PETIT FOURS

PETIT FOUR/ PETITS FOURS

Petit four literally translates to “small ovens”. A petit four (plural: petits fours) is a small cake generally eaten at the end of a meal or served as part of a large buffet.The name is said to have originated from the practice of cooking small pastries a petit four or “in a low-temperature oven.”

Typical Characteristics:

Approximately 1 inch square and about 1.5 to 2 inches highConsist of layers of cake and butter cream frostingPetits fours however can refer to any number of small confections or pastries.

Petits fours can be eaten in one or two bites and these fancy pastries are further divided into "sec" or "glacé".The petit four "sec" and "glacé" can be sponge or cake based, biscuit or cookie based, meringue based, marzipan based, fresh fruit or chocolate based.

History:

They were traditionally made during the cooldown process of brick ovens fired by coal fuel in the 18th century. In the 18th century the ovens were made of brick and once the large cakes were baked, small cakes were placed in the ovens as they were cooling down.

Petits fours secs

(sec meaning "dry") include a variety of small desserts, such as:

special dainty cookiesbaked meringuesMacaroonspuff pastries

Only a small amount of ganache, buttercream, or jam is used to sandwich the pastries together or to decorate the tops, and they are often dipped in chocolate.

Actually, common cookie recipes can be converted to petits fours secs simply by making them smaller and enhancing their decoration

Petits fours glacé

(glacé meaning "iced") are iced or decorated in some way, such as tiny cakes covered in fondant or frosting, small eclairs, and tartlets. They can also be pastries filled with cream, chocolate, or jam and then covered, glazed, or dipped and decorated with marzipan, fondant, chocolate, or some other form of glaze or icing.

Marzipan

Almonds

What to review

Characteristics of European cakes and petits foursStudy their differences and similaritiesExamples of European cakes and petits fours