2. 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.”
3. Typical Characteristics:
Approximately 1 inch square and
about 1.5 to 2 inches high
Consist of layers of cake and butter
cream frosting
Petits fours however can refer to any
number of small confections or
pastries.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Petits fours secs
(sec meaning
"dry") include a
variety of small
desserts, such
as:
special dainty
cookies
baked meringues
Macaroons
puff pastries
7. 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.
8. Actually, common
cookie recipes can
be converted to
petits fours secs
simply by making
them smaller and
enhancing their
decoration
9. 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.
14. What to review
Characteristics of European cakes
and petits fours
Study their differences and similarities
Examples of European cakes and
petits fours
