Vanilla Petits Fours with Raspberry Filling and Marzipan – a delicious recipe with unsalted butter, eggs, sugar, cake flour, salt, vanilla. Easy to follow and perfect for any occasion.
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Preheat oven to 350F.
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Butter pan and line bottom with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on each end.
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Butter paper.
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Make brown butter: Line a fine-mesh strainer with cheesecloth.
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Melt 1/2 cup butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat.
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Watch carefully and do not stir.
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Eventually, bubbling noise will quiet and solids will drop to bottom of pan.
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When solids have turned dark brown, remove butter from heat and strain through cheesecloth into a medium bowl.
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Cool to lukewarm.
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In the metal bowl of standing mixer, whisk together eggs and sugar.
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Set bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and mixture is quite warm (about 3 minutes).
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Remove bowl from heat and lock back into mixer base.
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Using whisk attachment, beat at high speed until mixture has tripled in volume and cooled to room temperature, about 7 to 10 minutes.
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While eggs are being beaten, sift flour and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.
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Stir vanilla into brown butter and set aside.
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When eggs have tripled in volume, turn off mixer.
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Sift one third of flour mixture over eggs and fold in gently but thoroughly.
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Sift and fold in remaining flour mixture, half at a time.
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Stir 1 cup of batter into butter-vanilla mixture.
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Quickly fold butter mixture into remaining batter until just combined.
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Pour batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly with a rubber spatula.
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Bake in middle of oven until top is browned and cake shrinks away from sides of pan, about 15 to 20 minutes.
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Invert onto a rack, peel off parchment paper, and cool.
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Cake can be made and cooled 1 day ahead and kept, covered, at room temperature.
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In a small saucepan bring water and sugar to boil over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally until sugar is dissolved.
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Remove from heat and stir in cognac.
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Syrup may be made 1 week ahead and chilled, covered.
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Bring to room temperature before using.
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Stir jam in a small saucepan over moderately low heat until hot and thinned.
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Pass through a fine-mesh strainer to remove seeds.
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Using a long serrated knife, cut cake into quarters.
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Cut each quarter horizontally into 2 very thin layers, for a total of 8 layers.
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Place 1 layer cut-side up on work surface.
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Brush lightly with syrup.
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Spread with a thin layer of jam.
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Top with a second layer, cut-side down, and apply syrup and jam in same manner.
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Add 2 more layers, both cut-side down, in same manner.
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Repeat to create a separate stack of 4 layers.
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Knead marzipan (before unwrapping) for a few seconds to warm and soften.
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Unwrap, press into a disk, and dust with confectioner's sugar.
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Dust a board and rolling pin with confectioner's sugar.
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Roll out marzipan to an 8- by 20-inch rectangle and cut into 2 8- by 10-inch rectangles.
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Carefully lay 1 rectangle of marzipan over 1 cake stack, smoothing top.
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Use a paring knife to neatly trim edges of marzipan flush with edges of cake.
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If sides of cake are not even, trim them as well.
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Repeat with other marzipan rectangle and other cake stack.
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Chill cakes 1 hour.
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Using a long serrated knife warmed in hot water and dried, cut cakes into 1 1/2-inch squares.
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Use a gentle sawing motion to cut through marzipan layer, then press down to cut through cake.
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During cutting process, frequently wipe knife with a hot, damp cloth and dry thoroughly.
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Make simple syrup: In a small saucepan bring water and sugar to boil over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally until sugar is dissolved.
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Remove from heat and keep warm.
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Place fondant in a metal bowl and attach a candy thermometer to side of bowl.
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Set over a pan of barely simmering water and stir gently.
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Do not let fondant get over 105F, or it will lose its shine.
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When fondant starts to warm, stir in simple syrup, 1 tablespoon at a time, until mixture is thin enough to pour easily.
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Turn off heat, but leave bowl over water.
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Place a petit four on a fork and hold above fondant.
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Use a large spoon to pour fondant over cake until completely covered.
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Scrape bottom of fork against rim of bowl to remove excess fondant, then use a second fork to gently slide petit four onto a wire rack.
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Repeat with remaining petits fours.
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(Stir bowl of fondant regularly to prevent a crust from forming.
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If fondant begins to thicken during dipping process, rewarm over pan of simmering water, taking care not to overheat.)
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Cool petits fours 20 minutes.
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While petits fours are drying, prepare royal icing according to package instructions.
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Transfer half of icing to a medium bowl.
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Add pink coloring, a very small amount at a time, and mix with a spoon until icing is evenly pink.
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Tint remaining icing pale green in same manner.
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Fit one pastry bag with #101 tip and fill with pink icing.
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Fit other bag with #1 tip and fill with green icing.
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When petits fours are dry, pipe a pink rosebud on each.
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To make first petal of rosebud: Position #101 tip with wide end touching surface of cake, thin end raised at a 45-degree angle and pointed slightly to the left (about 10 o'clock).
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Squeeze and pivot the tip (thin end should travel around thick end to about 2 o'clock) to form a fan.
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Continue squeezing as you raise tip slightly off surface of cake and move it toward you and to the left (ribbon of icing should fold over itself).
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Stop squeezing and pull away.
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To make second petal of rosebud, start with tip tucked to left of inside edge of first petal, wide end down.
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Squeeze as you lift tip and move it toward you and to the right (ribbon of icing will curve up and over first petal).
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When you've covered bottom of first petal, stop squeezing, touch surface of cake, and pull away.
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Pipe rosebuds on remaining petits fours in same manner.
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Add green sepals and calyx to each bud.
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To make sepals: Position #1 tip just below rosebud and pipe 3 short lines up onto bottom of bud (1 line in the middle and 1 on either side).
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Lines should start from same spot just below bud.
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To make calyx: Insert tip into point where sepals converge just below rosebud.
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Squeeze for a moment, letting icing build up, then pull away 1/8 inch and stop squeezing.
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Once assembled, petits fours can be kept, covered, at room temperature for 2 days.
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Keep dry fondant will melt if exposed to moisture.
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Do not refrigerate.
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*Available at baking supply stores and from New York Cake, 800-942-2539.
No nutrition data on file — estimate from the ingredient list.
* Estimated from ingredient keywords · ingredients matched · Values are approximate and per serving (÷ 4).
No additional tips available.
No specific allergen information. Please check the ingredient list for possible allergens.
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Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe makes 4 servings. You can adjust the portion size directly on this page.
You need 1 ingredient. The key ingredients include: ["1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for buttering pan", "6 large eggs", "1 cup sugar", "1 cup cake flour", "3/4 teaspoon salt", "1 1/2 teaspoons high-quality pure vanilla extract (also called ""Madagascar bourbon vanilla"")", "1/4 cup water", "1/4 cup sugar", "1/4 cup cognac", "1 1/4 cups raspberry jam", "12 ounces marzipan", "Confectioner's sugar for rolling", "1/2 cup water", "1/2 cup sugar", "2 1/2 cups ready-to-use poured fondant (also called roll icing)*", "1 pound royal icing mix*", "Rose-pink and leaf-green gel food coloring*", "Special equipment: 12- by 18-inch sheet or jelly roll pan, 2 featherweight pastry bags with couplers, #1 and #101 decorating tips", "*Available at baking supply stores and from New York Cake, 800-942-2539."].
Yes, Vanilla Petits Fours with Raspberry Filling and Marzipan falls under the Baking & Desserts category and is a great choice for this type of meal.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3–5 days. For longer storage, freeze for up to 3 months — no need to refrigerate or reheat.