Petit Fours- Not Again!

Yes, I'm attempting to create the elusive petit four again.  As you can all recall, I'm sure, from my last adventure into the world of tiny cakes, the fist attempt was pretty disasterous.  At least, if the crummy (and crumby) quick-pour fondant and lumpy cakes is any

However, this time around I'm taking things slow and easy.  I've got a really yummy butter cake recipe that I'm going to use (Yes, I know that sponge cake is preferred for these tiny treats, but sponge cake is a lot of work and butter cake is just a tad harder to mess up), and a new fondant recipe, simple syrup, and some filling, and some extra help.  [And I know this has absolutely nothing to do with petit fours, except that I found this recipe for fondant while I was looking up petit four recipes... anyway, it looks really good, and since I'm not having a lot of luck with the MMF, I'd like to try it.]

Hopefully this time around, things will be different...

Later that same day...

 

So they really didn't turn out that bad, did they?  After the cake cooled (it was a 9" x 13", using that butter cake recipe I mentioned earlier), I used some little cookie cutters that I've never used before.  The funny thing is, they were a summer set, with sea shells and flamingos and all, and I'm using them in the middle of winter. =]  I used the mini cutters: butterfly, heart, flower.  The heart was the easiest to coat, by the way.

Then I put all the little cut shapes in a container and I froze them.  (Don't worry, we ate all the cake scraps!)  I mixed up some "quick pour fondant" on the stove, and proceeded to ice the little cakes.

I used a piece of wax paper under a cooling rack, and took a few cakes out of the freezer at a time.  I slowly poured the fondant, with a spoon [I know! I forgot to use a squirt bottle], over each cake, to make sure that I covered the sides and all of that.  It's definitely a tedious process and a labor of love, but perhaps it will get easier the more I practice.  After all, this is only my second attempt.

I didn't fool with doing two layers, and putting a filling in between them, or covering them in simply syrup.  I know that's a good idea, and I probably should have, but I got lazy, and I know my family will eat them anyway. :-)  Speaking of lazy, by the time I got to the last few cakes, the fondant had really thickened (not sure why), and I was so tired of icing them, with the thin icing, so when it got to thick, I sorta just say "forget it" and blobbed the fondant all over.  It didn't look so bad, but not as nice as the first ones that I made.

So, now you know that if you are making petit fours, and you mess up, there is hope for you yet!  I've very pleased with this attempt, even if I didn't use filling, or syrup, or cute decorations (again, the lazy thing).  So now I'm off to my grandparent's house for a family get-together and we're going to eat all of the goodies!

 

(That's one of the blobby ones)

What I learned from making petit fours

1. A 7" x 7" cake pan is not the best pan to use. (I believe 11" x15" jelly roll is the preferred pan of petit four makers)
   
2. Poured fondant is extremely sweet. (Note to self: find a new recipe)
3. They are very crumbly. I know that freezing them will stop the crumblies, and I did that, but I did not put a layer of buttercream on the top on the petit four to create a smooth surface. Also, I did not use a glaze. Should I use a glaze next time? I could try covering them in fondant while they are still frozen. Because they did have time to thaw out...
   
4. Poured fondant should not be boiled. Seriously. Do not do what I did. Do not forget that you have a pot on the stove set to medium filled with poured fondant that shouldn't boil. And if you do accidentally boil the poured fondant because you got distracted by an episode of Drake & Josh that you haven't seen yet, then just throw that stuff out. It won't do you any good to try and pour it over the petit fours at this point.
5. Rolled fondant looks pretty, but poured fondant makes a better petit four.
6. Raspberry jelly is yummy.
7. I used a box mix to make them, and I read online that a denser cake, like a pound cake, should be use. So I shall file that little informational tidbit away for later. (Almond?)
   
8. My mom actually liked them, despite the excruciatingly sweet icing.
9. Next time I will follow Lisa's instructions.
10. Oh, yes, there will be a next time. Sure, this go around, it was messy, it was bad, it was no where close to perfect. But look at everything that I've learned! I'll do so much better next time. I will learn from these mistakes.
11. Use a squirt bottle next time? I used a spoon this go-round
    
12. And I will use chocolate ganache. Because it just look sooooooo good!!
13. Maybe white chocolate. (Or not. Because the chocolate is superior!!)
    

And here are some different tutorials that I will reference in the future

• Pastrywiz.com
• Tutorial from CakePhun @ CC
  
• Another Tutorial from CC
• Lots O' Links @ CC
  

Recipes

• Chocolate poured fondant from Wilton
• Raspberry Petit Fours
• Chocolate Ganache
• Wilton's Chocolate Ganache
• Whipped Chocolate Ganache
  
• More Chocolate Ganache
• You Can Never Have Too Much Chocolate Ganache
• Chocolate Ganache Icing
• Last Chocolate Ganache Recipe
  
• Filling Ideas
  
• Chocolate Raspberry Petit Fours
• Cream Cheese Coconut Pound Cake
• Pound Cake

And there you have it. My first experience with petit fours, although by no means my last. Oh! The picture! I almost forgot... Well, they're not pretty, but here they are:


The really white ones have rolled fondant, the others have poured fondant.

I think I'll Make Petit Fours

After I baked Katie's birthday day, I realized that I had some extra cake batter. What better to do with this extra cake than to bake it in a square pan, cool the cake, cut it into 1" squares, and freeze? Because what's better than petit fours?

I made a practice one with raspberry preserves and rolled fondant, with mixed results. I really liked the taste of the raspberry, but the fondant was just too sweet. Marshmallow fondant is good, but I don't think I could really eat more than a taste of it.

So I've been thinking, and doing some research, and I've come to the conclusion that I will pour dark chocolate over the petit fours, instead of fondant. I thought about white chocolate, but honestly I can't stand the stuff. Dark chocolate, however, is a different story.

In my research, I discovered that petit fours can cost as much as $2.50, and that Godiva petit fours look mouth-wateringly good. They can be easy to make, or finicky, and that there is a variety of ways to make them. All of this information was just so overwhelming!

The frozen cake is still in the freezer, but when I get a spare moment, I will certainly take the time to make these tasty little treats, and I hope that they taste as good as they look! (I also hope that the petit fours that I make will actually look good!)