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closeup of a petit fours plate with all the flavors: lemon zest, strawberry rose, and baked alaska in a petit four

Holiday Petit Fours Recipe

Prep Time 2 hours
Cook Time 20 minutes
Assembly Time 3 hours
Total Time 5 hours 20 minutes
Servings 50 mini cakes

Ingredients

Filling: Vanilla Bombe Alaska

  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar put in a bowl for sprinkling
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tbsp dark rum optional, put in a bowl for sprinkling

Filling: Lemon Zest

  • 1 jar lemon curd
  • 1/2 tsp lemon juice fresh
  • 1/2 tsp lemon zest fresh
  • for some variety, you can add raspberry jam as well. I did not, but thought this would be delicious.

Filling: Strawberry Rose

  • 1 jar strawberry jam
  • 1 tsp rosewater

Decorative Coating (I bought mine at Jo-ann's)

  • Fondant in black and white (homemade tastes even better if you have the time!)
  • Edible gold sheets
  • Edible Glitter Spray (for the Vanilla Bombe)
  • Edible gold stars
  • *If you want to get creative, you can coat your mini cakes in white chocolate, milk chocolate, candy coating chips, or royal icing for the final layer. I chose fondant because it looks the smoothest for the end result. Fondant layers easily on top of the cake like playdough.

Instructions

Bake The Cake

  1. Bake the cake as directed, but in a 18 by 13 inch sheet pan. Basically you are baking in a half cake sheet. If you do a cookie sheet without a high enough lip you risk the cake overflowing. I found about 22 minutes to be about perfect for my oven, but the best thing to do is keep an eye on the cake with the oven light on after about 18 minutes for best results. You are not looking for a super brown cake or it will be dry. Just make sure to check it cooked through for proper firmness. In my experience, pound cakes tend to shrink from the edges of the pan when done.



Frosting Preparation

  1. While your cake is baking, make the Italian Buttercream Frosting as directed. Split into 3rds, leaving ⅓ in the mixer bowl. 

  2. Lemon Zest

    With the 3rd left in the mixer bowl, add 4 oz cream cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Set aside.

  3. Vanilla Bombe Alaska

    Optional: Add 1 tsp of vanilla extract and mix in the 3rd of frosting.

  4. Strawberry Rose

    Add the rosewater and mix in the frosting.

Prepare the Cake

  1. Cool the cake completely so it doesn’t crumble. If it still looks crumbly, try putting the cake in the freezer for up to an hour.

  2. Slice the cake widthwise (this is where a cake leveler makes this quick and easy!) 

  3. Cut the cake into 4 rectangles: 1 for the lemon zest, 1 for the vanilla bombe, 1 for the strawberry rose, and 1 for the flavor of your choice. *Lemon Zest was the most popular at our house and needed a second rectangle. It’s also helpful to have a little extra just in case.

Fill the cakes

  1. Lemon Zest

    Lift the top of the cake off with a cake lifter or cutting mat. Flip the top so the inside of the cake is visible (to add filling). On the bottom half, spread the lemon curd VERY generously over the cake. On the other half, spread the lemon buttercream frosting. Put the top half of the cake back on,  add the rest of the frosting to the top of the cake, and cut the filled cake into 1” squares. Set aside.

  2. Vanilla Bombe Alaska

    Lift the top of the cake off with a cake lifter or cutting mat. On the bottom half, spread a generous amount of the vanilla buttercream. Put the top half of the cake back on and cut the filled cake into 1” squares. Set aside.

  3. Strawberry Rose

    Lift the top of the cake off with a cake lifter or cutting mat. Flip the top so the inside of the cake is visible (to add filling). On the bottom half, spread the strawberry jam VERY generously over the cake. On the other half, spread the rose buttercream frosting. Put the top half of the cake back on,  add the rest of the frosting to the top of the cake, and cut the filled cake into 1” squares. Set aside.

Decorate!

  1. This part is easily adaptable for any theme and color. Below is how I created what you see in my photos.

  2. Vanilla Bombe Alaska

    1. Cover each 1” square with the vanilla buttercream on the sides (not the top or bottom). Then, in a piping bag, add the rest of the vanilla buttercream to the tops until you have little iceberg peaks. Put your sugar in a small bowl and your rum in a small bowl. With your fingers, sprinkle sugar on top of all the buttercream iceberg tops. Then, with your fingers, sprinkle a little rum on top of each cake. 

    2. Get your torch nice and hot until it’s blue. If it’s not hot enough, you risk tasting the lighting fluid flavor (it’s happened to me before!). Then run your torch until you melt your icebergs into the desired snow effect.

    3. Put in the fridge for cooling, then spray each cake with the gold edible glitter.

  3. Lemon Zest

    *Spread the buttercream from the top and onto the sides if coating in anything but the fondant to cover crumbs.


    Roll the white fondant out and cover each cake with a thin layer. Pat down until you can’t see the seams, then cut any excess off each cake. Sprinkle with the edible gold stars. Set aside. I put them in the fridge.

  4. Strawberry Rose

    *Spread the buttercream from the top and onto the sides if coating in anything but the fondant to cover crumbs.

    Roll the black fondant out and cover each cake with a thin layer. Pat down until you can’t see the seams, then cut any excess off each cake. 

    Cut a gold sheet into strips, then cover twice in alternating directions to mimic wrapping a present. Then, add a bow by criss-crossing the “ribbon” and press on with a little of the fondant.

Enjoy!

  1. You can put these in mini boxes for gifting with a Sabon pairing or serve on a pretty plate for a party. :)