Episode 20 – Petits Fours Glace

Episode 20

Petits Fours

October 17, 2010
Petits Fours Glace

Welcome to the very first viewer request video!  This video was requested by Maria who asked if I could do an episode on petits fours.  Well Maria you asked for it so here it is!

Now like I said in the video, petit four (which means small oven) is a very broad sweeping term.  Just about any dessert that you can eat in 1-2 bites is considered a petit four.  However, when most people think of petits fours they think of petit four glace.  Petits fours glace are typically small tea cakes, usually 1″ cubes but can be any shape, and are glazed with fondant (called glazing fondant/icing fondant – remember rolled fondant is what we use on wedding cakes).  The other categories of petits fours are petit four sec, demi sec, and varies.  Petits fours sec (sec means dry) are basically miniature cookies.  Mini chocolate chip cookies, coconut macaroons, and shortbread cookies fall under this category.  Petits fours demi sec, or semi dry, are basically petits fours sec with something special added after they are baked.  Two cookies sandwiched together with a jam filling, cookies dipped in chocolate, and thumbprint cookies are all examples of petits fours demi sec.  Petits fours varies are basically everything else: cream puffs, eclairs, meringues, tartelettes, candies, brownies, even chocolate dipped strawberries are examples of this category.  Basically if it doesn’t fall into the first three categories it’s under varies.

Below are some additional pictures of petits fours from a resort I worked at while I was in school.  Sorry about the picture quality – I had a lousy camera back then.  Also in the gallery are close ups of my petits fours glace and frangipan.

Now in the video I mention that you can use just about any dense cake you’d like, such as pound cake, and that’s because you want a cake that isn’t crumbly but you also want a cake that isn’t super springy.  This makes it easier to shape and cut and it helps ensure nice smooth sides where the marzipan isn’t covering so the fondant coats the sides with a very smooth finish.  For these petits fours I used frangipan, but to be honest I find the almond flavor overwhelming, especially with the marzipan, so if you have a good pound cake recipe use that.  Although, if you’re looking for a strong almond flavor then frangipan is perfect.

A nice bonus to this video was a brief introduction to tempering chocolate.  I’m going to go into much greater detail about tempering chocolate on here:  Chocolate, real chocolate, is made up of cocoa butter, sugar, and cocoa particles (as well as any additional ingredients such as lecithin and milk).  When chocolate is melted the only thing that really melts is the cocoa butter – the sugar and cocoa particles stay solid.  When you temper chocolate, you’re really only tempering the melted cocoa butter.

Cocoa butter typically melts right around 97 degrees F (just under body temperature) although we typically heat it to a higher temperature, especially with dark chocolate, to make sure all the cocoa butter is completely melted.  Cocoa butter in itself is complex consisting of different fats (fatty acids) each having its own melting and setting temperatures.  When the chocolate cools the fats crystallize (also called solidify or set up) in several different sizes and shapes.  When this happens the chocolate is considered untempered.  This is because all these different kinds of fat crystals are unstable, don’t line up together well, and create a weak, gritty, unappealing product.  When liquid chocolate is untempered it takes a very long time to set up – if it sets up at all.  Untempered chocolate when solidified may still be soft even at room temperature or if it is solid it will be gritty, dull, crumbly, and may have a white to gray film on the surface and through the solid bar.  Untempered chocolate can also spoil much faster than tempered chocolate.  The film is referred to as fat bloom.

Tempering chocolate helps ensure that proper fat crystals form in the chocolate.  These crystals are uniform in shape.  This results in a chocolate that sets up quickly, sets up strong (will have a nice snap when broken), shiny, and free of fat bloom.

There are many ways to temper chocolate.  Most of the ways involve agitation and temperature control.  The method we used in class was called the table method where we poured about 2/3 of the melted chocolate on a marble table and worked it with spatulas cooling it and providing agitation at the same time.  Though this is the preferred method of many chefs this takes up a lot of space.  Another method is the direct method where you warm solid tempered chocolate up slowly in the microwave until it is at the exact temperature.  This can be difficult and you can burn the chocolate if you aren’t familiar with how your microwave works.

The method I prefer to use at home and the method I used in the video is called the vaccination method.  Melt solid dark chocolate up to 122 degrees F (115 for milk and white chocolate) on a double boiler doing your best to not allow it to reach 130 degrees (or 125 degrees for milk and white).  Then while constantly and steadily stirring with a rubber spatula guide it back down to 90 degrees (88 for milk, and 86 for white).  Meanwhile, take very fine tempered chocolate pieces and sprinkle them into the untempered chocolate.  Depending on how much chocolate you have melted you’ll need a couple handfuls.  This introduces the desired crystals into the chocolate (the same way ice cubes introduce ice crystals into water) to help aid in the cooling and tempering process.

To test if chocolate is tempered the best method is to take a piece of parchment paper, dip it slightly in the chocolate, shake off the excess, and then let it set up.  If it sets up relatively quickly the chocolate is tempered and ready to use.  Now if you’re working with chocolate and it seems too cold and isn’t running freely then you may have over crystallized chocolate.  This isn’t bad, this just means that chocolate is starting to set up.  Just warm the tempered chocolate on a double boiler up to 90 degrees again without going over and it should be fine.  If you exceed 90 degrees you may have melted too many of the stable crystals and you’ll have to temper it again.

Seems like a pain, especially if you only want to pipe or dip with it.  Well there is an alternative called coating chocolate.  Coating chocolate has had all or most of the cocoa butter taken out and replaced with vegetable oil so it doesn’t need to be tempered to work with it.  All you have to do is melt it down on a double boiler or in the microwave (very carefully!) and it’s ready to use.  Coating chocolate is just as easy to find as regular chocolate just read the label and see if one of the first ingredients is vegetable oil (or better yet, see if cocoa butter is not listed).  Coating chocolate is commonly sold in grocery stores under the names of chips, morsels, and baking chips.  Coating chocolate is also easy to find at Michael’s or if you’re in Northern Virginia visit Sallee at Fran’s Cake and Candy!  Remember though that coating chocolate does not set up as strong as regular tempered chocolate so it isn’t suitable for chocolate showpieces and the like – for example: if you want to make a three dimensional tea cup out of chocolate it’s best to use real chocolate.  Also keep this in mind: Tempered chocolate will always make thinner, nicer, more impressive, more elegant, piping designs than coating chocolate.  Coating chocolate will always come out thicker because it has a tendency to run before it sets up.

It looks like I ended up talking more about tempering chocolate than about petits fours in this blog post!  Well, how about we talk a little about marzipan next then.  Marzipan is a dough like candy that is commonly used as a filling for candies and chocolates – especially in Europe.  Marzipan is similar to rolled fondant in that you can roll it out and shape it.  It also has a very distinct almond paste flavor since its main component is almond paste.  The most common use for marzipan right now is to make three dimensional cake decorations – like carrots on carrot cake or animal figures.  Marzipan is not difficult to make at all but the ingredients are just about as expensive as buying store bought marzipan so save yourself some time and just purchase it.  However, if you’re interested here is the recipe for making homemade marzipan.

The little decorations I piped on top of the petits fours glace are called filigrees.  Filigrees can basically refer to any piped chocolate or royal icing decoration and are commonplace in plated desserts and wedding cakes.  They can be piped with chocolate sauce or piped with tempered chocolate on parchment paper and peeled off and used three dimensionally to add height.  If piped thinly they can have a fancy, graceful, delicate look about them.  Make sure when you pipe to start your bag off with a hole smaller than you’ll think you’ll need.  You can always cut a bigger hole – but if you want a smaller one you’ll have to use a new bag.  I mentioned in the video some diagrams of common filigrees to pipe and here it is.  First, trace the outline according to the steps at the beginning of each filigrees’ diagram then practice drawing them until they become second nature.  When you pipe always start the same way as the steps dictate – with the tall middle piece first, starting at the bottom, and then go outward.

Here is the recipe for the frangipan cake layers used in the petits fours glace.  Remember that it has a very strong almond flavor so if you want your filling’s flavor to come through a little clearer try using your favorite pound cake recipe instead.  Good luck and enjoy the videos!

Update: There are a lot of glazing fondant / poured fondant recipes online that you may be tempted to use.  True it isn’t difficult to make poured fondant, however getting that exact consistency you’re looking for can be extremely tricky.  Just like I don’t make the rolled fondant to cover my cakes, I avoid making glazing fondant.  Buying fondant commercially provides time tested consistency that you can’t get from making it at home especially if you’re only doing it one or two times a year.  If you plan on making petits fours often then by all means practice adjusting the poured fondant recipe you find online until you get it down to an exact science.  For the rest of us, check your local baking supply store, talk to your local ICES chapter for pastry advice, or buy glazing fondant / pouring fondant here.  Caullet pouring fondant seems to be the online pastry community’s fondant of choice.  I haven’t used it but it’s inexpensive so it’s worth looking into.  Good luck and keep baking!

Update:: I found an easy to make reliable poured fondant recipe in the Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum. The ingredients are easy to find and you can make it right in your food processor. However, you might want to get a metal food processor but it requires that you pour 238 degrees F sugar right into the machine and I’m pretty sure that’s hot enough to melt your plastic food processor. Nevertheless, many of you have been asking for a reliable recipe and I’m happy to share this one with you. Be sure to play around and experiment with the recipe before using it for a party or special event. You want to give yourself lots of time to practice of course! Here is the poured fondant recipe.