In the 19th century there were no gas ovens. French bakers had huge brick or stone ovens that were usually coal fired.  They took a long while to heat up, became very hot, and then took their time cooling off.  There were no temperature controls with only two imaginary "settings."  When the fire was at its most intense, it was called grand four ("big oven"), used for roasting meats, crusty loaves of bread, cakes and other main events. When the fire was dying out and there was still plenty of heat retained in the oven walls, this was called petit four ("small oven").  This lower temperature was perfect for baking individual pastries and bite-sized cookies and appetizers, all of which came to be called petits fours. (Information from the Swiss Colony website, History of Petits Four: The Origin of These Luscious Little Layer cakes. swisscolony.com)

This week, Rob chose to bake petit fours. He chose a recipe from Preppy Kitchen, which can be found below. https://preppykitchen.com/petit-fours/ 

 Petit Fours

        Equipment

Mixer

Baking Sheet

Serrated Knife

• For the Cake:

  • ▢ 3 cups all-purpose flour (360g)
  • ▢ 1 ¼ tsp baking powder
  • ▢ ½ tsp salt
  • ▢ 1 ½ cups butter room temperature (339g)
  • ▢ 2 ¼ cups sugar (450g)
  • ▢ 8 oz cream cheese room temperature (226g)
  • ▢ 5 large eggs room temperature
  • ▢ 2 tsp vanilla (10mL)
  • ▢ ½ cup milk room temperature (120mL)

  For the Vanilla Buttercream:

  • ▢ ¾ cup butter room temperature (170g)
  • ▢ 3 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
  • ▢ 1 ½ tsp vanilla
  • ▢ 3 tbsp milk or cream room temperature (15mL)
  • ▢ ¼ tsp salt
  • ▢ 1 jar raspberry jam

  For the Coating:

  • ▢ 8 oz white chocolate chopped (226g)
  • ▢ ¼ cup corn syrup (60mL)
  • ▢ 3 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar (420g)
  • ▢ ⅓ cup hot water more if needed (80mL)

  

  
  

  Instructions

           For the Cake:

  Preheat the oven to 350F and line a half baking sheet (12”x17”) with parchment paper. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl, whisk together and set aside.

  Cream the butter in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a large bowl if using an electric hand mixer. Add the sugar and then mix on high until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl down as needed. Add the cream cheese and mix until combined.

  Drop the eggs in one at a time while mixing on medium speed, scrape the bowl down at least once, and then mix in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture in three batches alternating with the milk, mixing until almost combined. Finish batter off with a spatula, folding in any unmixed bits of flour or butter.

  Pour into a lined baking sheet and smooth into an even layer. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to release any larger air bubbles, and bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes or until the center is springy to the touch. Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack, peel paper off, and set aside to cool completely.

           For the Buttercream: 

  While the cake cools, cream the room temperature butter and salt, then add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla while mixing on low. Scrape the bowl down as needed, then drizzle in the milk or cream a tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached. If you want to decorate the petit fours with buttercream flowers, you may want to add an extra 1/4 cup of butter and a cup of powdered sugar to the frosting recipe.

  For the Assembly: Cut the cake into two rectangles (this helps the pieces be more manageable to cut and handle), then cut each down the middle with a serrated knife. Open the cake and spread a thin layer of the buttercream on one half and a very thin layer of raspberry jam (you can use any jam or lemon curd for the filling) on the other. Sandwich the cake layers together, so you have two-layer cakes with raspberry jam and buttercream in the middle. Place onto a baking sheet, then cover and freeze for about 30 minutes or until firm. Cut the edges of the frozen cake, then cut into 1.25-1.5 inch cubes and place them on a wire rack over a baking sheet. Return to the freezer to chill while you make the coating

  For the Coating and Decorating:   

  While the petit fours freeze, melt the chopped white chocolate in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water, stirring occasionally. While the chocolate melts, sift the confectioners’ sugar into a large bowl and then add the hot water and corn syrup, folding together with a spatula until combined. Stir in the melted white chocolate until smooth if the consistency of the fondant is a bit thick, you can mix in more hot water a teaspoon at a time. 

  Remove the cake cubes from the freezer, place one on a fork then dip the bottom into the fondant. Lift and spoon more fondant over the top until the sides are coated. Tap the fork on the bowl's edge to remove excess fondant, then return to the wire cooling rack (still over a baking sheet) to set. Repeat the process for the remaining cubes. The petit fours will take an hour or two to set.  Decorate with a drizzle of melted white chocolate, icing, or you can use the remaining buttercream to pipe little roses on top using a small petal tip (102) and leaf tip (349).  The petit fours turned out scrumptious and lovely.  Once again, as always, Rob's culinary talents were shining along with the sun.