Petits Fours

Elegant, frivolous, more confection than cake, petits fours are the exhibitionists of the pastry world. The color must be vivid and the taste emphatic, with only the best ingredients used—smooth chocolate, crunchy nuts and rich caramel—to produce an eye-catching display for a grand reception or after a splendid dinner.

Petits fours cover a range of small cookies, from amusing contrivances such as wafer-thin tiles (Fr. tuiles) or cat’s tongues (Fr. langues de chat) to miniature génoise cakes (see génoise recipe) cloaked in fondant. Many petits fours are not baked at all, despite their name (French for “little ovens”) and belong more to the world of confectionery than to patisserie. Fruits glazed with fondant or caramel, almond paste bonbons, chocolate truffles and colettes—chocolate cups or boxes filled with ganache—are just as much petits fours as miniature cookies and cakes. (For details of these see the section on candies in Sugar and Chocolate, and Cookies.)