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Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
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For cake:
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Spray pan or prepare a 13x9 in baking pan.(I use Pam Baking Spray.)
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In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, usually about five minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla.
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In a separate bowl, mix together flour, salt, cocoa, and baking powder.
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Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the dissolved coffee and buttermilk.
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Add batter to prepared pan.
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Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, checking regularly at the 35-minute mark. When an inserted toothpick is removed clean, the cake is done.
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Let cool completely.
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For Frosting:
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Cream together butter, sugar, and shortening until light and smooth. Add vanilla. It should appear almost 'dry.' Add 3 or 4 tablespoons milk to get a soft, creamy consistency.
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Use a small cookie cutter to cut out your petit fours. For a square, you can just cut lines into your cake pan.
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Remove squares and cut in half into two 'layers.' Pipe frosting to create a cake 'sandwich.'
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You can also remove cake from pan (it is very dense, like a chocolate pound cake) and cut in half horizontally. Remove the top layer, put a layer of frosting on, then put back the top layer of the cake. Now proceed to cut out individual petit fours.
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You can cover petit fours with remaining frosting or cover in rolled or liquid fondant.
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Petit fours can be any shape, but usually no bigger than 2x2 inches.
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Decorate however you would like!
