The Petit Four Cookbook: Adorably Delicious, Bite-Size Confections from the Dragonfly Cakes Bakery

By Brooks Coulson Nguyen

The founder of Dragonfly Cakes teaches you to craft delectable, adorable confections for any season, holiday, or occasion.

Petits fours are the quintessential bite-size indulgence. With their delicate layers of moist cake, buttercream, and marzipan, all coated in decadent chocolate, they make any event feel more special—whether it’s a holiday celebration or an intimate teatime with friends.

With step-by-step recipes and mouth-watering photos, The Petit Four Cookbook teaches you everything you need to know to make these decorative French delights. Overflowing with inspiration, it features recipes for everything from birthdays and weddings to Valentine’s Day, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve.

The Petit Four Cookbook offers bold delicious flavors, including:

• Chocolate

• Vanilla

• Lemon

• Raspberry

• Gingerbread

• Pumpkin

• Orange

• Coconut

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Nov 19, 2013
• ISBN: 9781612432571

Book preview

Introduction

I have always loved being in the kitchen. My mother was an amazing cook. However, she baked very little, and she was particular in her choices when it came to dessert. I, on the other hand, loved all sweets, and she trusted me to explore recipes and the pantry. I was about seven or eight when I began making the sweets that I craved, like brownies, cookies, and banana bread. My next-door neighbor and I kept ourselves busy creating and eating chocolate chip cookie dough. We used a lot of butter, peanut butter, and chocolate, but never ended up baking many of the cookies.

I didn’t immediately go into professional baking, but after college and a few corporate positions, I found myself at a crossroads. I thought about what I truly enjoyed, and I decided to follow my love for sweets by taking the plunge to go to culinary school. I enrolled in the baking and pastry program at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena, California.

Cakes have always been my passion. I have an ongoing love affair with cake decorations—I adore tiny cutout flowers, especially cherry blossoms. Petits fours are the perfect combination of cake and decoration. A moist, flavorful bite of cake and an intricate adornment is a festive combination for any occasion. Petits fours are usually one or two layers of cake, plus a layer of filling. The cake is then cut into small pieces, dipped in a coating, and ornately decorated.

My love of cakes inspired me to start Dragonfly Cakes in 2004. I head a small team that has a great time baking and decorating cakes. Through experimentation, I’ve learned a lot about cakes, fillings, and decorations, and I’m here to share that knowledge with you. I hope this book will offer the guidance and background you need to find joy in making these elegant little cakes.

History

Petits fours originated in France. When translated, the name means little oven. The cakes were first made during the eighteenth century when French bakers would put them in the oven after baking bread, while the oven was cooling from a high temperature. The rise in popularity of tea in Paris in the late 1800s increased the popularity of petits fours. The late afternoon tea was then adopted in England as a midday lunch. Today, tea has grown in popularity in the United States and the adoption of High Tea from England at American tea shops and hotels has increased American adoration of petits fours and other bite-size desserts.

There are three types of petits fours:

Petits Fours Sec: tartlets, éclairs, macarons, or small bites of layered mousse cake

Petits Fours Glacé: iced or decorated cakes coated in icing

Petits Fours Salé: savory, bite-size appetizers

The petits fours in this book are petits fours glacés, which are the perfect treats for birthdays, baby showers, bridal showers, and many more occasions.

Equipment

You don’t need a lot of equipment to make petits fours, but here is a list of useful items:

Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer

A hand mixer can be used for mixing buttercream and cake if a stand mixer is not available.

Mixing Bowls

Microwave-safe or heatproof bowls are useful for both mixing and tempering custards and chocolate.

Two Flat Cookie Sheets

Flat cookies sheets make assembling the cake and filling easier. The flat surface helps create a more even and straight cake, which will make your final petits fours more symmetric when complete.

Mini Cookie Cutters, about 1 to 3 inches in size

Small cookie cutters can make cute designs. The designs in this book were created with the cutters listed on page 120.

Gum Paste Blossom Cutters

The designs in this book were created with the cutters listed on page 120.

Oil-Based Candy Color

We use candy coating/confectionery wafers for all of the designs in this book. Water-based candy color is also available, but it will cause the fat in the candy coating to seize up, and the chocolate mixture won’t be usable. You can find the oil-based coating we used on page 120.

Rolling Pin

A rolling pin is needed to roll out marzipan for the top of the assembled cake.

Rubber Spatula

Great for baking, mixing, and getting every last drop of cake batter out of the bowl.

Large Offset Spatula

You will need the weight of a large spatula to spread the filling between cake layers.

Pastry Brush

This is not necessary, but it can be useful for dusting off the cornstarch when rolling out the marzipan.

Waxed Paper or Parchment Paper

Place the petits fours on waxed paper or parchment paper after they are dipped and glazed.

Candy Cups

These small paper cups, somewhat like mini cupcake papers, are perfect for holding one petit four each after the glaze has firmed up.

Kitchen Forks

Kitchen forks are extremely useful for dipping the cake into the glaze. I use