Chocolate Petit Fours

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Homemade chocolate petit fours filled with strawberry buttercream are moist and delicious. They are a perfect bite sized dessert that can be made ahead of time for a perfect treat.

Imagine a bite sized bit of chocolate cake filled with creamy buttercream and dipped in chocolate. If that caught your attention, you are going to love these wonderful petit fours.

They are perfect for everything from a casual party to an elegant soiree. Serve them as the dessert course or as part of a larger sweet buffet.

I have the honor of making treats for an upcoming wedding. They want a cutting cake for pictures, but instead of serving a traditional cake to their guests they would like to do a dessert bar.

So we are whipping up several flavors of no bake cheesecake. They will be served in small portions in cute little dessert cups.

Then we were debating doing a few flavors of mini cupcakes. But they want everything to be gluten free and I felt like the cupcakes were drying out more quickly than I would like.

If you have any tips for avoiding that, please let me know. I am all ears.

So we decided to do a couple of flavors of petit fours instead. The little bite sized cakes are as cute as can be and the fact that they are dipped keeps them moist for so much longer.

Making the petit fours

With a lot of recipes to make, being able to do some of the prep work ahead of time is crucial. Luckily because there are a few different times the cakes go in the freezer so you can easily spread the work out over several days if you would like.

The batter comes together quickly. Pour it over a parchment paper lined half sheet pan.

It creates a nice thin layer of moist cake. Freeze the cake for a bit to stiffen it up and then cut it in half across the long edge of the pan.

Spread some buttercream over half of the cake. I used strawberry buttercream but any flavor of American buttercream would be delicious. Imagine them with chocolate buttercream for a triple chocolate threat!

You can use small cookie cutters to cut the petit fours or just use a sharp knife to cut it into 1 inch squares. If the cake feels to soft or sticky, put it back into the freezer for an hour and try again.

Freeze the cut petit fours for at least a couple of hours, then melt the chocolate and get ready to coat them in chocolate

Coating them in chocolate

You want to use a high quality dipping chocolate if you can. This isn’t a place to skimp as it’s going to be the star of the show.

The dark chocolate Ghirardelli melting chocolate works well. A little bit of shortening helps to give it a great texture that is soft enough to bite but solid enough to hold its shape.

The more frozen the petit fours are, the easier they are going to be to work with. So you may only want to pull a handful out of the freezer at once.

I find it easiest to hold a cake on the very edge a fork over the bowl of melted chocolate. Then use a spoon to pour melted chocolate over the little cakes making sure to get all of the sides.

Gently scoot the cake off the fork and onto wax or parchment paper to set up. If using sprinkles, be sure to put them on right away before the chocolate sets.

Storing petit fours

Petit fours can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for three to four days.

Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Or freeze petit fours for up to three months.

You can also hold the petit fours in the freezer for several days or weeks at a time in any of the steps that already require freezing. Just make sure they are in a freezer safe container to prevent them from taking on any freezer flavors.

Cookies for Kids Cancer

This recipe is being shared as part of one of my favorite collaborations each year. Several bloggers and I are posting Valentine’s Day themed recipes and raising money for Cookies for Kids Cancer.

The money raised will help to fund research for treatments for the smallest cancer warriors. If you have spent much time here on the blog, you likely know this is a cause that is near and dear to my heart.

Luckily due to the generous sponsors of this event, OXO, Mediavine and Dixie Crystals, my donation was match three times over. So my $150 became $600 like magic.

You can take advantage of the same magic if you are feeling called to do so. The sponsors are matching the first $300.

Cancer is the #1 cause of death of children by disease in the U.S. There are 40,000 U.S. children actively battling cancer right now. The National Cancer Institute’s budget for childhood cancer is less than 4%. It’s such a small number and that’s why I got involved.

And with the ongoing pandemic, children are still being diagnosed with cancer. It’s imperative that we raise awareness and continue to raise funds to fund the ongoing pediatric cancer research!

Just click here to get to the donation page.

Thank you to so many of you who have already donated, please help us reach our goal so we can get the full matching donations and help us make an even huge difference!

For more Valentines themed recipes supporting Cookies for Kids Cancer, please check out the list below the recipe card.

Homemade Chocolate Petit Fours

Carlee

Homemade chocolate petit fours filled with strawberry buttercream are moist and delicious. They are a perfect bite sized dessert that can be made ahead of time for a perfect treat.

4.94 from 16 ratings

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Additional Time 4 hours hrs

Total Time 5 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 75 petit fours

Calories 45 kcal

Equipment

• Sheet Pan
• Farberware Classic Stainless Series 2-Quart Covered Double Boiler

Ingredients

 

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Chocolate Cake

• ½ cup milk
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ⅓ cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon almond extract
• ½ cup hot coffee or water

Filling

• 1 cup buttercream

Coating

• 10 oz. dark dipping chocolate
• 2 Tablespoons shortening

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350°F and line a 13×18" sheet pan with parchment paper. Spray the pan and parchment paper with cooking spray.
• Stir the lemon juice into the milk and set aside.
• In a large bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• In a separate bowl, stir together egg, soured milk, milk, vanilla and almond extract.
• Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the hot coffee and mix until smooth.
• Spread batter in prepared sheet pan, then bake for 11-13 minutes or until the center springs back when lightly touched with a finger.
• Cool cake, then put in the freezer for at least one hour.
• Cut frozen cake in half across the equator of the pan. Spread buttercream over on half of the cake, then top with the other half.
• Cut with small cookie cutters if desired, otherwise use a sharp knife to cut into 1 inch squares.
• Return the cakes to the freezer for at least one more hour.
• When the cakes are frozen solid, start to melt the chocolate and shortening together.
• It is best to pull the petit fours out of the freezer in small batches. Place one on the end of a fork and use a spoon to coat the exterior in melted chocolate. Scoot the chocolate coated cake onto a sheet of wax or parchment paper to set. If using sprinkles, apply immediately. Then continue working until all of the petit fours are coated.

Notes

Keep at room temperature for 3-4 days or in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1petit fourCalories: 45kcalCarbohydrates: 6gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 5mgSodium: 31mgSugar: 5g

Tried this recipe?Mention @carleecooks or tag #cookingwcarlee!

Adapted from A Spicy Perspective

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