Lemon Berry Petit Fours
A dessert by popular demand. 🙂
We’re in peak wedding/brunch/bridal shower/spring season, so there’s been a lot of buzz about petit fours lately. Admittedly, I’ve never made them before but have always enjoyed the several varieties I’ve tasted. Always up for a new baking adventure, I decided to make these petite cakes my personal goal for the spring season.
And I’m excited to share my results with you!! These lemon berry petit fours are flavorful and moist, cute and tiny, simple and sweet.
It was meant to be.
During Easter, I saw the Nordic Ware Petits Fours, Baking Pan. It’s the same one they sell regularly, but this one had Easter labeling. The price was a bit over $20 and while I figured this cast aluminum baking pan was well worth the price, it was a bit more than I could spend at the time.
So, I waited.
I figured that if I could find it after Easter when it would be on clearance, then it was meant to be. As soon as prices went to 75% off I looked for it and was disappointed. It was nowhere to be found in the Easter clearance. As I headed to the registers with my other purchases and an idea struck me. I decided to duck down the kitchen cookware aisle to see if maybe, just maybe, one of the employees had returned the Nordic Ware Easter Petit Fours pan to the area with the other usual, non-seasonal Nordic Ware items. Sure enough, I found one. There is sat, looking at me and saying “come take me home”.
I gave it a quick scan on a price checker to make sure it was on clearance and sure enough, it was. Just over $6 and it was mine. I took it home and have been eager to use it ever since.
What are Petit Fours?
Petit fours are bite-size decorative cakes, typically of the sweet variety. The term petit four is French and also includes savory bite-sized appetizers and other small pastries like macarons and meringues. Petit four is translated as “small oven.”
Today we’re focusing on glacé petit fours, which means “glazed.” Think of these as miniature layer cakes, perfectly pint-sized with no fork required. They’re most commonly found at bridal showers, baby showers, tea parties, weddings, and the like. Classic petit fours are made with delicate sponge cake, then enrobed in fondant and topped with intricate decor. They’re certainly beautiful and delicious, but the preparation can be tedious and complicated for the home baker. I wanted a recipe that was approachable for both you and I, but still produced the same elegance and dainty aesthetic as the fancy varieties. I couldn’t really settle on any petit four recipes that were both straightforward and delicious, so I created one my favorite pound cake, vanilla buttercream, lemon curd, and raspberry jam.
There’s approximately 1 billion petit fours varieties and this one’s my new favorite. The recipe is perfect for beginners and I even include a video demonstrating exactly how to shape and layer them, plus other flavor options.
decorations
Pourable Lemon Fondant: (from Use Real Butter)
Combine all ingredients except coloring in double boiler. Heat until lukewarm. Remove from heat and stir in food coloring.
We’re in peak wedding/brunch/bridal shower/spring season, so there’s been a lot of buzz about petit fours lately. Admittedly, I’ve never made them before but have always enjoyed the several varieties I’ve tasted. Always up for a new baking adventure, I decided to make these petite cakes my personal goal for the spring season.
And I’m excited to share my results with you!! These lemon berry petit fours are flavorful and moist, cute and tiny, simple and sweet.
It was meant to be.
During Easter, I saw the Nordic Ware Petits Fours, Baking Pan. It’s the same one they sell regularly, but this one had Easter labeling. The price was a bit over $20 and while I figured this cast aluminum baking pan was well worth the price, it was a bit more than I could spend at the time.
So, I waited.
I figured that if I could find it after Easter when it would be on clearance, then it was meant to be. As soon as prices went to 75% off I looked for it and was disappointed. It was nowhere to be found in the Easter clearance. As I headed to the registers with my other purchases and an idea struck me. I decided to duck down the kitchen cookware aisle to see if maybe, just maybe, one of the employees had returned the Nordic Ware Easter Petit Fours pan to the area with the other usual, non-seasonal Nordic Ware items. Sure enough, I found one. There is sat, looking at me and saying “come take me home”.
I gave it a quick scan on a price checker to make sure it was on clearance and sure enough, it was. Just over $6 and it was mine. I took it home and have been eager to use it ever since.
What are Petit Fours?
Petit fours are bite-size decorative cakes, typically of the sweet variety. The term petit four is French and also includes savory bite-sized appetizers and other small pastries like macarons and meringues. Petit four is translated as “small oven.”
Today we’re focusing on glacé petit fours, which means “glazed.” Think of these as miniature layer cakes, perfectly pint-sized with no fork required. They’re most commonly found at bridal showers, baby showers, tea parties, weddings, and the like. Classic petit fours are made with delicate sponge cake, then enrobed in fondant and topped with intricate decor. They’re certainly beautiful and delicious, but the preparation can be tedious and complicated for the home baker. I wanted a recipe that was approachable for both you and I, but still produced the same elegance and dainty aesthetic as the fancy varieties. I couldn’t really settle on any petit four recipes that were both straightforward and delicious, so I created one my favorite pound cake, vanilla buttercream, lemon curd, and raspberry jam.
There’s approximately 1 billion petit fours varieties and this one’s my new favorite. The recipe is perfect for beginners and I even include a video demonstrating exactly how to shape and layer them, plus other flavor options.
- ½ recipe White Cake (my adaptation), baked in a 9×13-inch pan for 16-22 minutes
- ¼ cup raspberry jam
- ½ recipe of Dorie Greenspan’s Buttercream
- 1 recipe Pourable Lemon Fondant (recipe follows)
decorations
- Cut cake in half crosswise. Spread jam over one cake half. Spread buttercream over jam; you might not use it all.
- Top with remaining cake half. With a serrated knife, trim cake edges; cut cake into 1¼-inch squares. Arrange the squares on a cooling rack set over a baking sheet.
- Use a squeeze bottle, pastry bag, or ziploc bag with a hole cut from a corner to cover cake squares with fondant.
- As necessary, scrape fondant from baking sheet back into double boiler; rewarm. Allow fondant to dry before adding decorations.
Pourable Lemon Fondant: (from Use Real Butter)
- 2¼ cups (10 ounces) confectioner’s sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon lemon extract
- drop of yellow food coloring (optional)
Combine all ingredients except coloring in double boiler. Heat until lukewarm. Remove from heat and stir in food coloring.