Hi,

  A friend of mine has asked me for advice on petit fours, but to be honest, I really do not know anything about making petit fours..  Does anyone have a good recipe they could refer me to for her?  I think we are going to try to make them together, and we would certainly appreciate any suggestions, pointers, or recipes…  Thank You!

I was having a party with a buffet and decided petit fours would be a great addition to the dessert table.  I quickly discovered that I totally lack the patience for them   Definitely a make-ahead item, as the poured fondant needs some time to come together (I did not use Rose’s recipe from The Cake Bible), and preparing them was a painstaking process for me.  Plus, the poured fondant needs time to dry.  I had piped royal icing grape bunches for the top and everything, but after about 7 or 8 of them, I sent a neighbor to the grocery store for a tub of Betty Crocker icing and frosted the rest of the cake.  I don’t mean to scare you as YYMV, but I’ve all but sworn them off.

Baking 911 has a lot of information on petits fours along with recipes.  (the recipes are to the right in a pink box. the first link doesn’t work, but the others do)
http://www.baking911.com/cakes/petits_fours.htm#TYPES OF PETIT FOURS

I’m with Dan.  I don’t have the patience to make them either.

Good luck. Let us know how they turn out and if you liked the experience.

I think they are adorable.  I like them 5 layers tall (3 1/4-inch layers of cake and 2 thin layers of buttercream or ganache), but you could easily increase the layers if you like.  I bake a standard “double layer” cake recipe in an 11x15 pan, remove cake from pan and chill it I torte it into layers using a cake saw (chilled cake is easier to cut, and I think it makes fewer crumbs too).  Next, fill the layers with buttercream or ganache and chill until firm before cutting into the desired shapes/sizes.  I find squares, rectangles, and diamonds very easy to cut using a sharp knife and ruler.  Petit fours made from chocolate cake benefit from a thin layer of buttercream on all sides to prevent their dark color from showing through the poured fondant.  Place the petit fours on a cooling rack suspended over a sheet pan before pouring the fondant on top.  A fan gently blowing over the little cakes will speed along the drying process.  If you plan far enough ahead, you can decorate with simple drop flowers made from royal icing.  If you’re short on time, a simple diagonal drizzle of lightly tinted royal icing works well (pink for raspberry buttercream filling, brown for ganache, etc).