After posting this Petit Four picture on Facebook today, I had someone ask about the icing. Honestly… it’s what I struggle with the most, but I do like this recipe… I just haven’t perfected my usage of it! UPDATE: See my full tutorial and recipe for How to Make Perfect Petit Fours here (perfect taste… still haven’t mastered the looks yet!).
So, here’ s a quick post (because you asked!) for how I’m currently making Petit Four Icing. I’ve tried several recipes over the last few years and this recipe is my favorite so far!
I think the secret to this icing is the added white chocolate chips. The petit four icings that I used before this one were too translucent and didn’t really cover the cake very well. I really wanted my petit fours to look white – and the added chocolate does that!
Now – I told you on Facebook and I’m telling you again… I really wish I could make my petit-fours look as good as they taste. None of them are the same size. None of them are the same height. Look at this picture… I was not kidding:
I also couldn’t figure out how to get the icing to cover on all sides…. maybe I just don’t work fast enough?? Anywho – I appreciate all of your kind comments on Facebook, but really… I need to improve!
OH – I should also tell you that I use a make-shift double boiler method to make this icing (see my methods here). It may or may not be the “best” way to make this kind of icing, but it keeps me from scorching it and it keeps the icing warm enough that it doesn’t set up in the bowl (because with petit fours, I work sloooooooow!!!!).
However, even though the icing stays warm and fluid and it tastes amazing… it’s still a MESS! If anyone can give me tips on making petit fours without making a mess – please SHOUT IT OUT in the comments!!
UPDATE: See my full tutorial and recipe for How to Make Perfect Petit Fours here (perfect taste… still haven’t mastered the looks yet!).
Last thing – then the recipe – I promise! I mentioned last week that I watched the Craftsy class, Mini Cakes, Many Ocassions and that there is a whole lesson (or two) on making petit fours!
Well, that class is a wealth of information if you want to learn to make petit fours! Mini Cakes, Many Ocassions includes videos, recipes and loads of tips! I absolutely learned tons of great tips from it… I just need to watching it again to master some of what I learned!! 😉
Tell me!! What do you struggle with? Do you have a fool-proof method for making petit fours? Wanna share!?! Please!! Pretty Please!!!
So now… on with the recipe!!
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Petit Four Icing (aka Poured Fondant)
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Prep Time: 15 mins -
Total Time: 15 mins
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Category: Desserts
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Petit Four Icing
Ingredients
- 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 white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Start by bringing a pot of water to boil, then placing a larger glass bowl over it. You’ll do all of the recipe in the glass bowl!! THIS is my “double-boiler”.
- In the glass bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, water, corn syrup and extracts. Note… you can eliminate or substitute different extracts to suit your recipe/tastes. I think lemon extract would also make an amazing icing!!
- Continue whisking or stirring the until the mixture becomes smooth and consistent. It should be thin enough to drizzle from a spoon, but not so then 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 white chocolate chips 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!
- Now – there are many ways to coat petit fours (dip, drizzle, pour the icing, etc.) and I can’t tell you what’s best! You can see several methods in the Mini Cakes, Many Ocassions Craftsy Class, but for me, I like to spoon it over the top.
- I put my frozen petit fours on a cooling rack and I set that over a cookie sheet that is lined with wax paper (also shown in the Craftsy Class then I just spoon the icing over the top to cover the cakes!
- I actually took some pics of part of this process but I’m ages away from posting those, so if you’re in a hurry… you’re much better off with the class!
Keywords: petit fours, icing, recipes, fondant, hardens, poured
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Hi Rose, I watched a YouTube video and the crumb boss puts her poured fondant in an icing bag and outlines the outside of the cake until it is completely covered. I haven’t tackled petite fours yet but I have done a little research and I truly hope this helps you out.
Thanks!! I’ll have to try that!
Hi Rose, I want to make these and was just wondering if there was a special recipe you use for your little petit four cakes. What cake recipe do you use?
Those are adorable! Love the little Roses on top. I have not attempted them yet but have been dying to give the a try. Thanks for the icing recipe. I also am searching for info on how to at this point I cannot even get glaze drizzled properly on a bunt cake and am still practicing my fondant application. Cake Wrecks here I come 😉
The Craftsy class sounds great. Please keep us posted on your Petite Four adventures.
Hi Rose,
I have been waiting for just the right time to make petite fours, and our church will soon be having a fellowship supper again and these will be perfsct. I was alway afraid to try but now that you have given us a simple recipe, I think I wil be able to do it. I just hope mine turn out as nice as yours has. They are beautiful.
I am unable to find your petit four icing. I’ve read the tutorial about petit fours, went to the link for the icing recipe, and find no recipe. Could you please share the recipe
I’m having some problems with my website right now. I’ve temporarily switched back to an older format so you should be able to see it now. Thanks.
Hi Rose!
Love your recipes! I saw somewhere on here about how after icing the petit fours, you can peel back up the drips, then reuse them. If you can heat them back up again, does that mean that you can store it, then remelt? Have you done this before?
Thanks!
Kimberly
YES – I have done that! Usually I use it up pretty quickly so I’m not sure how long it would keep but it can be remelted later!
My fondant has turned out WAY to thick-what should be used to thin it back out water? I’m not quitting til the things turn out right!!!
Yes, you can thin it with water. 🙂
This icing has been a life saver, made cookies that were cute but blah in flavor, poured this icing on them…….and they were wonderful! Plan on using it for cupcakes and for Angelfood cake too! Wonderful flavor easy took work with! Thanks for sharing!
So happy to hear it 🙂
I work in a bakery where we dip petit fours daily!! Ours are never the perfect shape and rarely the same size but we do have a method to get all sides completely covered. Stick your cake on a slotted spatula, spoon your dip over the top til all sides are covered, scrape off excess drippage with an offset spatula or a straight spatula. Set on a cooling rack to continue dripping and drying. Hope that helps 🙂
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Excellent tip, thank you!
thanks for this tip…worked out great for me!
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Can you replace the corn syrup with anything? Say Maple Syrup?
I wouldn’t recommend it.
how about replacing it with simple syrup, I never found corn syrup at my local store 🙁
I’m not sure that would work.
I made the petit fours, now waiting to glaze them. For my taste cheese frosting is waaaayyy too sweet, I cut at least 300 gr and, added some lemon juice and it still tastes very sweet. I will let you know how the frosting holds with less sugar, so far so good. Also, how much is 3/4 cup of chocolate chips? Why not put the exact weight, it would help a lot. Liked the dough, turned out pretty good.
Greetings from Canada
To ice the pet if our pour icing on the whole cake let cool then cut your cake in long strips turn on side ice, cool, then likewise the other side. After icing hardens on long strips your ready to cut to bite size or petifour size. Finish icing the fresh cut sides that are UNICEF…wa la’ finished less messy and more accuratly preportioned.
Hi Debra – Thanks for the tip and stopping by the blog!
Can the petit fours be frozen after they are iced?
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I’ve never tried, sorry!
Yes, in an airtight container but thaw them in the fridge overnight before bringing to room temp to avoid condensation spots forming on the icing.
Hi, Rose! Great recipe. Question: is this poured fondant recommended to top larger cakes i.e. not petit fours? Thanks!
I don’t think this recipe would be good for larger cakes.
Can you use colored candy melts instead of the white chocolate morsels? Or would you rather color the white chocolate with a gel or powder coloring? I know chocolate or candy melts dont like water based colors. I am very eager to try this for a tea party in the next few weeks. And would like variation on colors and flavors. Thanks!
You can absolutely use candy coloring or powder coloring. I am not sure about the water based coloring. I’ve never tried the candy melts – I imagine they would work the same but I cannot say with certainty.
Using candy melts leaves your chocolate very thick and won’t be able to pour. If we ever use candy melts we use regular white chocolate to thin the candy melts better but then you would have to use the oil based color to brighten up you color again.
I used candy melts and gel coloring to get the perfect blue for a baby shower so the petit fours would match my cake. It worked great!
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Hi! I am attempting to make the cakes and this icing today and I am excited! I just have one quick question, I don’t have a glass bowl big enough for this. would it be a problem to use a stainless steel bowl? thanks!
That bowl should be fine.
Hi! I am making these cakes today and i am really excited about it! I realized that I do not have a glass bowl big enough to use for the icing. Would it be a problem to use a stainless steel bowl? Thanks!
I’ve never tried it but it should work.
It worked great and they came out better than expected for my first try! Thank you for the recipes! And I apologize that both if my comments went through!
No problem at all 🙂
This recipe is sickly sweet to me. I will try a less sweet cake recipe for this.
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Yes, these are a very sweet dessert! Definitely use a tart filling as recommended. I also used 1/4 lemon juice & 1/4 water for the liquid in this icing and used triple sec (citrus liquor) instead of the extracts. It added enough tartness that you could eat more than one of these without getting a stomach ache!
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Hi,
Thanks for the tip on the white chocolate chips.
I use a heating pad and set the icing on it to keep it warm (same thing to keep melted chocolate melted)
I use a small cookie cutter (round) to cut my petit fours out of a cake, resulting in the same size : )
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I got a good heavy plastic squeeze bottle from a restaurant supply store. Filled it with the icing and just squeeze it out. Works great!!! I found the pastry bag too hot to hold and I can’t imagine spooning it. I also cut my petit fours first and spread them out so I can cover the whole bite.
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Wow – great idea! I may have to try this!
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I’m taking a shortcut on my petit fours by using a cake mix but I needed a frosting and this looks perfect. I can’t wait to try it. 🙂 Have a good evening!
Awesome!
You might try letting your petit fours thaw before frosting them the icing will flow more smoothly.
This is a fabulous recipe but a couple of things to try:
The first time I found the icing a bit too thick, and then it wont drizzle down and cover the sides properly. The second time I used only a 1/4 white chocolate chips and it was much more workable, took half the time!
Secondly, these are a very sweet dessert! Definitely use a tart filling as recommended. I also used 1/4 lemon juice & 1/4 water for the liquid in this icing and used triple sec (citrus liquor) instead of the extracts. It added enough tartness that you could eat more than one of these without getting a stomach ache!
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Have you ever dyed your icing to make different colored petit fours? I have a friend wanting petit firs for her daughter’s birthday, and lavender is one of her party colors; so some white and some lavender petit fours would be pretty.
Yes, I’ve used gel colors to make different colors.
I was contracted to make petit fours for a special event. I experimented with different cakes and icings until I found just the right amount of ‘sweet’ to go with fluffy cake and fruit filling. I acquired repeat customers with the outcome.
When someone orders Petit Fours, They want something that tastes good, but if it doesn’t look good, they won’t bother. Betty Crocker French Vanilla has been consistently moist and delicious. The icing: I buy white chocolate drops from my local grocery bulk foods and thin with shortening.
1. I cut my cake into strips and freeze. 2.Torte the strips, fill with lemon filling, reassemble layers and freeze. 3.Cut into squares and freeze. 4.Then using 2 butter knives and a ladle, I spoon the chocolate over each square. ( Only take a dozen out of the freezer at a time, to keep frozen while icing)
Just wanted to say thank you for all the fabulous recipes for the butter pound cake, cream cheese buttercream, and poured fondant. My trial run of petit fours were fabulous. I made some high altitude adjustments (writing from Denver, CO) to the butter cake recipe (2-1/2 c sugar, 3 1/3 c flour, 7/8 t soda, and scant 1 c evaporated milk). My sponge was perfect! Thanks again!
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That’s awesome Jo! You’re very welcome and I’m thrilled to hear it worked so well for you! xx
I made a chocolate pouring fondant I thought using cocoa. I can’t find my recipe would you happen to know one
I don’t – sorry!
Do you refridgerate the petit fours after you have decorated them? If so, do they need to stay cold until time to serve?
Thanks for sharing your recipes with us!
I don’t refrigerate the petit fours – but then again, I don’t make them very far in advanced usually. If I were going to make them more than a day in advance, I’d probably refrigerate them, then take them out about an hour ahead so they could come to room temp for serving.
I was very interested in your petit fours icing recipe but I couldn’t get the first instruction because of an ad being directly over it. I thought you should know that ads are being placed over your stuff insted of between it.
I’m so sorry DeeAnna! Were you on a PC or mobile device? I’d like some more details so I can report this to my ad company. Thank you!
Could this icing be tinted and flavored to dip coconut balls (like old fashioned coconut bonbons) or is this too thin?
I’m not 100% sure but I’d think it too thin.
Do you ever make a chocolate cake with this recipe? If so, how do you do it?
I have not Briana. I’ve actually tried a few different recipes for chocolate petit fours and haven’t found one I love yet!
Is there anything else I could use for the icing instead of corn-syrup ?
I heard it’s extremely unhealthy.
Nofia, you are thinking about high fructose corn syrup which is not the same as corn syrup you buy at the store.
The corn syrup at the grocery store is no worse for you than granulated sugar.
Is it posSibley to color this icing? Would I need to use oil based gel coloring for chocolate or just regular gel paste? I use Americolor
Yes, you can color it! I think either type of food coloring would work for this icing.
Wonderful! Ty so much for your prompt reply!
Can I miss the Corn syrup as I can’t find it where I live or can I use something else instead. My third attempt at petite fours, my problem is the icing, it always comes out transparent was told I can use glucose syrup instead. If yes do I use it the same way as the corn syrup for the icing. Love to make these thanks for your help and for your great recipes
According to various websites ie http://www.cheftalks.com
The equivalence of 1/2 cup corn syrup plus 3 Tbs. water to 1/2 cup glucose plus 1/4 cup water produces the same results [usually].
I’ve used both, usually corn syrup since it’s easier for me to get.
Thanks for the icing recipe. I work in a bakery and we use white n glossy out of a bucket. But I wanted a recipe for at home and the white chocolate chips ar a great idea! We cut and hand dip our cake while still slightly frozen. Makes the cake easy to handle and helps set the icing quicker.
When you say dip do you mean actually dip the cake into the icing or drizzle the icing on the cake? I see the word being used interchangeably and I would like to try the former. Thanks!
Honestly, I’ve tried both and still haven’t decided if I prefer dipping or drizzling better.
I am no a huge fan of white chocolate, so could you replace the white chocolate chips for almond bark to cut down the sweetness?
Yes 🙂
Wonderful!! Thank you! I’m making these for a baby shower, I can’t wait to try them!
Hello! Thank you for the recipe, can’t wait to try it out. I just have a quick question: If I wanted to make the icing more tart than sweet, what would I sub lemon juice/extract in for? Thank you!
Probably the water, but I wouldn’t use that much lemon… maybe just substitute a teaspoon at a time until you get a flavor you like.
Thank you!!
I love using this recipe! Although I recently noticed that my poured fondant melts. I only use it for the top and it usually stays, but now it’s been melting. Is it because I added too much water or because it’s now summer? Please help!
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I love using this recipe! Although the past 2 days, I did notice that my poured fondant melts, which never happened before. I only pour it on top of the cake and it usually stays. Now, it’s been melting and dripping all over the cakes. I’m not sure if maybe i added more water? Or does the weather make a difference? It has been humid lately. Or is it because I pour the fondant on frozen cakes?
I think it’s a humidity/weather issue. Try adding less water and that should help.
Thank you!! I will try it again
I used less water and it worked! Although some of them cracked in the box. is it from putting edible paint on them? Or because I didn’t use a box that separates them from each other?
I have never had that happen so it may be the paint. Sorry – I’m just not sure!
My mom requested a glaze-type icing on her bday cupcakes. I’m making her requested chocolate, lemon and strawberry cupcakes. Would you have any idea if I would make a batch of the recipe per batch of cupcakes—I would have between 2 and 3 dozen cupcakes per flavor?
Do you think I could substitute choc chips for the white choc chips for the choc cupcakes? Or should I add cocoa? And for the strawberry maybe use pink candy melts and some strawberry extract? I saw where some others substituted half lemon juice for the water when they made the icing, so I will do that for the lemon. Thanks so much!
Rose, I’m making white cupcakes with a transparent looking icing and small baby blue footprints poured into a mold for baby shower. I found the sweet looking cupcake on Pinterest but I can’t figure out what they used for this icing. Do you think this icing for petit fours would work ok. It almost looks like a round circle (not completely covering the cupcake) of Petit four type icing with the little baby footprints laid on top (made with blue melts from mold)?? Help. I have even thought about making your petit four recipe, cutting in circles and placing them in the baby blue with white polka dot cupcake papers?? What do you think. I’m not professional at all…just helping out a friend and trying to save $ doing this myself (only one giving the shower)!!Should I even attempt this feat?
Can you send me the pic or Pinterest link to rose @ rosebakes.com? I’ll have to look and see if I can figure it out.
This may be a dumb question, but if I wanted to make round petit fours, could I bake the cake in a mini muffin pan baking tray? Please advise as I’d like to bake this tomorrow! 🙂
I’m not sure how the cake would turn out baked so small, but you could absolutely use small round cutters like I did with hearts here.
Can I freeze these for three weeks and then top them off with the icing before serving?
Yes – just be sure they’re tightly wrapped in plastic wrap.
Hey!! Question can you freeze decorates petit fours?
I haven’t tried that, so I’m not sure.
Rose, can you tint this icing or will it make the consistency off? Juli
You can tint it!