College of Hospitality Entrepreneurship HME202

and Food Sciences Bread and Pastry

MODULE 6
PETIT FOUR MAKING

At the end of this module you are expected to:

1. Be able to select, measure, weigh and prepare required ingredients according to
recipe or production requirements and established standards and procedures.
2. Be able to used appropriate equipment according to required petit fours and
standard operating procedures.
3. Baked according to techniques and appropriate conditions; and enterprise
requirements.
4. Used variety of fillings and coating/icing glazes and decorations for petit four
making.
5. Present, store and pack petit fours according to established standards and
procedures.

Petit Fours
It is a traditionally used to describe the miniature cookies, tartlets, and cakes that may
accompany an afternoon coffee or tea or that are served after a meal. Petit fours have
numerous characteristics, including light, delicate, crisp, and refreshing. The common
defining characteristic of petits fours is that they can be eaten in one or two bites.

The name of these small treats, which literally means "small ovens," refers to the
tradition of baking small pastries in a slow oven after large pastries have been removed
and oven temperature is reduced.

There are two styles of sweet petit fours, traditional and contemporary. Traditional petit
fours include petit fours sec, petit fours glaces, petit fours frais, and petit fours deguises.
Contemporary petit fours include petit fours prestige, as well as the list of the traditional
petit fours.
College of Hospitality Entrepreneurship HME202
and Food Sciences Bread and Pastry

CATEGORIES OF PETITS FOURS

PETITS FOURS SEC

 Petit fours sec are usually unfilled cookies. These have a signature dry, crisp
texture from being baked at a lower temperature for longer periods of time. The
simple nature of this category makes attention to detail a crucial consideration to
ensure the quality and presentation.
 These cookies often include various shapes and assembly procedures, which
may include the following cookie processes: icebox, molded, piped, and sheeted.
 Common dough used for petit fours sec include shortbread, sable breton, and
puff pastry to make items like duchesses, sable beurre, Spritz, speculos,
palmiers, allumettes glacees, tuiles, and langue du chats.
 A popular petit four sec is the Parisian macaron, a delicate cookie made with
sugar, egg whites, and ground almonds. The Parisian variety of macaron is
becoming increasingly popular and is defined by two cookies, sandwiched
together with a flavored filling. Macarons should be shiny and smooth on the
outside with color representative of the filling inside. The inside of the cookie
should be soft and moist, never crunchy or tough. It is common for these cookies
to go through a "curing" stage in the refrigerator to soften the cookie and infuse
the flavor of the filling throughout the treat. At 70 percent relative humidity,
macarons can remain in the refrigerator uncovered for up to 3 days. If the
humidity is too high, the cookie can soften too much and take on a very soft
texture. Macarons are most commonly flavored with buttercream or ganache,
which may be flavored as vanilla, pistachio, chocolate, praline, lemon, and
raspberry, among others.

PETITS FOURS GLACES

 Petits fours glaces are small, bite-sized cakes with a thin coating of glaze,
typically fondant, which is applied at the end of the production process.
Assembled in large sheets and then cut after setting up, petits fours glaces
contain thin layers of cake alternating with jam and/or butter-cream.
College of Hospitality Entrepreneurship HME202
and Food Sciences Bread and Pastry

 The top of the cake is adorned with a thin layer of marzipan to add flavor, as well
as a smooth surface for the glaze to settle on.
 Marzipan is made from almond paste, with the addition of sugar, a cooked sugar
syrup, and sometimes glucose and/or egg white.
 After the cake is cut, it can be enrobed in fondant, or sometimes chocolate. Petits
fours glaces are typically finished with intricate, stylized piping.

PETITS FOURS FRAIS

 Petits fours frais are characterized by items that are served the day they are
made because their composition leads to deterioration of quality the longer they
sit. This group includes cream-filled items, such as eclairs, tartlets (fruit,
cremeux, ganache), and some petits fours deguises.
 Parisian macarons may be classified as petits fours frais when they are filled with
fresh fruit and a mousse or similar light-textured cream. Petits fours frais may
also include "spongy" petits fours such as almond cakes, madeleines, and
financiers.

PETITS FOURS DEGUISES

 Petits fours deguises are made from fresh, dried, or candied fruits that are coated
in cooked sugar, fondant, chocolate, or any combination of the three.
 Fruits commonly dipped in sugar include gooseberries, kumquats, cherries,
grapes, and candied fruits such as pineapple or mango.
 The fruit is simply dipped into the cooked sugar solution and then transferred to a
silicone mat or lightly oiled granite. Some fruit, such as kumquat, may benefit
from drying out slightly before dipping. Any fruit dipped in sugar should be used
in a timely fashion or should be stored with humectants, to avoid the softening of
the sugar.

A standard syrup for dipping includes

College of Hospitality Entrepreneurship HME202
and Food Sciences Bread and Pastry

100 percent sugar

35 percent water
35 percent glucose
5 drops of tartaric acid solution per 1 kg sugar

 This syrup should be prepared as other supersaturated syrups by bringing the

water and sugar to a boil, brushing down the sides of the pot with cold water and
then adding the glucose. The syrup needs to be cooked to 320[degrees]F
(160[degrees]C). The sugar should then be removed from the heat, and the
cooking should be stopped in cold water. After the bubbles have subsided, the
fruit can be dipped in the sugar. The sugar syrup may be colored to enhance the
presentation of the petits fours.
 Traditional fruit petits fours deguises are usually first coated in marzipan and then
dipped in sugar. Decorator's marzipan (20 percent fruit content) is commonly
used as a filling to replace the pit in pitted fruits, and as a thin outside layer used
to cover some dried fruit before dipping in sugar. Whenever marzipan is used to
cover fruit to be dipped, it should be allowed to dry for a couple of days before
dipping in sugar. After the marzipan is dry, it may be dipped in the sugar syrup. If
fruit is coated with fondant, the fondant should be dry and slightly hard before it is
dipped into an additional ingredient like chocolate.
 Products that are dipped in fondant should be candied or of relatively low
moisture to ensure the fondant sets. To partially enrobe petits fours deguises
which have been dipped in fondant with chocolate, the fondant must set first.
Common fruits using this technique include strawberries, candied orange slices,
and candied citrus peels.

Considerations for Dipping Fruits in Sugar

College of Hospitality Entrepreneurship HME202
and Food Sciences Bread and Pastry

1. Fruit should be properly cleaned and thoroughly dried before dipping to avoid
sugar crystallization, as well as problems where the water dissolves the
fondant, seizes the chocolate, or deteriorates the fruit pieces.
2. Fruits with a higher moister level on the surface should be coated with
marzipan to keep the sugar from crystallizing due to the presence of natural
liquids or moisture.

PETITS FOURS PRESTIGE

 Petits fours prestige may be smaller versions of contemporary

entremets or other desserts. Components used for petits fours prestige
may include cake bases such as biscuit or Dacquoise, creams such as
creme mousseline or cremeux, egg foams like Italian meringue, and
fresh fruit.
 Many of the finishing techniques used for advanced cake production
may be used for petits fours prestige such as glazing and chocolate
spraying.
 Often these small pastries will even include small decorative chocolate
or sugar elements. The production of these items is labor intensive;
however, with the use of specialty molds and working out of the
freezer, petits fours prestige can look consistent and sharp and can be
produced efficiently.

STORAGE AND SERVICE OF PETITS FOURS

 If the item is susceptible to humidity, it should be held airtight, vacuum-

sealed when possible, and with anti-humectants.
 Petits fours sec may have a shelf life of roughly 1 to 2 weeks. Petits
fours frais, deguises, and prestige are fresh for shorter periods of time,
which varies by product.
College of Hospitality Entrepreneurship HME202
and Food Sciences Bread and Pastry

EXAMPLES OF PETIT FOUR SEC

EXAMPLES PETITS FOURS GLACES

College of Hospitality Entrepreneurship HME202
and Food Sciences Bread and Pastry

EXAMPLES OF PETITS FOURS FRAIS

TARTS

CREAM PUFF ECLAIRS

College of Hospitality Entrepreneurship HME202
and Food Sciences Bread and Pastry

EXAMPLES OF PETITS FOURS DEGUISES