Petits fours (singular: petit four) are the elfin desserts and wee morsels of cake artfully decorated and displayed beautifully in the chilled pastry case of your favorite French bakery. Hand-written calligraphy on card stock announces their flavors: almond praline, mocha crème, vanilla genoise with fresh framboise, chocolate ganache with hazelnut, on and on, word after delicious, caloric word.
The petits fours best known to Americans are the dainty squares served at high tea, fancy bridal and baby showers, and other events where women stylishly wear gloves and wide-brimmed white hats with feathers and look completely at ease.
These classics are made with white cake, a thin layer of marzipan, a thicker layer of raspberry jam, and covered with fondant icing. Fondant icing creates that perfectly smooth, slightly shiny, porcelain-like finish. They look gorgeous. And they’ll make your taste buds sing falsetto: they are very, very sweet, and could almost be categorized as candy.
Fondant Is Your Friend
Fondant in fact is a type of candy with the consistency of fudge. Fondant icing is fondant’s smoother, more pourable, more pliable cousin and friend to all those who decorate cakes. All manner of screw-ups can be covered up by fondant. The crooked petit four can be made straight; the rough, ragged petit four can be made smooth. The trick is in keeping the icing at the right temperature (buy a candy thermometer, you will never regret the expense and anyway they’re not that expensive); the Food Network offers great tips.
Follow Martha’s Lead
Martha Stewart’s Spring Shower Almond Petits Fours are the way to show off your newfound friendship with fondant icing. It’s a riff on the classic recipe, with modifications to help the home baker keep her characteristic cheer. For instance, the marzipan that is traditionally rolled out with great difficulty to the thinness of paper and used as a layer, is instead crumbled into the cake batter. Easier! A good thing! Thank you, Martha! Also, the raspberry jam, which must be deseeded, is replaced by cherry jam, which does not.
Take these little gems to a gathering of gentlewomen wearing hats and gloves and they will embrace you as one of their own. They’ll ask you, “Where did you get these delightful things?” And you’ll say, “There’s a great, high-end bakery not four blocks from here! Haven’t you heard of it? It’s called My Kitchen. The woman who owns the place does the most amazing things with fondant.”
