A petit four is a small, bite-size confectionery sweet, but it can be savoury too. Originally from France, petit four in French means “small oven”. Below, we share our favourite recipe for these chocolate petits fours.
Chocolate petits fours
Ingredients
Cake
- 90g butter
- 180g castor sugar
- 180g dark chocolate, chopped
- 60ml (¼ cup) water
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 30ml (2 tbsp) brandy
- 60g (½ cup) self-raising flour
- 60g (½ cup) cake flour
- 80ml cocoa powder
Ganache
- 1 litre fresh cream
- 1 vanilla pod, sliced open lengthways
- 800g dark chocolate, finely chopped
- ready-made royal icing
- edible decorations
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a rectangular cake tin measuring about 20cm x 30 cm.
For the cake, put the butter, sugar, chocolate and water in a pot and heat gently until melted and combined, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature. Stir in the eggs and brandy.
Sift both flours and the cocoa into a bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour the chocolate mixture into the middle and mix until you have a smooth batter. Pour into the prepared tin and bake until a skewer comes out clean, about 20 – 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes in the tin before transferring it to a cooling rack.
To make the ganache, gently heat the cream and vanilla pod in a pot on a low heat until warmed through. Remove the pod, add the chocolate and whisk until smooth. Remove from the heat immediately.
Using a knife dipped in warm water, trim the edges of the cake, then cut into small squares. Place the squares on a rack with wax paper underneath.
Pour the ganache over the cakes until completely covered on all sides. Decorate with piped patterns of royal icing and edible decorations.
