Delicate and sweet, these lemon berry petit fours are bite-size mini cakes perfect for weddings, parties, tea time, bridal and baby showers. Topped with a simple white chocolate garnish, these petit fours are easy and approachable. Perfect for beginners!
A dessert by popular demand. 🙂
We’re in peak wedding/brunch/bridal shower/spring season, so there’s been a lot of buzz about petit fours lately. Admittedly, I’ve never made them before but have always enjoyed the several varieties I’ve tasted. Always up for a new baking adventure, and eager to expand my spring dessert recipes and Mother’s Day recipes, I decided to make these petite cakes my personal goal for the spring season.
And I’m excited to share my results with you!! These lemon berry petit fours are flavorful and moist, cute and tiny, simple and sweet.
What are Petit Fours?
Petit fours are bite-size decorative cakes, typically of the sweet variety. The term petit four is French and also includes savory bite-sized appetizers and other small pastries like French macarons and meringues. Petit four is translated as “small oven.“
Today we’re focusing on glacé petit fours, which means “glazed.” Think of these as miniature layer cakes, perfectly pint-sized with no fork required. They’re most commonly found at bridal showers, baby showers, tea parties, weddings, and the like. Classic petit fours are made with delicate sponge cake, then enrobed in fondant and topped with intricate decor. They’re certainly beautiful and delicious, but the preparation can be tedious and complicated for the home baker. I wanted a recipe that was approachable for both you and I, but still produced the same elegance and dainty aesthetic as the fancy varieties. I couldn’t really settle on any petit four recipes that were both straightforward and delicious, so I created one my favorite pound cake, vanilla buttercream, lemon curd, and raspberry jam.
There’s approximately 1 billion petit fours varieties and this one’s my new favorite. The recipe is perfect for beginners and I even include a video demonstrating exactly how to shape and layer them, plus other flavor options.
How to Make Lemon Berry Petit Fours
I stuck with a cake recipe that I know works: my cream cheese pound cake. Pound cake has an ideal texture for petit fours because it won’t squish when you layer or cut the tiny cakes.
Let’s walk through the whole process together:
- Make cake batter: Since the cake will be filled and iced, I reduced the sugar in the original recipe. I also added a little lemon juice to flavor and thin out the batter and a little more baking powder—both produced a less dense crumb and a little more rise.
- Bake in a sheet pan: The most important part of this entire recipe is using the correct size baking pan. Use a 12×17 inch half sheet pan. The cake will overflow in small pans and be too thin in larger pans.
- Cut in rectangles: As the cake cools, it will shrink a bit. Have no fear, that’s totally normal. Peel the parchment off the bottom of the cake and slice into 6 even rectangles.
- Slice rectangles into 2 layers: Slice each rectangle in half. You’ll have 12 even rectangles that you will layer together to make four small 3 layer “cakes.”
- Prepare fillings: I used lemon curd and raspberry jam in one layer and a thick vanilla buttercream in another layer. Fresh, fruity, creamy, and sweet! Use any jam you prefer and you could even use lemon buttercream or chocolate buttercream.
- Layer with fillings: Spread fillings onto each rectangle, then layer together.
- Chill: The layers *must chill* in the refrigerator prior to cutting into small petit fours.
- Cut into squares: Cut each into squares.
- Top with white chocolate: More on the topping below.
This recipe yields 48 petit fours, but you can cut them smaller if you need more. As long as the layered cakes are sufficiently chilled, cutting into tiny squares is easy.
Video Tutorial: How to Assemble Petit Fours
Assembling petit fours can be confusing, as I’m sure I lost you explaining the process above. I knew I’d have a hard time clearly explaining this, so I made a video showing you exactly how to cut, assemble, and layer them.
Now I know the following picture looks like I’m making a jelly sandwich on white bread, but I promise that’s pound cake under there!!
White Chocolate for Petit Fours “Icing”
Like I mention above, petit fours are usually covered in fondant. I wanted something a little less finicky, so I opted for white chocolate. Sure, they’re not as fancy looking but they’re still super cute… and really good! When applied lightly, the white chocolate thickens and sets, making these petit fours perfect for transporting and serving.
Melt the white chocolate with a little oil so it’s a thinner consistency for topping.
One tip: Use pure white chocolate or white chocolate that’s meant for melting. Pick up a 4 ounce bar of white chocolate from the baking aisle or white melting chips. (I use Ghirardelli brand white vanilla flavored melting chips.) White chocolate chips DO NOT melt down into the proper consistency; it will be too thick and taste grainy.
You could even use the lemon icing from this lemon pound cake instead. Much easier than fondant!
Garnish with sprinkles, edible flowers, white sixlets, or edible dragées.
Petit Four Flavors
Like always, there’s flavor options!
- Chocolate Raspberry: Replace lemon juice in cake with milk, replace lemon curd with more raspberry jam, and fill with chocolate buttercream instead.
- Lemon Coconut: Replace raspberry jam with more lemon curd and add 1 teaspoons coconut extract to cake and buttercream.
- Strawberry Champagne: Replace lemon juice in cake with champagne, the raspberry jam and lemon curd with your favorite strawberry jam, and vanilla buttercream with champagne buttercream.
Let me know if you try these for any special occasion!
More Simplified Fancy Treats
- Choux Pastry & Eclairs
- Almond Poppy Seed Tea Cakes & Brown Butter Berry Tea Cakes
- Madeleines
- Lace Cookies
- Chocolate Truffles
Lemon Berry Petit Fours
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: 48 petit fours
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Description
Delicate and sweet, these lemon berry petit fours are bite-size mini cakes perfect for weddings, parties, tea time, bridal and baby showers. Topped with a simple white chocolate garnish, this petit four recipe is easy and approachable. See video in blog post for a visual of the assembly.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups (340g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 8 ounces (226g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup (80g) sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 6 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3 cups (354g) cake flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 3 Tablespoons (45ml) fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
- 1/4 cup raspberry jam
- 1/4 cup (60g) lemon curd
Vanilla Buttercream Filling
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 cups (360g) confectioners’ sugar
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) heavy cream or whole milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
White Chocolate Topping
- two 4 ounce bars (226g) white chocolate, coarsely chopped*
- 2 teaspoons canola, vegetable, or coconut oil
- optional garnish: white sixlets, mint leaves, edible flowers, berries, and/or sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Grease a 12×17-inch half sheet pan, then line with parchment paper. Pan size is imperative. This batter won’t fit into anything smaller. Likewise, the cake would be too thin if baked in larger pans.
- Make the cake: Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the cream cheese and beat on high speed until completely smooth and combined, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute, then add the sour cream and vanilla and beat on high speed until combined and creamy. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- On low speed, beat the eggs in 1 at a time allowing each to fully mix in before adding the next. Careful not to overmix after the eggs have been added. Once the 6th egg is combined, stop the mixer and add the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat on medium speed *just* until combined, then beat in the lemon juice. Try not overmix. Using a rubber spatula or sturdy whisk, give the batter a final turn to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be thick and creamy.
- Pour/spoon batter evenly into prepared pan. Bang the pan on the counter once or twice to bring up any air bubbles. Bake for 26-31 minutes. Use a toothpick to test for doneness. Once it comes out completely clean, the cake is done.
- Remove cake from the oven and allow to cool inside the pan. The cake will shrink down from the sides.
- Cut cake into sections: Watch video tutorial above for a visual on the entire petit fours assembly. Once cool, invert the cake onto a cutting board or the counter with the long side facing you. With a sharp knife (I find serrated knife is best here) or pizza cutter, slice cake in half horizontally. Then cut each long rectangle into 3 smaller rectangles. You’ll now have 6 rectangles. Very carefully and slowly slice each in half as shown in the video above—as if you were making a 1 layer cake a 2 layer cake. You now have 12 thin rectangles.
- Make the vanilla buttercream: With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high speed and beat for 3 full minutes. Add up to 1/4 cup more confectioners’ sugar if frosting is too thin or another Tablespoon of cream if frosting is too thick. Add a pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet. (I always add a pinch.)
- Add fillings: With a sharp knife, trim the ends off the rectangles that touched the pan. They’re a little harder and uneven, which would create lopsided petit fours. Spread vanilla buttercream in a thick even layer on 4 rectangles. Spread both lemon curd and raspberry jam on 4 rectangles. (The remaining 4 rectangles are plain because they are the tops.) Go a little lighter on the raspberry jam and lemon curd compared to the vanilla buttercream. If there’s too much, it creates a big mess when cutting the petit fours.
- Layer the petit fours: Place the lemon curd/raspberry jam rectangles on top of the vanilla buttercream rectangles. Layer the plain rectangle on top. Loosely cover each and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or freeze for 1 hour. They must chill before cutting into tiny petit fours.
- Cut into tiny petit fours: Once cold, slice each into 12 little squares. Arrange on a baking sheet and chill in the refrigerator or freezer as you melt the white chocolate.
- Add the topping/garnish:Â Melt the white chocolate and oil together in a double boiler or in the microwave in 20 second increments, stopping and stirring after each until smooth and melted. If it seems too thick, add another drop of oil to thin out. Spoon or drizzle over petit fours. Top with optional garnish if desired.
- Cover and store petit fours in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions:Â To make ahead, complete the recipe through step 9. Cover the rectangles tightly and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw, then continue with the recipe. Prepared petit fours freeze well for up to 3 months without white chocolate topping. Top with white chocolate prior to serving. Thaw in the refrigerator or on the counter.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 12×17-inch Half Sheet Pan | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Rubber Spatula | Glass Mixing Bowl or Double Boiler
- White Chocolate: Use real white chocolate or white chocolate made for melting, not white chocolate chips. I use Ghirardelli brand white vanilla flavored melting chips. White chocolate chips DO NOT melt down into the proper consistency; it will be too thick and taste grainy. White baking chocolate is usually sold in 4 ounce bars in the baking aisle. I love Ghirardelli, Bakers, or Nestle brands.
I thought these petit fours were supposed to be much more tiny and covered in a chocolate ganache, I remember a store party that I worked at before and one of the guest brought these treats for everyone to enjoy, so aren’t these little cakes is supposed to be dipped in chocolate coat?
Hi George! There are many different variations of petit fours (they’re often traditionally covered in fondant) but for ours, we top with a white chocolate glaze. You could certainly cover with chocolate ganache if you preferred.
Hi George, these have a white chocolate coating. You could use regular chocolate instead though. These are two bite-sized. They may look larger in the photo.
I am planning a tea party. If I don’t make petit fours, what could I use as a substitute? Which recipes?
Hi Judith, Almond tea cakes, berry tea cakes, madeleines, and scones are all popular for a tea party.
I love trying new things.But my mixer is hand held, and it doesn’t have a paddle or any other attachment . Is this critical? Can these be made without an attachment?
A hand mixer works just as well!
I was reading over your lemon curd recipe, and it has an option for making it thicker. Is the original recipe or the thicker version better for using with the petit fours recipe? So excited to make these!
Hi Claire, we used the original lemon curd recipe, but you could use the thicker version if you prefer that consistency. Let us know what you try!
The first time I made these about a year ago, it was very difficult to cut the cakes horizontally as I only bake gluten free due to Celiac. I was delighted to use the suggestion by another reviewer, Joy and used two sheet pans. Excellent results. Took 22 minutes for baking time due to the gluten free flour which usually takes a bit longer.
I will be making these for my sister’s bridal shower soon! What size dragees do you recommend to use? The website you mentioned has 3, 4, and 6mm sizes.
Thanks!
I am making these this coming weekend for a bridal shower. My 1/2 sheet pan measures 12×18 (not 12×17 as stated in the instructions). Should I increase the recipe or will I be OK?
Hi Effie! That should be okay, the cake will just be slightly thinner. Hope they’re a hit for the bridal shower!
Hi, these looks delicious but I don’t need 48 of them. Could I cut the recipe in half and bake in a 9×13 or an 8×8, would the baking time be the same?
Hi Ayla, absolutely. We recommend using a quarter sheet pan– 9×13 inch. We’re unsure of the exact bake time, but keep a close eye on it and use a toothpick to test for doneness. Enjoy!
The cake was as dry as a biscuit.
I will be trying this recipe this weekend, but I don’t have a 12×17 pan. I do have a 16×22. I was wondering if I could double this recipe and and use my pan to make one large sheet cake?
Hi Margaret, 2x the recipe should be plenty for that size pan. We recommend making two separate batches rather than doubling, and if you have a bit of leftover batter, you can make a few cupcakes. Hope this helps!
I tried this recipe. The ganache recipe didn’t work at all. I wasted 4 bags of chocolate chips to have a heated clump of chocolate. I have made ganache before for a Andes chocolate cake – heated chips on low, tablespoon of heavy whipping cream – tada!
The cake recipe is great, but too dense for petit fours. This wasn’t airy and light. It was incredibly heavy. I will skip refrigerating a cake the next time and not use this recipe for the cake. My vanilla cake, which is super basic is super airy and would have done the trick. A pound cake for petit fours is not for beginners. Instead of cutting, just split your cake batter into three parts and pour into three pans. Will cut cooking time down drastically, but avoids the horizontal cutting fiasco that happens.
Good recipe for a beginner like me, but challenging nonetheless! Cutting those pieces in half horizontally? Not as easy as Sally makes it look in the video, I’ll just say that. The lemon curd and raspberry jam combo is delicious, as is the pound cake. I wasn’t a huge fan of the buttercream and would probably leave that out next time to cut down the sweetness (and have the lemon and raspberry in separate layers). I used the lemon icing option instead of white chocolate on top for the same reason, but there’s no getting around the fact that these are quite sugary and decadent. Each bite-sized piece really packs a punch!
Hi! I was wondering if you could split the batter and bake in two 1/2 sheet pans so that you didn’t have to slice the cake into layers? Any thoughts on what the baking time would be if you did?
Hi Joy, I’m sure you could. We haven’t tested it, so we’re unsure of the best bake time. Keep a close eye on them. Same oven temperature.
They turned out great! I split the batter by weight. The hard part was making sure they were level. I made the recipe before and had to bake the cakes 30+ minutes. These baked in about 16-17 minutes.
Made these and were delicious!! I wonder if you can use this cake recipe to make cupcakes and a birthday cake???
I made these for my daughter’s first birthday this weekend and they were a huge hit! Everyone raved about these, and the best part is it wasn’t even a crazy amount of work to make something so elegant and pretty. Thanks for another great recipe!
Hi! I am looking to make these petit fours with a fall/autumn twist by adding homemade salted caramel instead of lemon/raspberry and using the swiss meringue buttercream instead of typical buttercream (in hopes that will help balance it out so that it isn’t overly sweet with the caramel). Then adding some chopped toasted pecans to the top! Would a swiss meringue buttercream as a substitute hold up well for this recipe? Any suggestions or tips to help with these adjustments? Thanks so much! Really excited to try it out!
Yes, the Swiss Meringue would definitely work. They sound delicious, Shannon!
Hello, I’m wondering if I can dip the whole cake piece in the Melted white chocolate waffer Mix rather than just spooning it on top. I’d like the whole cake to be covered. I’d also like the chocolate to set and not be too soft.
I just made the cake but haven’t put the fillings in yet.
Thanks
Hi Mari! You can, just be gentle when dipping so that they layers don’t separate.
Could you completely cover the petit fours with a ganache? Would it be too heavy?
You could if you wish!
I made these for my own bridal shower last year and my aunt said it was the best thing I’ve ever baked!
I was wondering how this could be turned into a 3 tier 6 inch cake. Is the batter enough or do I need to do some math?
Also what would you suggest to frost the cake with?
Hi Ashley, I’m thrilled that these were such a hit! I used the batter from my cream cheese pound cake for these. To use a different size pan you can see my post on cake sizes and conversions.
For a lighter texture layer cake you can see my post on 6 inch cakes and look at the flavor suggestions.
Hi Sally! I was wondering if I could use plain all purpose flour for this recipe instead of cake flour? And if so, would I need to change the amount? Thanks! These look so fun, can’t wait to try them 🙂
Hi Sarah, If you don’t have cake flour I highly recommend making a Homemade Cake Flour Substitute!
Hi Sally! Can I leave out the lemon juice in the cake recipe? Do I need to replace it with water?
Hi Patrice, you can replace the lemon juice with milk.
What a fantastic treat! I made these for my Holiday family gathering and they were a smashing hit! I would definitely make them again. One thing I changed is I used fresh raspberries instead of the raspberry jam. I also only added 2 cups of powdered sugar to the buttercream. This worked out perfectly, lightening up the sweetness a smidge and the berries added a little burst of freshness. I highly recommend making the lemon curd from scratch. It isn’t difficult and is way worth it.
Hello! I’d like to try giving these as Christmas gifts in little boxes! I would like to try white chocolate and peppermint as the flavor combination, what would you suggest for fillings? Or another holiday flavor suggestion would be good too, thanks 🙂
Regular chocolate ganache as the filling would be wonderful and pairs well with the white chocolate and peppermint.
Hi! I would really love to make these! I have a silicone mini square molds that I would love to use so I don’t have to cut a full cake. Will the baking temp and time different?
Hi Rose, The bake time would definitely be different, but without testing your exact pan I’m unsure of the exact bake time. Watch them closely and you will know they are finished baking when a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.
So I’m in the middle of making these and having them chilling in the fridge.
Question: when I top them with the white chocolate, does it stay wet or does it harden?
They look amazing so far!
Hi Ashley! If applied in a thick layer, it won’t really set. But if applied thinly, it will eventually set.
These look fantastic! Can they be made ahead and froze? I am hoping to make them for a bridal shower coming up. Thanks!
Yep! See recipe note.
This was an awesome way to use pound cake! I ended up using my grandmother’s recipe and I used blueberry jam, apple butter and a strawberry butter. Everyone loved it. Thanks again for another great recipe.
Absolutely addictive !
Looks amazing! Could this recipe be halved? Quarter sheet pan?
Absolutely. I would use a quarter sheet pan– 9×13 inch.
I made this recipe a little over a year ago for a colleague’s baby shower. It was so very delicious that we all talk about it still. I am making them again for another occasion again.
Is it possible to make the cake portion chocolate cake?
Hi Jillian, We haven’t tested it but you could likely use any cake recipe written for a 12 x 17 inch pan, including this chocolate sheet cake. Enjoy!
These are so cute!! I can’t wait to have an occasion for which I can make them!