Raspberry Almond Petits Fours
BySt-Amand Cassidy
Photo by St-Amand Cassidy
- Serves
- 4 or more
This recipe is inspired by the 1940s Canadian cookbook Les Meilleures Recettes de la Collection d'Anna Lee Scott, published by the Monarch Flour Company. Petits Fours is a french term, which translates to “small oven” in which they were baked in the 18th century. Originally, these sophisticated little pastries were reserved for special occasions, served at the end of a meal as an assortment of artfully displayed miniature pastries alongside coffee or tea. We have kept the baking steps very simple and the decoration process, while still impressive and reminiscent of classy old times, easy as can be. The result is a beautiful little pastry, a sponge cake filled with fresh raspberries, coated with almond paste and decorated with raspberry frosting and fresh berries.
Ingredients
Cake
- 125 gram butter
- 185 gram sugar
- 4 eggs
- 150 gram pastry flour, sifted
- 2.5 gram baking powder
- 30 milliliter milk
- 3 milliliter almond extract
Icing
- 125 ml gram powdered sugar
- 125 gram raspberries or blackberries
- 22 milliliter milk
- 115 gram sugar
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Directions
- Step 1
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Step 2
Butter a 9 x 13 cake pan.
- Step 3
Dust the pan with flour and tap to remove excess flour.
- Step 4
In the bowl of a stand up mixer, cream butter until very smooth.
- Step 5
Add sugar and beat until very light and pale in colour. In a separate bowl, combine flour with baking powder and salt.
- Step 6
Slowly add flour mixture to butter and sugar mixture in three batches, alternating with milk (make sure to start and finish with the flour.)
- Step 7
Add almond extract.
- Step 8
Spread the batter in the prepared pan and smooth the top.
- Step 9
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until middle of the cake springs back when gently pressed with a finger and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle of the cake.
- Step 10
Allow the pan to cool on a cooling rack for 30 minutes.
- Step 11
Invert the cake gently and remove it from the pan.
- Step 12
Let it cool completely before icing.
- Step 13
To make icing, start with the raspberry syrup by heating berries and sugar over low heat until it reaches a simmer.
- Step 14
Gently cook for one minute and then strain.
- Step 15
Let cool completely.
- Step 16
In a large bowl, whisk powdered sugar with milk and 22 ml of the berry syrup until smooth.
- Step 17
If icing is too thick, add a touch of milk.
- Step 18
Once the cake is fully cooled, cut in half lengthwise.
- Step 19
Layer 500 grams of raspberries on the bottom half and press gently with a fork to crush them a little.
- Step 20
Carefully layer the top half of the cake over the bottom half. Dust a clean work surface with powdered sugar.
- Step 21
With rolling pin, roll out the almond paste until thin and place over cake.
- Step 22
With a knife, trim excess almond paste.
- Step 23
Cut the cake into preferred shapes.
- Step 24
Holding the top and bottom of the petits fours with two fingers, carefully dip the sides of the cakes into the icing.
- Step 25
Pour additional icing on top of the cake with spoon.
- Step 26
Gently place over cooling rack with cookie sheet underneath to catch any drips.
- Step 27
Leave for 30 min to set.
- Step 28
Repeat with remaining cakes.