French Patisserie Inspiration

Raspberry Almond Petit Four

A petit four is a small confectionery generally eaten at the end of a meal or served as part of dessert. The name is from the French petit four (French pronunciation: [pə.ti.fur]), meaning "small oven".   Petits fours glacés (glacé meaning "iced") are iced or decorated in some way, such as tiny cakes covered in fondant or icing.  This small individual dessert is elegant, sweet and a showstopper. The raspberry filling and almond cake is delightful and a perfect way to impress your guests.  It tastes even better with my homemade raspberry and strawberry jam!  

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Raspberry Almond Petit Four Recipe

Ingredients

Cake:
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus melted butter for pans
3/4 pound or 12 ounces almond paste
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
6 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch fine sea salt
1 1/3 cups of my Strawberry Raspberry Jam
8 cups tinted Royal Icing, recipe follows
Decorative dragees for garnish

Royal Icing:

3 tablespoons corn syrup

1 tablespoon almond extract

8 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar 

Green and violet food coloring (or your favorite colors)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Brush 2 18 by 13-inch rimmed baking sheets (otherwise known as half sheet pans) with melted butter. Line the pans with parchment paper, leaving a few inches of overhang on opposite sides. Butter the top of the parchment paper as well, then set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the almond paste and sugar on medium speed until well combined, about 5 minutes. Add the almond extract. Roughly cut the room temperature butter into pats and gradually add to the almond paste-sugar mixture. Beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl if needed. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating to combine after each addition. Add the flour and salt and beat until just combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared baking sheets, smoothing the batter out with an offset spatula. Gently tap the baking sheet on the table to remove any air pockets in the batter. Air pockets will cause holes in the baked cake and give a ragged look to the finished product. Bake until just set, but not browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Give the baking sheets a turn halfway through baking, after about 8 minutes, for even baking, if needed, but don't worry too much because we're covering the cakes. Test with a toothpick or skewer and if clean, remove from the oven and transfer to wire racks to cool.

To make the jam easier to spread and to prevent tearing the cake, puree the jam in a food processor. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Turn 1 cake layer out onto the lined baking sheet. Spread half of the raspberry jam in an even layer over the cake. Carefully flip the cake out of the baking sheet and top with a second cake layer. Spread with the remaining jam. Cut the cake in half width-wise. Carefully flip the right cake layer and top the cake jam side down. This should create four layers of cake.  Place a piece of parchment paper over the final layer and top with a second baking sheet. Weigh down with 2 large 28-ounce cans. Chill in the refrigerator overnight.

Remove the cake from the refrigerator and cut into 1-inch squares. Place onto a wire racks over at least 2 baking sheets, leaving at least 1-inch between each cake piece.

For the royal icing.   In a large heatproof bowl, combine 3/4 cups water, corn syrup and almond extract. Once incorporated, slowly whisk in the sugar until fully combined. Alternately, slowly mix together in a stand mixer and transfer to a heatproof bowl prior to icing cakes.

Divide the icing into 3 heatproof bowls.  Place each of the tinted royals icings in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, with the bottom of the bowl not touching the water, until pourable. You should have about 4 cups total. You'll be using about 1 heaping tablespoon icing on each. Carefully place a cut cake on a  small fork. Place the cake over the icing and spoon the icing onto the cake. If the cake drops into the icing, carefully pick it up with your spoon and place back onto your fork. Place back onto the wire rack using another dipper or fork to slide onto the wire rack. Top with decorative dragees, as desired. Repeat with the remaining icing and cakes. Let stand until set, about 30 minutes at room temperature or cover and place in the refrigerator for up to 1 week until ready to serve.


Adapted from Anne Thornton