Pretty Petits Fours

Pretty Petits Fours
Makes 35 Petits Fours
A Petit Four is basically a bit size dessert, they can be cakes, pastries, or even candies. These were made with Mexican Vanilla which has a slightly sweeter more intense flavor. These make great party favors packaged in individual boxes so you're guest can take them home. You can decorate them however you like, we used little pink flowers and pearls which seemed rather appropriate for the baby shower they catered to. When applying the buttercream, only put a paper thin coating to allow the fondant to adhere, if you prefer more icing on your cakes it would be wise to double the recipe for the buttercream.


1 White Cake
1 recipe Italian Meringue Buttercream
2.5 pounds rolled fondant (available at cake decorating supply stores)
1 recipe Royal Icing
Cornstarch for work surface for rolling out fondant


Tools and Materials

Serrated knife: To slice uneven cake layers with precision.

Offset spatula: Its flat, slightly flexible metal blade makes this the best tool for spreading icing.

Piping bag: A soft, conical sack with the tip lopped off, made of coated fabric or plastic. Put each color of icing in its own bag, so you don't have to wash bags in the middle of the project.

Piping tips: A round hole creates a line or dot; a star-shape hole makes a ridged line or flower.

Plastic coupler: Allows you to change piping tips to make various shapes in the same color.

Drinking glass: Place a damp paper towel at bottom, and set piping bags in it when not in use.

Cake turntable: Lets you spin the cake with one hand while holding bag or spatula steady with the other (a useful extra).


Pretty Petits Fours How-To
All these designs were piped with a #4 plain tip using royal icing, which dries hard in about ten minutes.

Place sheet cake on clean work surface, top side up. Trim top to make level. Cut cake in half into to equal rectangles of 13 x 9 inches. Sandwich layer of buttercream between the layers. Trim sides of cake to be square. Cut cake into 35 1-1/2-inch squares. Place each on its own piece of parchment or waxed paper. Ice each with a thin layer of buttercream to help fondant stick to cake. Chill blocks to set the buttercream.

Lightly brush cornstarch onto a clean work surface. You'll cover just one block at a time. Remove a 2-inch ball of fondant (tightly wrap remaining fondant to keep it from hardening). Using a rolling pin, roll it out into a thin circle about 1/8 inch thick and roughly 7 inches in diameter. Don't refrigerate the blocks after you cover them; the fondant will get sticky.

Remove cake squares from refrigerator. Center the rolled fondant circle over a block of cake, and place it gently on the cake. Carefully press the fondant against the sides of the block, working on two opposite sides at the same time and smoothing up from the bottom. Repeat for the other pair of sides. Gently pinch the fondant together at the corners, creating four flaps. Working quickly, so fondant doesn't dry out, fold two flaps toward center of one side, as if wrapping a gift box; repeat for opposite side. Use a dab of water to help the flaps adhere, if necessary. Trim excess fondant from base of block with a sharp knife.

Repeat process for each block, using different-colored fondants, as desired. (If trimmed scraps are free of crumbs, knead together and reuse.)

Ice cakes with royal icing along the top and bottom borders. Top with flowers or other decoration made from fondant, use royal icing to adhere.