Frosting for Petits Fours

Rating: 1.75 stars
8 Ratings
  • 5 star values: 0
  • 4 star values: 1
  • 3 star values: 1
  • 2 star values: 1
  • 1 star values: 5

A poured-fondant petit four icing that can be easily colored or flavored. Pour over petit fours, and then decorate them with sprinkles, rolled fondant flowers, whole nuts, candied fruit or coconut.

By courtney

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Recipe Summary

prep:
20 mins
cook:
25 mins
total:
45 mins
Servings:
48
Yield:
2 cups
Nutrition Info
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Ingredients

48
Original recipe yields 48 servings
The ingredient list now reflects the servings specified

Directions

  • In a saucepan, stir together the white sugar, cream of tartar and water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and cook without stirring until the temperature is between 223 and 234 degrees F (106 to 112 degrees C), or until a small amount of syrup dripped from a spoon can spin a long thread.

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  • When the syrup comes to the proper temperature, remove from heat, and stir in confectioners' sugar about 1/2 cup at a time until the icing is thick enough to coat a metal spoon. (You may use a food processor for this step.) Test by pouring over a small piece of cake. Adjust the amount of confectioners' sugar as needed to get a good pouring consistency.

  • Use while warm, or reheat over simmering water. Keep covered with plastic wrap when not in use to prevent a crust from forming on the top.

  • To decorate cakes: place sliced petits fours on a cooling rack set over a jelly roll pan. Pour the frosting over the cakes, moving slowly down each row and back again, letting the icing spread over the cakes and drip down through the rack. You can re-use icing by reheating it.

  • When the frosting has set and the cakes are dry, lift them from the rack with a spatula and trim the bottom edges with a sharp knife. Decorate as desired.

Editor's Note:

Before slicing the sponge cake into squares or diamond shapes, spread a thin layer of jam on the surface. Top with a paper-thin layer of marzipan or rolled fondant: this will give you a smooth surface for the poured fondant, and it will help keep the cake from crumbling when you slice it.

Nutrition Facts

Per Serving:
48 calories; carbohydrates 12.2g; sodium 0.2mg. Full Nutrition
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Reviews (6)

Read More Reviews

Most helpful positive review

Lycoris
Rating: 4 stars
07/24/2009
The reason I didn't give this five stars is not because of the taste they were really great once I got it right! I tried it five times! I made a recipe very similar to this one only with a pound of confectioner's sugar and a tablespoon of butter at the end rather than just one and a half cups of the powdered sugar. Here are my tips: if your icing is too thin add more powdered sugar and if it is too thick add as much hot water as you need. I had to constantly water it as it thickened up very quickly. I used a piping bag to pour over the sides of the cake just to make sure they were covered before using a medium-sized spoon to pour icing over the top and get a nice smooth surface. I was only happy with the way it covered the cake the last time I made it it was not too thin and not too thick from the beginning though I still had to add water from time to time. Maybe it had something to do with me doubling the recipe since I only did it that last time? I had enough to cover about thirty 2x2 petit fours which is a great size especially if they are layered. In any case these were beautiful and got AMAZING reviews from the people at the wedding shower that I made them for. If you re looking for an idea I used Betty Crocker French Vanilla and Golden Vanilla cakes doctored with about a teaspoon of almond flavoring apiece. I also filled the middle with a buttercream icing that I had folded cherry preserves (run through the blender) into as the shower was cherry-themed. Read More
Helpful
(65)

Most helpful critical review

Kathryn Serrano
Rating: 3 stars
05/26/2009
I ended up making 2 batches of this frosting (which I would actually label as an "icing" since it is so thin) because I figured one batch for 48 servings would be enough for 36 1.5" x 1.5" petit fours. The first batch was way too thick and I had to keep adding warm water to thin it out. When I ran out of the first batch I made the second by substituting 1/2 Cup of unsweetened cocoa powder for the powdered sugar. It turned out just perfect: thin enough to drizzle but thick enough to give nice coverage. I tried two different methods for icing: by tube and by dipping -- both used a LOT of icing. The icing cooled down and thickened up too fast in the tube. Dipping was faster and easier but very messy. Read More
Helpful
(19)
8 Ratings
  • 5 star values: 0
  • 4 star values: 1
  • 3 star values: 1
  • 2 star values: 1
  • 1 star values: 5
Reviews:
Most Helpful Most Positive Least Positive Newest
Lycoris
Rating: 4 stars
07/24/2009
The reason I didn't give this five stars is not because of the taste they were really great once I got it right! I tried it five times! I made a recipe very similar to this one only with a pound of confectioner's sugar and a tablespoon of butter at the end rather than just one and a half cups of the powdered sugar. Here are my tips: if your icing is too thin add more powdered sugar and if it is too thick add as much hot water as you need. I had to constantly water it as it thickened up very quickly. I used a piping bag to pour over the sides of the cake just to make sure they were covered before using a medium-sized spoon to pour icing over the top and get a nice smooth surface. I was only happy with the way it covered the cake the last time I made it it was not too thin and not too thick from the beginning though I still had to add water from time to time. Maybe it had something to do with me doubling the recipe since I only did it that last time? I had enough to cover about thirty 2x2 petit fours which is a great size especially if they are layered. In any case these were beautiful and got AMAZING reviews from the people at the wedding shower that I made them for. If you re looking for an idea I used Betty Crocker French Vanilla and Golden Vanilla cakes doctored with about a teaspoon of almond flavoring apiece. I also filled the middle with a buttercream icing that I had folded cherry preserves (run through the blender) into as the shower was cherry-themed. Read More
Helpful
(65)
Kathryn Serrano
Rating: 3 stars
05/26/2009
I ended up making 2 batches of this frosting (which I would actually label as an "icing" since it is so thin) because I figured one batch for 48 servings would be enough for 36 1.5" x 1.5" petit fours. The first batch was way too thick and I had to keep adding warm water to thin it out. When I ran out of the first batch I made the second by substituting 1/2 Cup of unsweetened cocoa powder for the powdered sugar. It turned out just perfect: thin enough to drizzle but thick enough to give nice coverage. I tried two different methods for icing: by tube and by dipping -- both used a LOT of icing. The icing cooled down and thickened up too fast in the tube. Dipping was faster and easier but very messy. Read More
Helpful
(19)
Grandma Vicki
Rating: 2 stars
03/16/2016
This icing is way too thick to use as is written. I used only 1 cup of confectioners sugar instead of the 1 1/2 cups and it was still too thick. There is no way I could pour this over the cakes and get the sides covered. I read the reviews that said dipping was easier but they didn't say what they used to dip the cakes with in order to get the sides covered. Read More
Helpful
(6)
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luckygraphix
Rating: 1 stars
02/16/2010
This recipe was a thin runny mess. I had to take lots of step to attempt to thicken it and nothing worked. I've been cooking and baking for a while now and I've made similar frosting that turned out great but this is just cheap powdered sugar icing. It would be better if made with milk as most powdering sugar based icings are but it still has that cheap (meant for sugar cookies) flavor. Definitely not petit four grade icing. Read More
Helpful
(3)
dorin
Rating: 1 stars
08/17/2010
This recipie simply did not work. Read More
Helpful
(3)
Meadow Brady
Rating: 1 stars
03/16/2016
I did not care for this recipe. It tasted like pure powdered sugar. Read More
Helpful
(2)
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