MENU

recipe search...

Lemon Berry Petit Fours (For Beginners!)

Posted on May 6, 2019 / posted in Specialty Desserts / 42 comments

THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE SALES LINKS. PLEASE SEE MY FULL DISCLOSURE POLICY FOR DETAILS

TwitterFacebookPinterestYummlyEmail

Jump to Recipe

Delicate and sweet, these lemon berry petit fours are bite-size mini cakes perfect for weddings, parties,
tea time, bridal and baby showers. Topped with a simple white chocolate garnish, this petit four recipe is
easy and approachable. Perfect for beginners!

Lemon berry petit fours

A dessert by popular demand. 🙂

We’re in peak wedding/brunch/bridal shower/spring season, so there’s been a lot of buzz about petit
fours lately. Admittedly, I’ve never made them before but have always enjoyed the several varieties I’ve
tasted. Always up for a new baking adventure, I decided to make these petite cakes my personal goal for
the spring season.

And I’m excited to share my results with you!! These lemon berry petit fours are flavorful and moist,
cute and tiny, simple and sweet.

MY LATEST VIDEOS
Petit fours

What are Petit Fours?

Petit fours are bite-size decorative cakes, typically of the sweet variety. The term petit four is French and
also includes savory bite-sized appetizers and other small pastries like macarons and meringues. Petit
four is translated as “small oven.”

Today we’re focusing on glacé petit fours, which means “glazed.” Think of these as miniature layer
cakes, perfectly pint-sized with no fork required. They’re most commonly found at bridal showers, baby
showers, tea parties, weddings, and the like. Classic petit fours are made with delicate sponge cake,
then enrobed in fondant and topped with intricate decor. They’re certainly beautiful and delicious, but
the preparation can be tedious and complicated for the home baker. I wanted a recipe that was
approachable for both you and I, but still produced the same elegance and dainty aesthetic as the fancy
varieties. I couldn’t really settle on any petit four recipes that were both straightforward and delicious,
so I created one my favorite pound cake, vanilla buttercream, lemon curd, and raspberry jam.

There’s approximately 1 billion petit fours varieties and this one’s my new favorite. The recipe is perfect
for beginners and I even include a video demonstrating exactly how to shape and layer them, plus other
flavor options.

Lemon berry petit fours

How to Make Lemon Berry Petit Fours

I stuck with a cake recipe that I know works: my cream cheese pound cake. Pound cake has an ideal
texture for petit fours because it won’t squish when you layer or cut the tiny cakes.

Let’s walk through the whole process together:

Make cake batter: Since the cake will be filled and iced, I reduced the sugar in the original recipe. I also
added a little lemon juice to flavor and thin out the batter and a little more baking powder– both
produced a less dense crumb and a little more rise.

Bake in a sheet pan: The most important part of this entire recipe is using the correct size baking pan.
Use a 12×17 inch half sheet pan. The cake will overflow in small pans and be too thin in larger pans.

Cut in rectangles: As the cake cools, it will shrink a bit. Have no fear, that’s totally normal. Peel the
parchment off the bottom of the cake and slice into 6 even rectangles.

Slice rectangles into 2 layers: Slice each rectangle in half. You’ll have 12 even rectangles that you will
layer together to make four small 3 layer “cakes.”

Prepare fillings: I used lemon curd and raspberry jam in one layer and a thick vanilla buttercream in
another layer. Fresh, fruity, creamy, and sweet! Use any jam you prefer and you could even use lemon
buttercream or chocolate buttercream.

Layer with fillings: Spread fillings onto each rectangle, then layer together.

Chill: The layers *must chill* in the refrigerator prior to cutting into small petit fours.

Cut into squares: Cut each into squares.

Top with white chocolate: More on the topping below.

This recipe yields 48 petit fours, but you can cut them smaller if you need more. As long as the layered
cakes are sufficiently chilled, cutting into tiny squares is easy.

Pound cake batter in mixing bowl

Pound cake batter in sheet pan

Video Tutorial: How to Assemble Petit Fours

Assembling petit fours can be confusing, as I’m sure I lost you explaining the process above. I knew I’d
have a hard time clearly explaining this, so I made a video showing you exactly how to cut, assemble,
and layer them.
Ok I know this picture looks like I’m making a jelly sandwich on white bread, but I promise that’s pound
cake under there!!

Spreading jam on petit fours layers

White Chocolate for Petit Fours “Icing”

Like I mention above, petit fours are usually covered in fondant. I wanted something a little less finicky,
so I opted for white chocolate. Sure, they’re not as fancy looking but they’re still super cute… and really
good! When applied lightly, the white chocolate thickens and sets, making these petit fours perfect for
transporting and serving.

Melt the white chocolate with a little oil so it’s a thinner consistency for topping.

One tip: Use pure white chocolate or white chocolate that’s meant for melting. Pick up a 4 ounce bar of
white chocolate from the baking aisle or white melting chips. (I use Ghirardelli brand white vanilla
flavored melting chips.) White chocolate chips DO NOT melt down into the proper consistency; it will be
too thick and taste grainy.

You could even use lemon icing on top instead. Much easier than fondant!

Melted white chocolate

Icing on petit fours

Garnish with sprinkles, edible flowers, white sixlets, or edible dragées– the last two I got from my
Sweetapolita sprinkle medleys!

Petit fours
Petit Four Flavors

Like always, there’s flavor options!

Chocolate Raspberry: Replace lemon juice in cake with milk, replace lemon curd with more raspberry
jam, and fill with chocolate buttercream instead.

Lemon Coconut: Replace raspberry jam with more lemon curd and add 1 teaspoons coconut extract to
cake and buttercream.

Strawberry Champagne: Replace lemon juice in cake with champagne, the raspberry jam and lemon
curd with your favorite strawberry jam, and vanilla buttercream with champagne buttercream.

Let me know if you try these for any special occasion!

Lemon berry petit fours on white plate

More Simplified Fancy Treats

Choux Pastry

Eclairs

Tea Cakes

Madeleines

Lace Cookies

Chocolate Truffles

Lemon berry petit fours

Lemon Berry Petit Fours

★★★★★

5 from 4 reviews

Prep Time: 1 hour Cook Time: 30 minutes Total Time: 4 hours, 30 minutes Yield: 48 petit fours

PRINT
PIN

Description

Delicate and sweet, these lemon berry petit fours are bite-size mini cakes perfect for weddings, parties,
tea time, bridal and baby showers. Topped with a simple white chocolate garnish, this petit four recipe is
easy and approachable. See video in blog post for a visual of the assembly.

Ingredients

1 and 1/2 cups (3 sticks; 345g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

8 ounce (226g) block full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature

2 cups (400g) granulated sugar

1/3 cup (80g) sour cream, at room temperature

1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

6 large eggs, at room temperature

3 cups (345g) cake flour (spoon & leveled)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 Tablespoons (45ml) fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)

1/4 cup raspberry jam

1/4 cup (60g) lemon curd

Vanilla Buttercream Filling

3/4 cup (1.5 sticks; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

3 cups (360g) confectioners’ sugar

2 Tablespoons (30ml) heavy cream or whole milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

pinch of salt
White Chocolate Topping

two 4 ounce bars (226g) white chocolate, coarsely chopped*

2 teaspoons canola, vegetable, or coconut oil

optional garnish: white sixlets, mint leaves, edible flowers, berries, and/or sprinkles

Instructions

Cut cake into sections: Watch video tutorial above for a visual on the entire petit fours assembly. Once
cool, invert the cake onto a cutting board or the counter with the long side facing you. With a sharp
knife (I find serrated knife is best here) or pizza cutter, slice cake in half horizontally. Then cut each long
rectangle into 3 smaller rectangles. You’ll now have 6 rectangles. Very carefully and slowly slice each in
half as shown in the video above– as if you were making a 1 layer cake a 2-layer cake. You now have 12
thin rectangles.

Make the vanilla buttercream: With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the
butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, heavy cream, and
vanilla extract. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high speed and beat for 3 full
minutes. Add up to 1/4 cup more confectioners’ sugar if frosting is too thin or another Tablespoon of
cream if frosting is too thick. Add a pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet. (I always add a pinch.)

Add fillings: With a sharp knife, trim the ends off the rectangles that touched the pan. They’re a little
harder and uneven, which would create lopsided petit fours. Spread vanilla buttercream in a thick even
layer on 4 rectangles. Spread both lemon curd and raspberry jam on 4 rectangles. (The remaining 4
rectangles are plain because they are the tops.) Go a little lighter on the raspberry jam and lemon curd
compared to the vanilla buttercream. If there’s too much, it creates a big mess when cutting the petit
fours.

Layer the petit fours: Place the lemon curd/raspberry jam rectangles on top of the vanilla buttercream
rectangles. Layer the plain rectangle on top. Loosely cover each and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2
hours or freeze for 1 hour. They must chill before cutting into tiny petit fours.

Cut into tiny petit fours: Once cold, slice each into 12 little squares. Arrange on a baking sheet and chill
in the refrigerator or freezer as you melt the white chocolate.

Add the topping/garnish: Melt the white chocolate and oil together in a double boiler or in the
microwave in 20 second increments, stopping and stirring after each until smooth and melted. If it
seems too thick, add another drop of oil to thin out. Spoon or drizzle over petit fours. Top with optional
garnish if desired.

Cover and store petit fours in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.