Good point. Mine aren’t perfect, but once you bite into one, you won’t care!
So, I kept making them… over and over again… to be sure it wasn’t a fluke and now I can say with confidence, I’m in love with this recipe & method for making them!
They’re delicious. One of my clients declared them “the best cake she’d ever had in her life!”
I won’t say they’re super easy… you do have to work for them! But I can say without hesitation they’re worth every minute of work! And if you want to make them for Christmas, keep reading and see a pic down below! Or for Valentine’s Day – be sure to check out my post here on Heart Shaped Petit Fours!
Perfect Petit Fours Recipe
Okay… so here we go. First, you’re going to make up the recipe below for a simple butter cake. This is a scratch recipe (which y’all know is rare for me) but it’s soooo worth it! It’s also actually a pound cake recipe – courtesy of my friend Angela.
She gave it to me to make her daughter’s wedding cake and told me (in passing) that it was good for petit fours. I’ll be forever grateful for that tidbit!!
To keep this petit fours recipe easy, let’s start with the ingredients for the cake batter. They’re all very basic, which make it even more impressive how good this cake is!
Vanilla Petit Fours Ingredients:
- Sugar
- Butter – I prefer salted, but unsalted works as well. The tiny salt difference will not affect the recipe. The butter should be softened to room temperature.
- Shortening – Crisco is the only brand I use. I have a full post on shortening here if it’s not an ingredient you use often.
- Vanilla extract – I’m partial to homemade vanilla extract, but store-bought works just as well!
- Eggs – large eggs at room temperature
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Evaporated milk – be careful here to not use condensed milk. And please don’t use any substitutions. I’m not sure why, but evaporated milk is almost a secret ingredient here.
- Sour cream – use full-fat sour cream here and no substitutions
- Raspberry Filling (optional, and variations below) – if you want to use the homemade filing (which is far superior, I highly recommend making it a day or two beforehand).
- Cream Cheese Frosting
- Petit Four Icing
What’s the best filling for petit fours?
Because the cake, cream cheese frosting, and petit four icing are all sweet and rich, I love to contrast the filling with something tart. But really, the sky is the limit. Here are my favorite petit four fillings (and some other options):
- Raspberry Filling – this is one of my top two popular fillings. You could also use strawberry filling if you like but the raspberry is a perfect complement to the almond and white chocolate. You will likely want to make this ahead of time!
- Lemon Curd – this is my other most popular filling. I also have a microwave version here or you can buy it pre-made at your local grocery store.
- Fruit Jams – instead of making your own filling, you can use any store-bought jam that you love as filling!
- Marzipan (almond paste) – this is another classic and traditional filling for petit fours. I much prefer the fruit filling, but if you love almond flavor, you will love petit fours filled with marzipan.
- Caramel – I haven’t ever tried this, but I imagine it would be amazing! I’d probably skip the almond flavoring in the icing and use vanilla instead!
Equipment and Tools Needed for Petit Fours
- Half Sheet Pan (bonus points if you have a lid for it!)
- Parchment Paper or Silicone Mats
- Mixing Bowls
- Hand Mixer
- Flexible Cutting Boards
- Cake leveler or Agbay or large serrated knife
- Ruler
- Skewers (optional) for dipping
- Cooling rack or wire rack
Petit Fours Recipe
This is the recipe for the butter cake that is the STAR of these petit fours. I have recipes for the filling, frosting, and icing below.
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Prep a 13″x18″ half-sheet pan. These Nordic Pans are my favorite… I have about a dozen of them! I line the pan with parchment paper, then spray down the edges with non-stick baking spray.
- In a large bowl, cream together the sugar, butter and shortening until smooth then beat in vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, until fluffy.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt). To save some time, you can also whisk it all together.
- Add this flour mixture and the evaporated milk to the original mixture alternately. With an electric mixer, beat for 2 minutes on medium speed, then fold in the sour cream.
- Pour the batter onto a prepared pan and spread it out evenly. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (check at 25 minutes!).
- See the instructions above for assembling the cake and icing the petit fours.
How to Make Petit Fours
- Flip the cooled cake out onto a work surface on another piece of parchment paper.
- Torte the cake into two thin layers. Y’all… torting (or splitting cake layers) is pretty new for me, but you really should for petit fours. You get to add in a little extra special bit of flavor and it makes them pretty too!
Note: Torting is easily done with my Agbay, (which I LOOOVE) but you can also use a less expensive cake leveler such as this extra-wide cake leveler. As a last resort, you can also torte the cake free-hand using a long serrated bread knife – just be careful because this cake is thin and it would be easy to mess it up!
- With the cake bottom-up on parchment paper, lift the top layer onto another sheet of parchment paper. I’ve found the easiest way to do this is to slide a flexible cutting board into the cut, then simply lift it off.
- If you’re using a filling, such as raspberry or lemon curd, spread a thin layer onto the cut side of the cake.
- Then spread a thin layer of frosting. I use both filling and frosting, but you could use frosting only if you don’t want to use a fruit filling.
Note: for the filling – today I’m using raspberry. You could make your own raspberry filling or use raspberry jam. I have my Raspberry Filling recipe here and it’s perfect and so easy! My only tip would be to make it ahead of time! For other ideas, check out the list below.
- Using the flexible cutting board again, place the top layer of cake over the filling and/or frosting layer, lining up the edges.
- Finally, the last step before freezing the cake is to put another layer of frosting on top. I use this as an opportunity to level out any low spots and make a really smooth, clean surface for the poured frosting!
This layer of frosting can be as thin or thick as you like, so long as it’s level and smooth. Why? Because the poured icing on top will only be as smooth as the surface it’s poured over!
- Once you have that top layer of frosting smooth, cut off the edges so you’ll have really nice squares. Plus, you get to eat the edges and I have to tell you – they’re much fought over in this house!!
- Freeze the cake. I lift it (with the parchment underneath), put it back on the sheet pan I baked it on, put a lid on (love these with lids!!), and then I put it in the freezer for around an hour.
Petit Four Icing Recipe
To keep this post from being miles long, I’m not going to share the full step-by-step icing recipe here. I do have it in the recipe card below or you can read a full post about it here: Petit Four Icing.
How to Make Petit Four Icing and Set up
I have a dedicated post to my Petit Fours Icing recipe here, but I’m also going through it on this post.
- Make the icing. While the petit fours are freezing, I work on the set-up and the icing. I use this Petit Four Icing recipe (be sure to start prepping it before you take the cakes out of the freezer).
Here’s my icing setup… a make-shift double boiler:
- Line a baking sheet with parchment, wax paper, or a silicone mat, and lay a cooling rack over it.
I like to use cooling racks larger than the sheets so there’s good space between the cooling rack and the surface beneath.
- When the cake comes out of the freezer, use a sharp knife to cut it into squares (1-1.25 inches square). Sometimes I just eyeball it, sometimes I use my sewing ruler and/or a straight edge to get them perfect. I’ve also found the smallest biscuit cutter in this set works great! Do whatever makes you happy!
- Place them on a cooling rack.
- Working quickly (they’re easier to keep pretty and square when they’re cold), I move a small batch of them to the prepped cooling rack and immediately start covering with icing.
- TIP: Freeze the remaining cake while you work and only take out as much as you can dip before it begins to thaw (I usually do 10-12 at a time on small baking sheets).
How to Ice Petit Fours (2 ways)
Icing Method #1: skewer each frozen square in the side and dip the cake in the melted icing.
Place the dipped petit four on your prepared cooling rack and twist the skewer while pulling it out of the cake. Let it sit until the icing is set.
Video
Below is a short (informal) video of us skewering from the bottom. Now we do it from the side as seen above, but you’ll get the idea!
NOTE: If you’re using an adblocker, you must turn it OFF to see this video!!
Icing Method #2: ladle the icing over the frozen cakes while they’re sitting on the cooling rack. I first ladle the icing around the sides and then into the middle. You must work quickly because it will set up fast.
- Whichever method you choose, when you place the dipped or coated petit fours on a cooling rack, the excess runs off and onto the paper or silicone mat below. It can be reused if it doesn’t have a bunch of cake crumbs in it. Let it firm up and you can peel it off and put it back into your bowl to re-melt! No waste… which I love!!
- If you’re adding sprinkles or any decorations that need to stick, add them before the icing sets (which is quick because the cake is cold).
- Otherwise, let them set then decorate.
After the petit fours are iced, let them firm up for a few minutes – the icing sets fast because they’re cold – and then you can move them to a platter or individual candy cups (my favorite way to present them).
Pro-Tips for Perfect Petit Fours
- If you don’t have an Agbay and/or flexible cutting board to torte your cake into layers, you can make this job less stressful by cutting the cake into fourths before you start working. Then use a serrated knife to torte the smaller cake squares. It’ll be much easier to handle in small portions when removing the top layer to fill with fruit and frosting.
- Do not skip the freezing step! Dipping the small cake squares is exponentially easier with frozen cake.
- In that same vein, dip or coat the cubed cake in small batches and keep the other cake in the freezer while you work.
- Spread any fruit filling that you choose very thin. If it’s thick, it will cause the cake to slide around and be more difficult to handle.
- Use almond bark (my preference) or white chocolate bars for the poured icing recipe. White chocolate chips are very difficult to melt and get smooth.
- As with almost all baking recipes, it’s best to have your ingredients (eggs, butter, cream cheese, etc.) at room temperature.
- Follow the detailed instructions or alternating the wet and dry ingredients when mixing.
- For perfectly square and uniform petit fours, use a biscuit cutter to cut your squares. I recommend the smallest one in this set.
- If you don’t need several dozen petit fours, you can use a portion of the sheet and freeze the remaining cake (before or after filling). If it’s wrapped up tight and/or covered well, it will keep in the freezer for 3-4 weeks!
- If you want to use homemade raspberry filling or lemon curd, I highly recommend making it ahead of time (hours or days ahead). Otherwise, a store bought alternative might be best!
How to Decorate Petit Fours
Brush of color – My favorite way to decorate petit fours is a brush of gold or color across one side. For the petit fours in this post, we did a brush of hot pink. Beneath that picture, you can see others where we used a brush of gold. I always use Sweet Sticks Edible Paints for this.
Fondant decorations – I used a tiny bow mold to make the burgundy bows on the petit fours below. They were for a dessert display at a wedding.
Flowers: You can also add fondant, buttercream, or royal icing decorations to petit fours. Examples are the bows above and the flowers (buttercream and fondant) below.
Initials or monograms are great decorations for petit fours for baby showers, bridal showers, or weddings.
Drizzle of white or colored icing or chocolate is simple and fits most any decor. I recommend gel food color if you want to change the icing color.
Candy or sprinkles can be added to petit fours to make them fun! You should do this before the icing sets!
Wafer Paper – I used wafer paper butterflies on the petit fours below and they were so lovely!
Stamps: One last idea is to use a stamp. I made custom chocolate medallions stamped with the couples initials for their more formal wedding.
Serving Recommendations
- Petit fours are best served at room temperature.
- I always serve petit fours in candy cups. These are slightly smaller than cupcake liners but cupcake liners will work in a pinch!
- Petit fours are so versatile – you can serve them as a stand-alone dessert or as one dessert of many on a dessert bar. They’re perfect for weddings, birthdays, baby and bridal showers, or even family gatherings and holidays.
Christmas Petit Fours
Here’s a bonus nugget for you! If you’re a fellow home baker like I am, Christmas petit fours are one of my top sellers! This past year we adapted the recipe to a Christmas Petit Fours recipe!
We baked two sheets, one red, and one green, then mix-matched the top and bottom layers to make them red and green on the inside. To finish them off, we added a brush of gold on the outside and they were perfection! Here’s a quick (slightly blurry) photo we snapped:
How many petit fours are in one batch?
NOTE: This recipe will yield ~84 petit fours at the size listed above (1.25-inch squares). However this will vary if you cut smaller or larger petit fours or you free-hand them. My daughter cuts them slightly larger and gets around 60-70 petit fours per batch. If you cut smaller 1-inch squares and don’t trim too much off the edges, you can get as many as 130 petit fours from one batch.
How to Store Petit Fours
Petit fours are one of those desserts that can be made ahead of time and kept for days, weeks, or months at a time as long as you can refrigerate and/or freeze them.
- Petit fours are okay at room temperature for a few hours.
- To keep them overnight or longer, they need to be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated for up to a week.
- Petit fours are best eaten at room temperature, so set them out for at least 30 minutes before serving (from the fridge). If frozen, thaw them in the fridge overnight, then set them out for about an hour before serving.
Recipe FAQ
Petit fours are small bite-sized cakes. The word petit four in French actually translates to “small oven.” In France, bakers would bake their breads first, and then as the ovens cooled, they would bake smaller pastries. The lower temperature was called baking “a petit four” and thus, the cakes were named!
What I’m sharing today are technically petit fours glacé which means they are glazed with icing or poured fondant. Bottom line – small cakes with a glaze icing.
Yes! There are two ways. First, you can go all the way through the steps of baking, filling, and frosting the cake, then wrap it whole and freeze it for up to 2 months. Then thaw it overnight in a fridge before cutting, dipping and decorating.
Alternatively, you can go ahead and cut and dip the petit fours, then freeze them in a freezer-save container. I would hold off on decorating until just before serving.
Yes, finished petit fours can be frozen for up to 2 months if stored in a freezer-safe container. I’ve also frozen the cake in various stages: before torting and filling AND after torting and filling. I keep the cake in the sheet pan that I bake it in and wrap it in several layers of plastic wrap before freezing. Then I cut and dip them straight from the freezer – it works perfectly!
More dessert ideas…
Perfect Petit Fours Recipe (with Tutorial)
- Total Time: 3 hours 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 dozen 1x
Description
These vanilla petit fours are the perfect bize-sized cake for weddings, showers, or parties of any kind! Buttery cake with raspberry filling, cream cheese frosting and a hint of almond in the white chocolate icing makes them packed with delicious flavors!
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 2 3/4 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup salted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup shortening
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 5 eggs
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup evaporated milk
- 1/4 cup sour cream
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 1/2 cup salted butter (1 stick), at room temperature
- 1/4 cup Crisco* shortening (just under 2 oz. on a kitchen scale)
- 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1.5 pounds powdered sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 tablespoons milk (add to get the consistency to pipe or spread)
For the filling:
For the icing:
- 6 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup (or 6 ounces) of chopped white chocolate or almond bark
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Prep a 13″x18″ half-sheet pan by lining the pan with parchment paper, then spray down the edges with non-stick baking spray. These Nordic Pans are my favorite!
- In a large bowl, cream together the sugar, butter, and shortening until smooth then beat in vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, until fluffy.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt). To save some time, you can also whisk it all together.
- Add this flour mixture and the evaporated milk to the original mixture alternately. With an electric mixer, beat for 2 minutes on medium speed, then fold in the sour cream.
- Pour the batter onto a prepared pan and spread it out evenly. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (check at 25 minutes!).
- Flip the cake out onto a cooling rack and allow it to cool, then follow the instructions below for filling and frosting.
For the cream cheese frosting:
- First, cream the butter and Crisco in a mixing bowl. Mix on low speed for a couple of minutes until smooth and creamy. Add in the vanilla and cream cheese and mix again until very smooth.
- Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar until it’s all combined. It will be very stiff! Then begin adding milk until you reach the desired consistency for decorating (2 tablespoons works well for me!)
Filling and frosting the petit fours:
- Flip the cooled cake out onto a work surface on another piece of parchment paper.
- Torte the cake into two thin layers. This is a fancy way of saying split the cake into two layers with a cake leveling tool or sharp serrated knife.
- With the cake bottom-up on parchment paper, lift the top layer onto another sheet of parchment paper. I’ve found the easiest way to do this is by sliding a flexible cutting board into the cut, then simply lifting it off.
- If you’re using a filling, such as raspberry or lemon curd, spread a thin layer onto the cut side of the cake.
- Then spread a thin layer of frosting. I use both filling and frosting, but you could use frosting only if you don’t want to use a fruit filling.
- Using the flexible cutting board again, place the top layer of cake over the filling and/or frosting layer, lining up the edges.
- Finally, the last step before freezing the cake is to put another layer of frosting on top. I use this as an opportunity to level out any low spots and make a really smooth, clean surface for the poured frosting! This layer of frosting can be as thin or thick as you like, so long as it’s level and smooth. Why? Because the poured icing on top will only be as smooth as the surface it’s poured over!
- Once you have that top layer of frosting smooth, cut off the edges so you’ll have really nice squares. Plus, you get to eat the edges and I have to tell you – they’re much fought over in this house!
- Freeze the cake. I lift it (with the parchment underneath), put it back on the sheet pan I baked it on, put a lid on (love these with lids!!), and then I put it in the freezer for around 30 minutes to an hour.
For the petit four icing:
- While the cake is freezing, bring a pot of water to boil, then place a larger glass bowl over it. You’ll do all of this recipe in the glass bowl!! This is my “double-boiler”.
- In the glass bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, water, corn syrup and extracts.
- Continue whisking or stirring until the mixture becomes smooth and consistent. It should be thin enough to drizzle from a spoon, but not so thin that it all runs off the cake! You can also check the temperature and when it reaches 92° F, it’s good.
- When it’s ready, add in the chopped white chocolate and stir until melted. I like to turn down the heat but keep my water steaming underneath as I work to keep the icing from setting up!
Icing the petit fours:
- When the cake comes out of the freezer, use a sharp knife to cut it into squares (1-1.25 inches square). Sometimes I just eyeball it, sometimes I use my sewing ruler and/or a straight edge to get them perfect. I’ve also found the smallest biscuit cutter in this set works great! Do whatever makes you happy!
- Place them on a cooling rack.
- Working quickly (they’re easier to keep pretty and square when they’re cold), move a small batch of them to the prepped cooling rack and immediately start ladling the icing over the cakes, or use a skewer to dip them.
- Freeze the remaining cake while you work and only take out as much as you can dip before it begins to thaw (I usually do 10-12 at a time).
- I like to use cooling racks larger than the sheet pan, so there’s good space between the cooling rack and the paper beneath.
- Whichever method you choose, when you place the dipped or coated petit fours on a cooling rack, the excess runs off and onto the paper or silicone mat below and can be re-used. Let it firm up and you can peel it off and put it back into your bowl to re-melt! No waste… which I love!!
- If you’re adding sprinkles or any decorations that need to stick, add them before the icing sets (which is quick because the cake is cold).
- Otherwise, let them set then decorate.
And finally… ENJOY!
Notes
- If you don’t have an Agbay and/or flexible cutting board to torte your cake into layers, you can make this job less stressful by cutting the cake into fourths before you start working. Then use a serrated knife to torte the smaller cake squares. It’ll be much easier to handle in small portions when removing the top layer to fill with fruit and frosting.
- Do not skip the freezing step! Dipping the small cake squares is exponentially easier with frozen cake.
- In that same vein, dip or coat the cubed cake in small batches and keep the other cake in the freezer while you work.
- Spread any fruit filling that you choose very thin. If it’s thick, it will cause the cake to slide around and be more difficult to handle.
- Use almond bark (my preference) or white chocolate bars for the poured icing recipe. White chocolate chips are very difficult to melt and get smooth.
- As with almost all baking recipes, it’s best to have your ingredients (eggs, butter, cream cheese, etc.) at room temperature.
- Follow the detailed instructions or alternating the wet and dry ingredients when mixing.
- For perfectly square and uniform petit fours, use a biscuit cutter to cut your squares. I recommend the smallest one in this set.
- If you don’t need several dozen petit fours, you can use a portion of the sheet and freeze the remaining cake (before or after filling). If it’s wrapped up tight and/or covered well, it will keep in the freezer for 3-4 weeks!
- If you want to use a homemade raspberry filling or lemon curd, I highly recommend making it ahead of time (hours or days ahead). Otherwise, a store-bought alternative might be best!
- Prep Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
My goodness!! I could eat every one of those beautiful little slices of heaven! Thank you so much for the tutorial. You make it look so easy. I don’t have a half-sheet pan – can I use a smaller size jelly-roll pan?
Thanks again!!
Yes – you could bake in a smaller sheet pan but you may have leftover batter. This recipe perfectly fills a 13×18 pan!
I have a 12×18 pan…should there be much of a difference in the results? Also, if I were to try this recipe in a smaller pan, would it bake okay? I was thinking about this to get taller petit fours and not put filling in them. I will say this…the butter cake recipe is to die for! I made a mistake, though, and accidently dumped it to where it folded in half and then broke apart. I was devastated!
I think a 12×18 is close enough!
I loooove petit fours, but they’ve been so time consuming trying to pour icing. I love this idea, and can’t wait to try your recipe! And glad to finally realize we are in neighboring counties! I’ve been following you for a little while and never realized until today!
Oh awesome Vicki! Where do you live? You should shoot me an email or shoot me a friend request on Facebook and we could connect in person! rose(at)rosebakes(dot)com
I’m from Brookhaven and I will!
I make petite fours, just as I would rainbow cookies. I bake 2 or 3 separate cake layers, instead of trying to cut one evenly. For me its easier, and there are no messy crumbs to deal with.
What size pans do you use for each layer???
I made this in a 12×18, 2″ deep pan, and the cake only rose 1/2″ – 3/4″. I was very disappointed in the height, so instead of torting it, I put another piece of cake on top. How tall are yours before torting? I did not use the cream cheese frosting but did use the icing recipe. It was very thick, and I had a hard time ladling it over. It was too sweet for me with the almond extract and vanilla, and I usually like sweet things. The icing recipe covered only about half of them. I then melted 2 pks of candy melts to finish covering the rest, and I liked that better.
My cake is just over an inch tall after baking and slightly taller after torting and icing.
Hello again…do you have to keep these cool since you used cream cheese frosting? Thanks!!!
If you use the cream cheese, you can refrigerate them, but if you use vanilla or other flavors, they’re okay at room temp.
Please…sorry thank you so much is what I have decided is better to say first.
Cannot wait to try these. It is a first for me so you are my Petits-Fours senpai!
Peace
Melanie
These look awesome!! Just wondering if you charge by the dozen or individual piece?
I charge by the dozen with a 3 doz. minimum order requirement.
How much do you charge per dozen at 1.25×1.25 each
$20 plus taxes.
Do you have to seal the bottom to keep the moisture in the cake? Can they be prepared a day or two ahead? I wasn’t sure how long of a shelf life they would have. Thank you!!!
I don’t worry about sealing the bottom – I put them into the mini baking cups, then store them in an airtight container in the frig if they’re not being picked up immediately. I have made them 2-3 days in advance and they have kept well. I do recommend serving at room temp though, so if you make ahead and refrigerate, be sure to take them out in plenty of time for them to warm up (so they’re not cold/hard).
Thank you!!
Rose, you make this look so easy. And you have an Agbay! On my wish list especially since I torte all of my cakes.
I haven’t had mine for long (a few months?) and I haven’t gotten into a habit of using for everything it’s capable of… but I do love it! OH – and the petit fours really aren’t hard. Tedious maybe, but not hard!
Beautiful recipes to make one of the best shared desserts. I have looked for the right recipes for these for years. Thank you for sharing.
petite four on my list from so long…thanks for sharing the whole process….def. have to try but for the cake I’m going to go for eggless…
Nice.
These look wonderful and just ordered the pans etc. to make them. I am wondering how much frosting is used and how much raspberry jam please? Do I just use plain raspberry jam? Should I heat it?
I think if it’s spreadable, you wouldn’t need to warm it. And I’m sorry – but I don’t measure the frosting or filling but it doesn’t take much. Maybe 1-2 cups of frosting and 1/2 cup of raspberry!?
hello… Love this… What frosting you use? I dont see the recipe..
There are links at the bottom of the post!
Yes ! Sorry! Orne ore thing… The frosting get hard? I try with another recipe.. And doesn’t work 🙁 so, I need try again and you recipe looks good.. Thanks.. Im from México.. Sorry for my english ! 🙂
Unfortunately, these were a disaster. The cake was not good and I had to throw it away. I spent over $100 buying the pans etc. suggested so I had the right equipment. The cake was still raw after 40 mins but the toothpicks came out completely clean. The fondant also would not recommend. Even after it “set” it was somewhat sticky. I ended up using another cake recipe and somewhat salvaged them. The cream cheese buttercream is a fantastic recipe.
I’m so sorry you had such a bad experience. I’ve made them dozens of times and never had anything like that happen. I can’t imagine what went wrong. They sell out like wildfire when I make them and they are truly one of my top recipes.
I just made these over the weekend for my sisters Mad Hatter Steampunk bridal shower and they were absolutely delicious. Followed the directions exactly except I subbed out Gluten Free (Cup 4 Cup) flour for regular flower. Nobody could tell they were GF and 2 people asked for the recipe. If these didn’t turn out AMAZINGLY you must have not followed the directions properly.
I will be making these over and over and over again! Thank you for sharing your artistry with the net :-). Oh, and I wrote EAT ME on the tops with drizzle milk chocolate. We are still talking about them here at home.
Awww, thank you so much for your amazing feedback!! HaPpY dAnCe!!
I was just wandering about Gluten Free!! So glad to hear that you tried this with gluten free flour and it worked!!! Can’t wait to make them!!
Time to make these again :-). Wanted to leave a note about using the GF flour. I’ve found Cup4Cup works the absolute best (no need to add anything to it)…and I started adding one more egg white to the recipe. Also – make sure that everything prior to adding your flour mixture is mixed extremely well/smooth. When adding the flour mix, make sure not to over mix. I stop the blender right after I’ve added the final bit of flour to it and my cake ends up nice and light. I’ve found with GF baking, over mixing is not a good thing – the batter turns out EXTREMELY sticky and then the cakes end up much more dense.
Thanks for the GF tips
I just can’t seem to find the icing part of the recipe! Could someone please direct me?
It’s linked to several times in the post but you can find it here: petit four icing
Thank you so much for your sweet comment and letting us know they worked GF! So great to know!
It happens sometimes. I can’t figure it out either. Perhaps it could be because I used all organic ingredients. Oh well.
Tried these today. Cake, filling and cream cheese buttercream went fine, and tasted great. Poured fondant icing….. Biggest pain in the ……. Well, I can say I tried, but I won’t be doing that again. Thanks for the tasty recipes anyway.
Will this cake batter make a 3 layer cake as well. I need a sturdy batter for tiered cakes. I’ve tried multiple ones but nothing seems sturdy enough. I don’t want to use a traditional pound cake recipe.
Yes, I’ve used the recipe for a wedding cake. However, it’s still very pound-cakey. Is that a word?? Haha! The bride that requested it absolutely loved pound cake and wanted that for her wedding cake.
I made these today using the exact same recipe for the cake and the fondant. It was a success! It took me a total of 4-5 hours to make them. I used an electric knife to cut the frozen cake into squares which made it very clean, fast, and easy!! I also used a ladle to pour the fondant. It was definitely messy but worth it! If you are not a fan of sugary, iced desserts than these might not be for you. I had a few people comment that they were really sweet. Those who like fruit pies, cobblers, and breads might find petit fours too much for their sweet tooth.
They are definitely sweeter than your average dessert – but in small bites… yum! Thanks so much for coming back and commenting! xx
was the poured fondant opaque enough to cover the filling? do you ever need to double dip them for complete coverage?
Thanks,
Jackie
It doesn’t make them completely white, but I’d be afraid to double dip them because this icing is really rich!
Hello!
I wonder if u have heard abt bateel bakery? In the Middle East it’s quite famous. They have a very different version of petit fours. I wud call them mini muffins. But they taste out of this world, very buttery. They do not have a sugar coating on them. Do u have any idea abt these, can u help on this front?
Thanks.
Hi, thank you so much for your recipes and advice on how to make the petit fours. I am excited to try it. I woke up this morning after having a dream about making them for my christmas party tonight. (After Christmas party). I was laying in bed thking how you would go about it. In my head I was thinking it was impossible, but i need to check pinterest. I found your post and I now know I would not be able to do it for tonight. It usually takes me twice to get it figured out. With your post I know I can do it when I have more time. Thank you so much for sharing.
You’re very welcome – Happy New Year!
Do you by chance have a recipe for old-fashioned almond petit fours … just cake and icing no filling … I have searched high and low with no success of finding one with the airiness of the old-fashioned almond cake recipe.
I don’t, sorry. But if I ever come across one, I’ll try to remember to come back and share!
Thanks !
For Karen: What about Martha Stewart’s recipe for almond petit fours?
http://www.marthastewart.com/312747/spring-shower-almond-petits-fours
Great suggestion, thanks!
Thanks…I’ll check it out !
I made these for my daughters wedding shower last week. They were fantastic and I was shocked I could do it. I ran out of time and purchased the little decorations, but they came out just like yours! I wish I could post pictures i don’t know how lol. I put the cakes on a fork and spooned the fondant over. Worked pretty good. THANK YOU SO MUCH
That’s awesome Tara!! I’d love for you to email pics to me at rose(at)rosebakes(dot)com.
Hey Karen,
I was wondering if you ever found the recipe that you were looking for? It sounds like exactly what I am looking for with no luck either. 🙁
How do you get the petit four off the skewer after you dip it? Using my hands messes up the icing.
Above there is a video showing that she has the cooling rack elevated on cans, then sticks the skewer through one of the holes of the rack, and pulls the stick out from the bottom leaving the cake untouched on the rack.
Hi Karen, You can use your favorite white cake recipe and just add 1 tsp almond extract.
Just curious, what do you charge for 3 doz minimum order?
I rarely make them but I think I charged $45 last time for simple ones (no special decorations)… so $15/dozen.
Your recipe is my favorite! I was just wondering if I can half the recipe to make 65 instead of 130?
Thanks! I haven’t ever tried but I don’t see why not! Just use a smaller pan and you should be good to go!
Thank you and do you know what size would be good?
This is the one I use for a half batch: http://amzn.to/20QnypF.
Hey Rose.
I am Puleng, was wondering what I can substitute evaporated milk with…and is it powder milk.
What about a substitute for shortening.
I am making these and I’m very excited. I do have one question. What size cupcake liners are you using.?
They’re #6 candy cups (1¼” base x ⅞” wall) found at Country Kitchen Sweetart: http://www.countrykitchensa.com/shop/packaging/white-candy-cup-6/39/601/593/619263/
I made this cake today and it wasn’t anything like the consistency of pound cake…… I was very disappointed….. There was no way I could use it for petit fours. I went back and checked ingredients and directions I did everything as it said!!!
Sorry about that Vicky, but I assure you it’s a pound cake recipe and I’ve baked it dozens and dozens of times with perfect results! I’ve even shared it in pound-cake form and it’s a tried & true recipe! http://rosebakes.com/homemade-butter-pound-cake-recipe/
Thanks for your reply ….. I just can’t figure out what could have gone wrong …. Oh well
Rose, I just looked at your pound cake recipe and it looks great. However, after trying a pound cake from a local famous bakery, I was in love! Your pound cake has texture and holes, while that pound cake looks as smooth as a piece of styrofoam (not appetizing example,sorry) and it has no air holes! Crazy! When a friend bought one for me for my birthday (she doesn’t bake) I thought it looked awful. But then I tried it and I was in heaven (that’s huge since I’m a bread girl vs a cake/sweets girl). I must find a way to recreate it! Same is true for the petit fours I buy locally – zero air holes, over the top flavor! Can you give me any input? I can send you pictures of both the pound cake and petit fours. Thank you!
Hey Rosanna – I have to say I don’t think I’ve ever baked anything like that so I’m not going to be much help. This petit-four recipe is pretty dense, but not completely without holes. Sorry!
I made this cake and it is a winner!
I made these over the weekend…..was such a big project for me that I split it into two long, grueling days lol. But I did it! Thank you, Rose, for inspiring me to give these a try, as I learned so much and added another skill set to my list. They really turned out great…….took them for our church potluck and everyone loved them and gave me so many compliments! I definitely do have improvements to make, but I’ll absolutely make these again so practice (hopefully) will make perfect!
I’m so very happy to hear that! They do get easier with practice! xx
Hi! To cut them into the squares, do you use a special knife? Or the sane tool you used to level? Thanks so much! Do you ever ship these? If you do, what is your shipping method?
I use a really harp smooth blade knife. And no – I’ve never shipped them!
I’m going to attempt these for my sister’s baby shower. Is there anyway to make them a day or two ahead?
Well, you can make the cake, fill it and buttercream it ahead, then wrap it and freeze it until you’re ready to do the poured icing but once you do the icing, I’m not sure how long they’ll keep.
Hi i think i said this in another website of urs but anyway,i am in Year 9 and for my french project i have to make french food, i have decided to make petit fours and ur website helped a lot……..i tried ur instructions and u were right, they turneed out to be PARFAIT!
thx for helping me! : )
Hi Rhianna! So glad to hear your successful feedback! Hope you get a fantastic grade on your project!
Thankyou, i did well. I got a A- but I was one of the highest in the class!
I have been chosen to make something for a friends easter party and guess what I chose?
Not petit fours unfortunately, but i have made one of your bakes! (carrot tops for an easter cake and those bunny tail cake balls)
I am going to be making them with my mum and my sister!
Thanks again for your help! 🙂
Awesome!
I am so excited to try these for my daughters shower. Can I make them ahead of time and freeze them after they have been iced?
I’ve never tried that so I can’t say for sure how they’d hold up.
I made these for a cocktail party around Valentine’s this year and they were a HUGE hit! I used lemon extract in the cake and lemon curd in the middle and they were delish! And your cream cheese frosting is my new fave! My friends and family now want them for Easter but are requesting chocolate. Do you have a chocolate cake recipe you would recommend for petit fours? I was thinking I might just add cocoa powder but thought I would ask first before I experiment….why re-invent the wheel right?
I haven’t ever made chocolate petit fours but I just googled it and oh-my-gosh the possibilities… I WILL be trying some recipes soon!! 🙂
Hello,
Can you reheat the fondant icing if you don’t use it all?
You know, waste not want not! 🙂
Thanks
Yes, it will melt again!
Hi I was just wondering if you have the recipe for the raspberry filling? Thanks
Hi Brittany, I don’t but it’s really easy. I usually do about 1 cup of berries with 1/4 cup of water and 1/4 cup of sugar. Bring it to a boil, then turn it down on low and let it cook down to the desired consistency. It’s super easy!!
Where can I buy your petit-fours?
How much per dozen? They look soooo delish!!!!! Can’t wait to try them.
If they taste half as good as they look…. Wow!
Hi Cher – I only take orders locally! But thank you!
Hi Rose how much do you sell your petit fours,cupcakes and cookies for
My minimum is $20/doz on any of those, but generally more depending on the decorations.
Do you frost the bottom? If so, what method do you use?
I don’t – sorry!
Oh, Rose, I tried these for a reception, and they were a huge hit! The cake was melt-in-your mouth scrumptious, and the poured frosting (I dipped) turned out smoothly. Guests assumed they were from a bakery and couldn’t believe I made them at home. Thank you for sharing the recipes and clear instructions with pictures. I’m so proud of myself.
Awww – that’s wonderful Suzie! I’m so, SO happy to hear this!!
I tried your recipe today. It looked great until I pulled it out of the oven. Then it sank. It was done, toothpick tested. The flavor is great. But after sinking, it’s to thin to tort. It’s like it’s too oily.
Thank you. They look delectable! I’ll try them for a homeschool project with my little girl. 🙂
Great recipe!
You mentioned wanting to find a less messy way to coat these with icing– in this tutorial they used a plastic fork with the middle two tines broken off to dip the cakes into the fondant, rather than pouring it over the top. I haven’t tried it yet, but seems like it would give you the neater look and greater coverage you were looking for.
http://www.the350degreeoven.com/2012/06/cake/petit-fours-baking-frosting-and-decorating-petit-fours/
Hi Rose, I’m going to be trying this recipe very soon and was wondering, could I split the batter between two pans and stack the individual cakes rather than torting them?
Thanks!
Hi Michael, thanks for stopping by the blog. Yes, that would work great, too. Hope you enjoy them!
Those are gorgeous! Very 1920s 🙂
Hi, Rose
Thanks so much for sharing the recipe of the Petits Fours. I made my first one yesterday!!! It was for a first year birthday and they were a hit. They didn’t look perfect on the sides but the flavor was out of this word. Thanks again
That’s awesome – thank you for commenting! xx
Can you share the cake recipe? I can not find it.
Thanks!
Hi Phaedra, the recipe for the cake is listed at the bottom of the post right before the comments.
I am going to make the petit fours for my niece’s wedding reception. What tip did you use for the rosettes? Thanks a lot. Wish me luck!
I used royal icing for those!
Thank you for your prompt response. What size decorating tip did you use for the petite roses? A Wilton 21?
I honestly don’t remember but that looks about right.
I need to make some simple petit Fours for a Sorority Tea. Can I just make your Butter Cake recipe, cut into squares and cover with your Petit Four Icing recipe, or do I have to ice them first?
Thanks,
Janice Wallace
It’s really up to you. I haven’t ever had them without the icing, but you could certainly try them that way.
this is so neat, I love these, a lady at my work brings them to me every year, of course, she orders hers from Swiss Colony. 🙂 Can’t wait to give these a try, yum! Tkx.
You’re welcome – thanks for stopping by!
OMG ~ I lVe petit fours!!! I cannot wait to make these for the holidays! Thank you for sharing that beautiful e-mail and retagging the recipe !
Thanks so much! I just baked more today and we just can’t ever get enough of them!
Ok so first off this recipe is absolutely delicious! The cake is amazing (I could hardly keep my family from eating it) and the combination of the jam, cake, and cream cheese frosting is to die for. It was so good and it also reminded me of this decadent Serbian sweet called Rosa Torta. They are completely different in how you make them and you need special ingredients from Serbia, but they somehow taste similar and it’s awesome. One could call it “American-style Rosa Torta.” It takes a while to make and I couldn’t figure out how to properly cover the petit fours so I just put some frosting right on top. But besides that, these were an absolute hit with my family no doubt about it. Thank you for such an amazing recipe.
Thank you so much for leaving this wonderful comment Sarah! I’m thrilled that you loved the recipe and I absolutely have to look into this Rosa Torta!! 🙂
Thank you for the detailed instructions! I used family cake recipes but used your instructions and frosting recipe. After making the almond cake version, I used my remaining fondant and added a half recipe with dark chocolate chips for dark chocolate petit fours. It converted easily and worked beautifully. I will definitely make these again and want to try your cake recipe. 🙂
That’s Great Charley – thank you!
This cake is taking much longer than 35 minutes to bake. I realized my pan is a bit smaller than 13×18, which is what I got from your link to Amazon. It is the Nordic brand 16.25×11.25. If that is the same as you are using it is not baking in 25-35 minutes. It is more like 45-50 minutes.
I have made this recipe twice with success! Everyone LOVES this recipe. My only question is I got asked to make someone chocolate petit fours. I want to use the same three recipes you provided because they are just so good. Do you have any recommendations on how to go about this with your recipes? Thank you!
I’m so glad to hear that ya’ll love it! I’ve honestly never tried to make them chocolate. I know one of my readers melted chocolate chip instead of white chocolate in the icing and she raved that it was fabulous. I also know you can add cocoa powder or melted chocolate to the cream cheese frosting and it’s delish. My one hang-up is not knowing how to translate the cake to chocolate. That would probably just take some trial and error. I wish I could be more helpful!
This is a very good recipe. I unfortunately didn’t split the cake right and the thinner part was on the bottom making te little cakes top heavy. What I would do next time is not use the cream cheese frosting because I’m live in the south and it’s just too hot to work with especially pouring the fondant over it was cause the frosting to melt. I will say though that your frosting is awesome and will be my go to for cream cheese frosting moving forward. I had to keep the cake in the deep freezer as I worked with it since I used different colored fondant, which I won’t do again because it’s a hassle. I also would advise against frosting on top if you are in a hot environment because it just makes a mess. This was my first time making petite fours and learned a lot and will make again using this recipe. I also think this recipe will work for many cake project because it’s sturdy and delicious
Would the cake or poured icing be damaged by adding a little color? Considering making them for a baby shower and decorating them like books and would like to do a couple of pretty colors. Psyched to do the petite fours, though, because the glaze is so much prettier, easier and tastier than trying to use fondant.
Not at all! I’ve colored the icing a few times myself!
Im going to try your recipe next week. just have to make time; ITs looks lovely.
I want to make some cakes to offer for my daughters wedding and these look beautiful.. However I haven’t baked for years…..
If I want to make it for the wedding – I guess I could do some preparation before hand and freeze? Maybe not the best – but I think Il” have loads of ‘last minute’ things to do the week before and I’m working so can you advise me please.
Read through the comments – I think others have discussed freezing. I personally have frozen the cake before slicing and pouring icing over and it’s done well.
So impressed with the detailed instructions, I signed up for your daily emails.
You have a lovely site.
Thank you!!
I used all of the recipes you gave, and my baby shower petit fours (my first attempt!) turned out perfect!! I’ve even had several inquiries from other guests wanting cakes done, and I’m not even s baker! Thank you for your detailed instructions! (I would post a photo, but it won’t let me!)
I’m so, SO happy to hear it!! That’s just awesome!
I’m in the process of creating this recipe. It’s in the oven and waiting now… I will comment back with the final result. Thanks for making this recipe easy and detailed for us home bakers. 🙂
I hope you love it as much as I do!
Hi, just wondering if these freeze well? Making them a few days in advance and not sure how to best store them. Thank you
Yes!
What an amazingly informative and helpful tutorial! You rock!
Awww, thank you!! xx
I do not have access to shortening… what would you recommend instead of this?
There’s really not a good substitute, I’m sorry.
I made these for our school for Valentines. 60 of them! And they were a hit. Now have an order for 48 more! That was my first e perience with Petit Fours and your instructions made it so easy! Thanks so much!!!
That’s awesome to hear! Thank you 🙂
Can these be made ahead of time. After I pour the glaze on top, can they be frozen until the event?
Hi Judie, I’ve actually never tried freezing them after glazing them. I’ve frozen the whole sheets before cutting, but that’s it. Sorry!
Hello can these be made ahead of time. Can they be frozen after they are completely made?
Hi Rose, I’ve been searching for a Petit Four recipe that comes close to the ones I buy at a local bakery. They have virtually no air holes in the cake! All my recipes come out with air holes and I see that from your photos, your recipe also yields air holes. While there are no holes, the petit fours are simply divine (and I’m wouldn’t say I have a sweet tooth). I’m reminded of a local famous bakery that makes a pound cake, which also has no air holes! At first, I thought that it’s going to be awful, but then I was in pound cake heaven! I’m trying to figure out how to create these 2 recipes – I can send you photos to show you the inside of these if you like. Doesn’t seem to be over mixing is the reason, because it’s the taste as well as no holes. Thanks for any input you may have!
Just made another batch of these and got another order!! My question is about the icing. Mine comes out a cream color. It is white until I add the white chocolate. Tastes great though! What brand do you use to make it come out Snow White?
To get it really white, substitute bright white candy melts like these: http://amzn.to/2oAthWc .
Can i use all butter ?
Is the cake already formatted for high altitude baking or do adjustments need to be made? Cooking at almost a mile high here in Albuquerque!
No ma’am – I don’t know anything about baking in high altitude or how to adjust recipes for that. Sorry!
My baking group made these petit fours this past Saturday, and the cake recipe was perfect. My cake was not even on all sides. Do you have a suggestion to know when the cake batter is even? The icing did not make enough for all of the little cakes. I guess I need to double it?
It is hard to get it perfectly even. I just spread it as evenly as I can and use a cake spatula to smooth the top before baking. As far as the icing – did you recycle the icing that dripped off? I scrape it up and reuse and I don’t usually run out.
Do you ice them twice?
I don’t, but I have a friend who did.
Great recipe, and you make it looks so easy. Thank you for sharing. Do you sell them by dozen? How much do you charge for them?
I charge by the dozen with a 2 dozen minimum and I charge $15/dozen if they’re plain. If I add decorations, the price increases.
Thank you!!! Thank
I will be trying this in the next few days
I’ve made this recipe three times, and it’s worked well every time. The last time I used lemon extract. Great suggestion!! My co-workers have pretty much demolished the petit fours.
Awesome to hear – thank you for reading 🙂
I wonder if you’ll see this….
How far in advance can I make these? Do they keep for a week or so with the white chocolate icing?(I’d probably exclude the cream cheese filling BC of needing to prepare a few days early)
When I make them more than a day ahead, I freeze them. I haven’t ever tried to keep them for a week unfrozen. I think they’d probably be too dried out.
I just made these. Awesome recipe!!!
Now i just have to work on presention. Mine do not look as beautiful as yours but thank you so much. Will save these recipes.
July 12, 2017
This is a very good recipe, the cake is awesome it is so soft and moist even after freezing and once you make the easy very delicious poured fondant and cover them they become moister on another level. They literally melt in your mouth. Two bites of heaven.
Excellent cake recipe, measurements of ingredients and directions for preparing are on target.
Excellent full coverage poured fondant, measurements of ingredients and directions for preparing are on target. Can’t mess it up. I even added a little more water here and there when it started thickening and it still gave super coverage. I used my nu wave pic gold using the glass bowl I cooked the fondant in over a pot of water on the lowest watt setting on low and was able to keep the fondant liquid. Because I am not a master baker and am slow, I did need to add a little water here and there to keep the icing from becoming too thick because that setting on the pic, low watt and low will only keep things warm. Without the nu wave pic gold I would have had to reheat several times. I did make it on my range and only used the pic gold to keep it warm and liquid so I could take my time. Again I say you can’t mess up this icing.
Thank you very much for sharing your awesome recipe for the petit fours and for sharing your recipe for the poured fondant.
Complainers, get a life…….
Thank you so much for your lovely review!
I just bought fondant icing for petit fours. I am used to a fondant icing on my petit fours when I used to buy them in Toronto about 100 years ago.
Can I use fondant icing for your recipe?????
Do you mean fondant that is rolled out? I’ve never used that type on petit fours. Or maybe that you’re calling fondant icing is not what I call fondant.
Rose thanks for all you do.I need help deciding which Agbay to buy…im a hobby baker and i never plan to start a business selling cakes so which Agbay would u recommend? I like the price of the Agbay Jr. Single Blade Cake Leveler but I’m ok with going for the Agbay Single Blade Cake Leveler too…but is it worth it ?
Hi Liz – I’ve never owned the smaller version so I can’t really compare the two. I bought the larger one because I do big wedding cakes and the petit-fours.
Rose u r so sweet by replying quickly…i have 1 more question..do u own the single blade or the double blade?
Single 🙂
I would love to make them for my fathers birthday in a few days. But I am from Germany and we don’t have shortening or evaporated milk here. Is there anything I can substitute it with or do you have another cake recipe I could use for petit fours?
Thank you!
Would love the entire recipe for the petit fours. Thanks so much!
The recipes are linked in the post or you can click here for the cake : https://rosebakes.com/homemade-butter-pound-cake-recipe/ AND here for the icing : https://rosebakes.com/petit-four-icing-poured-fondant/.
TYVM. I have those but i thought there was a recipe and directions together. Sorry for my confusion.
Do you frost the bottoms and if so, how?
I do not.
Omg, those look SO YUMMY! Just the pics had me drooling! The ones with the stars are awesome!
On the petit four Icing can you omit the Almond? I am not a fan of almond extract. Would you use more vanilla?
Absolutely – you could use more vanilla or lemon or whatever flavor suits your fancy!
What are your thoughts on whether you have to torte (split) the cake or could you bake the 2 layers separately like with Italian Wedding cookies?
Just made this. It’s in the freezer now. Didn’t get to taste it yet. But my fiance devoured the pieces. And he’s not much of a cake person! The only part I had problems is putting the cream cheese icing on the raspberry. It wanted to blend together. Did I put too much berry on it? I had to put more milk in part of the icing to get it more spreadable. save the rest for decoration, which is perfect for piping.
Wow – what an informative blog site – i need to spend more time here and intend to do so .
My sister and I tried this recipe out and it turned out great! We are looking for a chocolate cake recipe that would work for petit fours. Do you have any?
So glad you enjoyed them! I would suggest this durable chocolate cake recipe: https://rosebakes.com/star-wars-birthday-cake-durable-chocolate-cake-recipe/
Hi Rose!
I’m going to be brave and try the petit fours, but my questions are how far I advanced do you make these and how long do they keep after they are cut and frosted?
I usually finish them and deliver to client the same day or next day. I’ve never kept them much past 2 days to knwo for sure how long they’ll keep.
Perfection!!! These made for beautiful Christmas gifts with Christmas related items piped on top. I will be making at least 3 more batches the next two weeks.
Thank you so much ☺️
Awesome – you’re welcome!! Merry Christmas!!
ready to try this for first time
This is only my second Christmas using petit fours. I used a different recipe that people enjoyed, but the cake wasn’t as moist as I’d have liked and the frostings recipe I used was just too thin and didn’t set right. I am working on frosting these now and they are just beautiful and taste great- this recipe has boosted my confidence in petit four making! I do find them super tedious and Frost a dozen or so per day. I did find that the frosting seems to get sticky after being refrigerated and coming out to room temp- probably the condensation. I will try protecting in the Tupperware with layers of wax paper and wrap to see if that helps, as these will be included in cookie boxes that go out over the next week to friends and family. I know they will be well loved and that this will be my go-to recipe next year. Thank you!
Awww, I’m so, so happy to hear it Renee! I pray you have a Merry Christmas!!
I found a use for the “trimmings” and some extra petit fours I didn’t ice because I ran short of icing. I took off a bit of the top layer of frosting—to keep the sweetness down—and discarded it. Then mashed up what was left: cake, frosting, raspberry jam. Put about 10 raspberries through a strainer and added the resulting puree to the mix. Added 1 TBS of Chambord. Mixed to a soft paste. I rolled it into balls (about 25g each), froze them, then rolled them in melted dark chocolate. Got about 2 dozen truffles. Delicious. 🙂
That sounds amazing! Merry Christmas!
@Holly – Thank you, Holly, for the suggestion and great idea. I, too, ended up with extra ingredients and I was wondering (apart from gaining 10 lbs by eating it all myself!) “what should I do with the extra!?” Thanks!
@Rose – I am your biggest fan! I think I have logged in 10,000 hours on your website over the last few years. I love getting inspired by your website before endeavoring to make a celebration cake for my family. I love this petit four recipe and I really appreciate your step-by-step instructions! You are fantastic! Thank you!
OMG I’ve always wanted to make these, but I’ve lost my baking desire as I’ve gotten older.
If you lived around the corner, I’d be hiring you to make these for me, they look fabulous !!!!
I do use smuckers seedless raspberry jam in the middle of my layer cakes with a bit of frosting, have for years and years, it’s so yummy, vanilla or chocolate cake, especially chocolate (my fave)
I will try your recipe though, sounds yummy, and cut cake in 1/2 and make it into a square layer cake
Your recipe sounds delicious! Does the addition of the white chocolate chips add a chocolate flavor to the icing? Thanks so much for lovely blogs!!
Hi Faricha! Thanks for stopping by the blog. Since white chocolate chips have a vanilla tasting flavor, it doesn’t add chocolate flavor. It helps make the icing more opaque.
Hi Rose,
we made your petit fours and they tasted delicious!
Everything went really well, except putting the liquid fondant on, it was just really finicky.
The petit four tasted REALLY good, just the liquid fondant was a little rich.
So I was wondering if I could substitute the liquid fondant with chocolate or white ganache?
Thanks,
Brenda
How can I print the entire Petit Fours recipe with step by step instructions? Can you email it to me?
The recipe has as print button in the upper right corner. You can also enter your email in the box with the pink header and it will be sent to you.
II want to make these for a family get together. HAVE you ever used the round petit four cutters on these, if so is there a trick. Does be cake we well with that?
I haven’t ever used round but I’m sure it would work just as easily! You can see how I do hearts in this post. Thanks!
I just tried this recipe. mine seems more dense and buttery. after I took it out of the oven to cool it sank down a bit .. what did i do wrong?
What kind of shortening did you use?
Crisco 🙂
You mentioned that you had a video that would tell us how to cover these petit fours with out ladling the frosting on top. I am new to your site.
Yes, it’s embedded in the post just below the “Update…” note. Thanks!
Yes, it’s same for me. I see where you said “Here’s a short (informal) video of how I did it:” but I don’t see the video under this or a link to it. 🙁
I’m not sure why you can’t see it – it’s showing on my end. I’m sorry!
I paused my AdBlock and then reloaded the page and was able to see the video. Check to see if you have an extension or plugin that is blocking ads.
Hi Rose,
I’ve seen pound cake recipes that use marzipan as one of the ingredients in the batter. Of course you would have to “pulverize” it first. Can you incorporate that into this recipe and would I omit some of the butter or shortening if so.
I’m gonna be honest and say I have absolutely no idea. I’ve only used marzipan once and I was not happy with the results so I haven’t used it again.
Can I freeze them after they are iced or can I make them the day before?
I have torted and filled the sheet, then put the top layer of buttercream on and frozen the whole sheet. I have never tried freezing them after they were cut and the poured icing was on them. I have made them a day before and kept them refrigerated with no problem.
Can you leave the cake in the freezer for longer than an hour? If so, do I need to partially defrost them before putting the final icing on them? Thanks!!
Yes, I’ve frozen it for days at a time between orders. And I still take it straight out and start cutting/dipping.
Have you ever tried strong dental floss to slice the top from the bottom?
Would strong dental floss also be helpful in making straight, clean and fast slices?
Petit Fours have been on my list for so long. This Sunday I’m having a tea party at my home for my students. I’m making these and tiny crustless finger sandwiches. Today is my trial run.
Hi Helene, thanks for stopping by the blog. If you try the dental floss to cut, please let us know how it turned out for you!
I made these and they were pretty easy. I found the right pan on clearance at WallyWorld, too. They were SUCH a hit. They are really, really sweet so I could only eat one but they are delicious. I brought the leftovers to a meeting and the ladies loved them. The rest went to a church for a funeral since my friend had to bring something and asked if she could bring the rest (I was looking to get them GONE as hubby and I did not need them around to tempt us.) My sisters both wanted to try them so I did freeze some and they freeze wonderfully. I also made them a day ahead and then had some left after Easter – they held up fine for several days. When I froze them I wrapped them individually. I want to try them with lemon so badly but we absolutely don’t need them here so I hope an occasion comes up soon. Thanks for the great instructions and recipe. Oh, I used two cans of cream cheese frosting and they worked fine. Saved me a little work. 🙂
Thanks so much for your feedback Laurie! I’m glad you love them as much as I do 😉
I haven’t tried this yet but it seems A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I’ve been looking for a great petifour recipe for so long! Im so thankful.
Finally success!! Thank you so much for the step by step info! Your very first paragraph could have been written by me. I’ve alwasys been fascinated by petit fours but I was not happy with my first few attempts. Then, I found your website. You put in more than enough detailed information and links to help me understand what I needed to do differently. The petit fours turned out beautiful today! Thanks again.
Happy 4th of July!
Yay!! I’m SO happy to hear it Anna! xx
The second time I made this cake it came out extremely dense-what do you think I could’ve done wrong
I have been looking for a how to on petit fours. Yours was great. I made them for a tea party and they were a hit. Thank you. Sheila Roberts
Thanks Sheila – I’m so happy to hear it!
Really good lovely post for me.
I used your cake & fondant recipe and OH MY!!! It is so delicious. It was my first time making them and they turned out pretty good. I made them for a dinner for our local historical society. I baked, split, filled and froze the cake earlier in the week and finished them this morning. I started early in case it was a failure – then I’d have time to bake cupcakes 🙂 They got lots of oohs & aahs when I delivered them. Hubby & I shared the trimmings – just to be sure they were REALLY good – and they were. I did have a problem with the white chocolate chips melting at 92 degrees, so had to raise the heat some, AND I forgot the corn syrup, which probably makes them easier to dip, but I got it done!!! I will certainly be making these again. And some of the “oopsies” disappeared once they were in their paper cups.
Can I use vegetable shortening instead?
Thanks
I use Crisco – which is vegetable shortening.
About how many does a single recipe make?
It depends on what size you cut the but I usually end up with 7-8 dozen.
I really wanted to make petit fours for my friend’s baby shower. I had never made them before and was a little nervous. I followed your tutorial including the update about dipping them in the fondant. Your tutorial was very clear and easy to follow for a beginner. They were perfect: nice flavor, texture and moisture were right for all elements, the cake was easy to torte without breaking, and they looked really professional. They truly were the talk of the party. Thank you for the excellent tutorial!
Thanks SO much Laura! xx
Hi there, I just stumbled upon these and I made the cake today. Unfortunately the corners of my cake were over done and the top layer of cake was under done. Any suggestions? I double and triple checked my amounts. Everything was right.
Did you use the large size jelly roll pan that I mentioned? It has to be spread out pretty thin and evenly.
Hi Rose,
I love your petit fours! They look beautiful! I was wondering what piping tip did you use for the rosettes? And can you explain how you made the rosettes? Thank you!
I think it was a #22 star tip. it’s been awhile ago. But I pipe them onto parchment with royal icing, let them harden, and then transfer them to the petit fours OR I simply pipe them straight on and let them dry!
Soooooo… followed the recipe to a T and it exploded out of my cake pan… what did I do wrong??
My first thought is what size pan did you use? Are you certain it was the size recommended in the post? I’ve never had it overflow.
What’s Alison F’s tip for icing the squares instead of the ladle? Your video isn’t there anymore. I have the cake made. Would love to ice them today. (:
These turned out so wonderful! I did not have any tart filling like you recommended, so I used blueberry jam and the cream cheese frosting you suggested.
At first they were too sweet. My 11-year-old suggested that we inject them with something tart. I thought that was impossible at first and then realized that they all have a hole in the bottom because of being dipped on a skewer. We used medicine droppers to put a milliliter of lemon juice in each one and they were WONDERFUL! It was a surprisingly easy fix that I thought might be useful for others.
Thank you for the recipe!
I have used this recipe several times and petit fours have ALWAYS come out PERFECTO every time. I also use this recipe when I make cakes in a jar. Im also thinking about using this recipe for a full cake. The flavor and texture is just AMAZING!!! I will see if it works.
I use the recipe to make a pound cake and it is incredible! Thanks for the wonderful feedback!
So great to hear! Thanks for stopping by!
I love petit fours! I have to disagree with ladles vs dipping. It’s much faster to ladle than dip each one & you still get to save the icing from the pan beneath. Love your icing recipe. Thanks
Thanks Bea!
The high rack and stick idea! Brilliant AF!
Thanks!
Going to try making these very soon…If they all turn out they will be on platters for a Mother Daughter Tea this Spring for 120 Ladies. Wish me luck…I make pastries & these seam to be very light & tasty. They look relatively hard to make but with your recipe & exclamations I think they maybe easier than I had anticipated. Thank You Rose
I am making these for 2nd baby shower since my first ones were so good and very pretty. This could get me making them often. Such great recipe. Thank you. Perfect.
You’re welcome ❤️️
Taste is lovely. But… My cake itself seemed kinda coarse in texture. Didn’t really remind me of pound cake. Is that normal? Almost reminds me of corn bread in texture? Can you describe the texture and crumb? I just can’t tell if I did them right….
I have no idea why it would have that texture. That has definitely not been my experience and if you read through the comments, I don’t think you’ll find any others with that complaint.
Hi this is my first attempt at making petit fours, I used a glaze instead of the poured fondant recipe you provided, is there a way you recommend to store my petit fours till Saturday morning?
Thanks,
Rebecca
Hi this is my first attempt at making petit fours, I used a glaze instead of the poured fondant recipe you provided. Is there a way you recommend to store them till Saturday morning that won’t affect the taste?
Thanks,
Rebecca
Hi Rose,
I have just stumbled across your site when I was checking some recipes on Petit Fours, and I noticed that your cake of choice was a pound cake?
Is this due to it being a denser of a cake compared to a sponge cake?
I was just wondering, have you ever tried to do it with an Angel cake as a base?
Honestly, it wasn’t a choice so much as I asked a cake mentor and she said that’s how they were made, so that’s how I’ve always made them!
You are really skillful, looking very nice and delicious
How many petit fours can you get from this recipe
It depends on how big you cut them but I usually get around 80 petit fours when I cut them 1.25 inches square.
Hey you’ve linked multiple pans with different dimensions. Is your pans 18x13x2 or 18x13x1 ?
Hmmm… the links should’ve all gone to the same pan. I use this Nordicware Half Sheet Pan: https://amzn.to/2Xxhrtn.
Can I make these all the way and then freeze them for a week or two more? I’d like to make a batch but wouldn’t have a place to use that many.
I do freeze them as a sheet, before covering in icing. Usually I cut off what I need, then wrap and freeze the rest of the sheet. I have never tried freezing them after they’re frozen.
What was the tip the lady gave you about ladeling the icing? I would have done just as you did.
She gave me the tip on dipping!
Both times I’ve made this recipe, the cake almost overflows the pan and then after I remove the cake from the oven (after 35 min baking and a clean toothpick in the center) it collapses. Hard. It becomes a crater cake. Is that normal? It loses at least half an inch or more of height in the cake. I find it very frustrating because then the cake is super dense and because it’s so much shorter, torting the cake becomes much more difficult.
I’m really sorry to hear this Lindsey. Are you sure you’re using the same size pan as I have listed? I’ve never had my cake overflow.
Excellent information and fabulous recipes. I made my first batch yesterday using your butter (pound) cake recipe and Petit Four icing (raspberry jam filling). Outstanding!!!!!! I just made another cake to try a different filling (lemon). Great instruction which helped me make very pretty petit fours. I can’t wait to make this second batch. Your instruction and tips are great! And the dipping/skewer thru the rack idea is brilliant! Makes for such a nicer finished product. I haven’t been able to pull myself away from making these long enough to look for a chocolate icing recipe. I do hope there is one. Thank you for sharing your expertise. I can’t wait to scour the reset of your website.
Thanks so much for your lovely comment! I don’t have a great chocolate petit four recipe yet, but I’m always on the lookout!
Couldn’t see the video about the alternate way to frost….
I got that fixed – the vido should show now!
I also don’t see the link for the video- alt. way to frost vs. ladle.
Do you have an ad blocker on? It might be blocking my video.
I made the cake the other day. Baked it in the same size pan as you did, same temp as you did for 35 minutes. The toothpick came out clean from the center but I had spots where it was still gooey. While cooling it sunk and was gummy. Could Walmart brand flour cause this or over mixing? I usually use Robin Hood.
There are so many factors that could affect cake. Is your oven temp consistent? Is your baking powder old? I have used Walmart flour with no problems so unless its old, I don’t think that alone would cause it to fail.
Hello,
Your recipe sounds really good and I’m excited to make it for my mom’s birthday but I have one issue: I’m from Germany and we don’t use cups for measuring here so I’m wondering what kind of cup you are using. Maybe you could tell me how much water it holds in ml?
And another question: Sour cream translates to multiple similar things here. If you know the fat percentage or even better the product name that would greatly help me.
Thank you and have a great day!!
Hi Fynn – a “cup” is a pretty standard measurement in the United States – you can google “cups to …” and convert any measurement that way. And I’m not sure what to tell you about sour cream. Again, here in the United States, that’s a very specific product. This article (chart at the bottom) might help: http://hanseata.blogspot.com/2013/07/my-pantry-cream-or-sahne-dairy.html
I made there yesterday in preparation for an “at home” afternoon tea my husband and I will do this afternoon as part of our anniversary celebration. (We often go out for afternoon tea to celebrate special events, but then there was Covid . . .). I made them slightly larger, since we don’t need too many, and used a homemade marzipan buttercream. I sampled a small one yesterday . . . amazing! Many thanks for this great recipe! Will need to perfect my pour over icing job, though. Perhaps next time, will try the toothpick method you showed.
Great tutorial that made what could be a demanding dessert within the grasp of anyone wanting to make a special dessert. Glad I found your knowledge and my kids loved the results. I used quarter sized sheet pans to eliminate the need to cut the cake in half when using the half sheet pans. Worked great for my freezer that can’t handle a half sheet size. The icing dipping video was brilliant – made it so easy and much less messy.
In the Petit Four recipe you indicate you have a video on how to cover the little cakes but it does not show up on the page. Could you send me a link to it?
For whatever reason, my computer does not show the alternate method vs ladling to cover the cakes with the petit four icing that was mentioned. The short video isn’t visible.
Hello,
Can I please know the recipe for the filling and the glaze you have posted for this cake. I am scrolling down to see the link but I couldn’t find one.
Hi Ayesha, the raspberry filling is here: https://rosebakes.com/raspberry-filling-for-cakes/
the cream cheese frosting is here: https://rosebakes.com/cream-cheese-buttercream-frosting/
and the petit four icing is here: https://rosebakes.com/petit-four-icing-poured-fondant/
What was Alison F’s recommendation for frosting petit fours? You mentioned an informal video but there was no link.
The video often won’t load if you have an ad blocker on.
I haven’t made these yet but I plan on making them this weekend for my Christmas Gift Bags I make every year for immediate family❣️I make a Sour Cream Pound Cake every year for Christmas which is a tried and true family recipeI have been baking for years so I know a few tricks of the trade that may help with the holes and unevenness of the cake mixAfter I put all the mixed cake batter in the baking pan; I then shake the baking pan slightly from side-to-side to ensure cake batter is even in all cornersThen I pick the baking pan up off the counter just slightly and drop the pan back on the countertop to eliminate all lumps and bumps (air pockets) in the batter as a result from the mixingThese lumps are actually air pockets in the batter that will leave holes in your baked cake if not eliminated before bakingI hope this helps some of your reader’s experiencing holes in their baked cakes Thank you for this recipe and the suggestions given to achieve outstanding Petit Fours even for the novice bakers Merry Christmas to all and Happy Baking❣️
Oh my goodness, these are wonderful! I have tried petit fours off and on over the past 12ish years and this is the first time that they turned out well enough that I felt comfortable sharing them. I made them for a tea party my young children wanted to have with their grandparents this Valentine’s day and to help make it special I thought I would give petit fours another try. Following your recipe exactly, they were beautiful and tasted wonderful. The dipping method worked so well!! I think it has been the rolled fondant in the past that always held me up, or trying to spread icing… this was WONDERFUL!!!
It does make a huge batch, but reading your freezing advice I prepared and decorated a plate for St. Patrick’s day. I had already forgotten about them but saw them tonight when I pulled something else out of the freezer – PERFECT timing!! Now we will enjoy these little beauties again tomorrow night :). Next up in a batch with a lemon filling.
Question – I followed instructions, pictures and video and used the cooling rack to pop the skewer out of the iced frozen cake piece. Do you have advice on how to avoid the deep ridges that the cooling rack leaves in the bottom? That is the only part that isn’t perfect on these.
Thank you for the recipe!!
Awww, it makes me so happy to hear this!!
This recipe has great flavor. I love it! I need practice leveling my layers and spreading out the batter, but otherwise, it was perfect!
So happy to hear it! They do get easier!
I made these last week for a bridal shower. I made the cake, did the torting, spread on the jam ( I used strawberry because the bride doesnt like raspberries.) I had honey buttercream left from another dessert I had made the day before, so I used that. Then froze and cut the squares.It was lovely. Then I made the icing and started dipping the squares. I did about 12 and my daughter and I decided to taste them. We didn’t care for them with the icing. It covered up all of the layers of flavor. So I left them undipped for the shower. They were still very cute, dainty and fancy…and delicious.
These are by and far the BEST petit fours I’ve ever made! Your instructions were perfect and I’m still getting compliments a week later about them. Thank you SO MUCH!!
This is my go to petit fours recipe. Works perfectly every time! Do you have any suggestions for how to scale for a quarter sheet (9×13) and a square pan (8×8)? I need a smaller batch option. Thank you so much!!
To tort (a new word for me, Thank you!) a sheet cake, I’d prefer to cut it first into 3 smaller pieces (easier to handle), then split each piece twice into three layers so I can add 2 layers of filling… even use different colors of jam or whatever in each piece so I’d have more variety.
I misplaced my decades old petit fours recipe and this one looks similar. Can’t wait to try it.
One tip I’ve always used for cutting the squares is a brand new hacksaw blade. They’re only a couple dollars at Lowe’s or Home Depot. It works much better than most kitchen serrated knives.
I had a lot of fun trying this recipe because I like a good challenge! 🙂 I have a habit of not following recipes which was the case here too, but I really enjoyed reading the details of the blog and the comments on others’ experiences and questions too.
I prefer less-sweet desserts which is not exactly possible with this recipe but wanted to share that I followed the cake recipe to a T, as you cannot reduce sugar in a cake and still have it bake correctly, but I was able to reduce the sugar in both the cream cheese frosting and the fondant without mishap, it came out great! I also reduced almond extract because it’s not my favorite.
The last thing. I wanted to share is that I do not recommend trying to make these petit fours bigger than rose described. I did, and I regretted it. Instead of torting the cake, I just split the sheet cake in half snd put one half on top of the other. (My sheet cake came out to just under 1” tall and I used a 12×18.) The finished product was 2” tall by 1.25” square. I used the skewer dipping method (while frozen) which worked well. I had to thin the fondant significantly compared to its recipe in order to get it dippable (I used water and lemon juice to thin, and nearly doubled the amount of liquid it called for) and I had to have it greater than 100 degrees Fahrenheit which caused my raspberry filling to run immediately upon dipping. I didn’t mind this though as it tasted great. 🙂 I’m very curious how it’s possible to apply the fondant with only the prescribed volume of liquid! The consistency of the fondant in the dipping video is not the consistency I achieved by following the fondant recipe at all. The other thing about dipping is you really have to make a significant amount more fondant than what you’re going to end up using because it needs to be a deep vat of fondant up til your last petit four!
Thank you for the fun tutorial. 🙂
Thank you for your thoughtful comment!
Am I able to substitute the almond extract? I’m cooking for a group and one person has a but allergy.
Thanks!
Sure! You can use vanilla extract instead.
Do you have a chocolate pound cake recipe like this?
Thank you so much for your tutorial and sharing your knowledge. It helped me make some lovely petit fours for a friend group’s high tea. The raspberry sauce was delicious and made the cakes so flavourful! I also found your blog about the use of shortening very helpful.
Heather A
Canada
You have MADE MY DAY! I’m so happy to hear how much you loved them! xoxo
I’m an old lady now and long past being able to do petit fours or much cake decorating anymore. However, this is the best written recipe and instructions I’ve ever seen for making these lovely little cakes!!