The Elegance of Petit Fours

It's the start of the holiday baking season .For something different and elegant try making petit fours. Many bakers are daunted by the intricacy of them however there's a new cookbook out that will help.The Petit Four Cookbook can guide even the most novice of bakers through the difficult steps.The result, moist little cakes with beautiful designs and tasty fillings.

Brooke Coulson Nguyen the owner of Dragonfly Cakes Bakery wrote this amazing must have cookbook for Ulysses Press. What I  love is that Ms Ngueyn has petit fours for every holiday as well as just for teas. The cakes themselves are not only traditional vanilla and chocolate but also raspberry, gingerbread , lemon and carrot. Luckily, she includes creamy butter cream fillings as well as cream cheese and a salted caramel. There are recommendations on how to bake and create the perfect layers for the petit fours base as well as layering marzipan on top for body .

What puts most bakers off on petit fours is the elaborate decorating involved. For some it can be complicated and labor intensive. Baker Nguyen dispels this . The decorating process can be done in two days. One day is for the robing, dipping the cakes,  in the white or dark chocolate coating and the next is for the decorating. Putting them in the fridge helps to set the coating and makes a better canvas for decorating. The decorations are done artfully, being cut out with a paring knife or gum paste cutter.Also decorating tubes are also used to create fun and intricate designs.

The Petit Four Cookbook is the perfect guide for creating an elegant holiday dessert table. Use it to create pretty little treats for family and friends. It will result in an memorable and delicious holiday memory.