What are petit fours?

I am all about petit fours. Now you may be thinking “peteet… fours?…” right now, but let me just ease your mind: all it means is a teensy cake. Which means is your own individual cake. Which means… delicious. Petit fours are typically made from sponge cake or pound cake, and are filled with either fruit curd or buttercream. And they’re usually in an adorable, bite-sized shape that’s impossible to resist. 

What I love about making cakes like this is that it instantly makes one feel special. Your own cake. But not a just cupcake, no. We’re not pleebs. We’re fancy. So our cakes should be fancy, too. These lovely Coconut Lemon Curd Petit Fours are perfect, therefore, for a crowd. For a place where there are lots of people, but you can make each and every person feel special.

Or they’re perfect when it’s just you and you want to feel special, too. No judgement here 🙂

How to make petit fours

I made these little cakes using a combination of two Bob’s Red Mill flours: their organic coconut flour (perfect for baking), and their all-purpose flour (perfect for… well perfect for everything). The combination creates a cake that is filled with moisture from the higher fat content of the coconut flour, and that has a great rise from the all-purpose.

If this is your first time making homemade petit fours, don’t panic! These bite-sized beauties look fancy schmancy, but they really aren’t hard to make. The basic steps for making these coconut lemon curd petit fours are:

Make the lemon curd — Lemon curd is a simple combination of egg yolks, lemon juice and zest, and sugar that you heat over a double boiler until it becomes thick. Once thickened, remove the lemon curd from the heat and stir in some butter until the mixture becomes nice and glossy. If you have time, strain the curd through a fine mesh sieve to remove any lumps, and then pop the homemade lemon curd into the fridge until it’s completely chilled.

Make the petit fours — I have a sneaky secret…I didn’t make these petit fours in a special cake pan! Literally all you have to do is make a vanilla sponge cake and bake it in a 9-by-13-inch pan. That’s it! Very little skill is required for this step, so you can definitely handle these homemade petit fours!

Assemble the petit fours — Now comes the fun part: making the teensy cakes. Once the sponge cake is completely cooled, cut it into circles using a biscuit cutter. Then scoop a little lemon curd onto half the circles and top them with the remaining cake circles. Spoon a little lemon glaze on top, and dig in!

Tips for making coconut lemon curd petit fours

Use store-bought lemon curd, if needed — I love making my own homemade lemon curd, but if you’re feeling a bit pressed for time, you can easily substitute a pre-made lemon curd from the grocery store. It’ll cut your prep time in half.

Let the cake cool completely — Before cutting or topping the sponge cake, you must let it cool completely. If you don’t, the curd and glaze will run everywhere and your petit fours won’t look very good.

Use room temperature ingredients — Whenever you bake a cake, you want to use room temperature ingredients (yes, even the eggs and milk should be room temp). This helps the cake bake evenly in the oven.

What are your plans for Easter, friends? I’ll be spending the day here in Detroit, but am totally inviting friends over for an Easter brunch with these babies as a centerpiece.

More special occasion cake recipes from Broma Bakery:

Giant Pull-Apart Strawberry Shortcake 

Absolutely Epic Doughnut Cake

Graduation Cake

Easter Egg Cake with a Spun Sugar Nest

Earl Grey and Roasted Raspberry Petit Fours

This post is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill. Thank you for continuing to support the brands who help make Broma possible!