'Petit Fours' to celebrate the first days of Spring
In 2008, when Sasha was a tiny little thing, we lived in Paris, France. Whenever we were dining out, the highlight was ordering a ‘Cafe Gourmand’ at the end of our meal. It’s the most exciting thing: a sampler platter with tiny bitesized versions of the entire dessert menu on served alongside a small cup of strong coffee. As much as I am a lover of everything rustic, I admire the visual sophistication of French Patisserie, which in its miniature form is even more enticing.
Pondering on an idea for a decorative ‘Cafe Gourmand’ style treat, I’ve decided to bake these delicate almond-y ‘Petit Fours’ (French for little oven/fire) Petit Four, generally speaking, is an umbrella term for any small decorative pastry item sweet or savory.
I’ve recently unearthed a set of cute mini cookie cutters from the depths of a dusty kitchen drawer. They must have been purchased during one of my many inspired moments when I get excited about a prop, tool or material without any clear prospect as to what to do with it.
Through my Sasha, who’s been modelling mini clay accessories, I rediscovered the pleasure of kneading, sculpting and modelling. A lonely box of Marzipan alongside the mini cutters ended up being the perfect combination for the crafty part of my baking project. The decorative toppers.
Marzipan, as you’re probably aware, is a tasty paste made of ground almonds and sugar. Its consistency can be compared to modelling clay (and it’s as fun to play around with too). Marzipan is a popular ingredient in European sweets and desserts. It’s not to be confused with almond paste, which is commonly used to cover cakes here in the US. Almond paste, although very similar in taste, has a softer, stickier consistency and is therefore not suitable for modelling.
Although not a immensely popular ingredient in the US, most large grocery store chains will stock Marzipan. Alternatively it’s easily found online or in a specialty baking supply store. Here’s a link to purchase the product I’ve been using: Odense Marzipan (no affiliation with Amazon and/or suppliers)
After an in depth online search for deliciousness, I ended up choosing the following recipe for my cakes: Almond Petit Fours by Eileen Gray, a blogger, cookbook writer and trained pastry chef. The recipe is fool proof and the post features a helpful video too. Make sure you refrain from jumping right through to the recipe and read the entire post for best results. The cakes turned out deliciously moist and tasted even better a few days old.
ORDER PETIT FOURS: Los Angeles area only. I’m in Venice and will home deliver within an approx. 20 mile radius. Unfortunately I don’t post my baked products. Please order at least 2 weeks ahead. Boxes of either 4 or 12 petit fours. Minimum order 12 petit fours. Currently there is one flavor available which is almond-vanilla cake with apricot or marmalade filling. Adult version with added Orange Liqueur available. Customized/themed toppers available at an extra fee. Please fill in the form at the bottom of this page if you would like to discuss an order.
Coming soon: For the home bakers and crafters I will upload a tutorial on mixing colors and basic techniques on how to create the little marzipan decorations. I’ve had a few specialist items at my disposal (such as fondant punch cutters and modelling tools), but there are many common household items that you can use to achieve similar results.
