Ok so I have had a customer ask for some cake squares and petit fours for a party. I have never done petit fours to sell, so I am looking for advise on pricing for them. And as far as cake squares, I am confused on exactly what they are....is it just a regular sheet cake cut into squares? And if so, do you ice them before or after you cut the squares? And do you put them individual baking cups to serve like you do petit fours?
Any advise and tips will be greatly appreciated!!
Google is your friend:
http://www.mahalo.com/how-to-make-petit-fours/
I am totally waiting for Leah to respond. I think she charges like $7 a piece to discourage people from buying them since they are a PITA to make. I watched that video a while back. You have to make sure you cut them evenly and that your icing/poured fondant is the right consistency.
Annie
Oh yeah, $6 each. No one buys them! In fact there's no one in my city of 1 million people who will make these things. hahaha There's a reason why.
Cake squares? Sheet cake cut into squares and plopped into paper cups I guess. BTW, one bakery in town actually sells those as petit fours. And they know better, as they as associated with one of the local culinary schools. In fairness, that happened a few years ago.
So if you want the order, charge A LOT. And I predict you won't take a second order.
To properly make them, you'll make a sheet, torte it, roll of layer of marzipan on top then cut into bite sized pieces (by definition they are 1 or 2 bites) and cover with poured fondant, then decorate.
Oh yeah, $6 each. No one buys them! In fact there's no one in my city of 1 million people who will make these things. hahaha There's a reason why.
Cake squares? Sheet cake cut into squares and plopped into paper cups I guess. BTW, one bakery in town actually sells those as petit fours. And they know better, as they as associated with one of the local culinary schools. In fairness, that happened a few years ago.
So if you want the order, charge A LOT. And I predict you won't take a second order.
To properly make them, you'll make a sheet, torte it, roll of layer of marzipan on top then cut into bite sized pieces (by definition they are 1 or 2 bites) and cover with poured fondant, then decorate.
Oh yeah, $6 each. No one buys them! In fact there's no one in my city of 1 million people who will make these things. hahaha There's a reason why.
Cake squares? Sheet cake cut into squares and plopped into paper cups I guess. BTW, one bakery in town actually sells those as petit fours. And they know better, as they as associated with one of the local culinary schools. In fairness, that happened a few years ago.
So if you want the order, charge A LOT. And I predict you won't take a second order.
To properly make them, you'll make a sheet, torte it, roll of layer of marzipan on top then cut into bite sized pieces (by definition they are 1 or 2 bites) and cover with poured fondant, then decorate.
Oh yeah, $6 each. No one buys them! In fact there's no one in my city of 1 million people who will make these things. hahaha There's a reason why.
Cake squares? Sheet cake cut into squares and plopped into paper cups I guess. BTW, one bakery in town actually sells those as petit fours. And they know better, as they as associated with one of the local culinary schools. In fairness, that happened a few years ago.
So if you want the order, charge A LOT. And I predict you won't take a second order.
To properly make them, you'll make a sheet, torte it, roll of layer of marzipan on top then cut into bite sized pieces (by definition they are 1 or 2 bites) and cover with poured fondant, then decorate.
Marzipan is very easy to use. You can buy the Odense brand at the supermarket, or buy it online at kingarthurflour.com.
To use it, just sprinkle your work surface with a little confectioner's sugar (and your rolling pin) and then roll the marzipan out in a rectangle to fit your cake. Any extra can be re-rolled or balled up and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for later use.
Annie
This is one of those things I would try out before I gave a price and took the order. 
Petit fours are not easy to make. I totally undercharged the first time I made them and I never accepted another order of them! They are really pretty but not the easiest. My poured fondant had to keep being remelted and it was hard to coat the whole piece of cake. Good luck!!
Good news! There is a secretly easy way .... dipping, not pouring.
Bake your cake sheet and if you want to torte and fill, simple syrup them or whatever you want to do. If you want a traditional marzipan top, do that now to the whole sheet. At my shop, we add a thin layer of SMBC to the top and make sure it's super smooth. This will eliminate any imperfections in the cake surface.
Now freeze this bad boy solid and then cut into the desired size. For us, petit fours are 1x1x1" and petit fives are 2x2x2". Refreeze.
Make the "Quick Pour Fondant Icing" off of allrecipes.com and heat over a double boiler until it thins and is fairly warm. I have never used a thermometer, but I'd say its about 120 degrees F.
Your dipping set up will be a sheet tray, something high in the center (I like a full 5# fondant bucket), a glazing rack (like shown in the video), then something heavy to keep it from spinning or slipping (like another fondant bucket).
Pull out as many petit fours and you can dip before they soften (I can do like 30) and QUICKLY flip them over, insert a bamboo skewer (shortened if necessary), dip into fondant, turn it right side up, insert skewer into a hole in the rack, lower petit four to rack, remove skewer. Repeat. This is a bit of set up, but once you are going it is FAST. The excess fondant drips off (you can't re-use it but there isn't nearly as much run-off as in the video) and the warm fondant sets up very quickly against the frozen cake. By the time the tray is full, you can handle the first ones and put them into their cups (a paring knife or small offset spat will assist you.)
HTH!
Good news! There is a secretly easy way .... dipping, not pouring.
Bake your cake sheet and if you want to torte and fill, simple syrup them or whatever you want to do. If you want a traditional marzipan top, do that now to the whole sheet. At my shop, we add a thin layer of SMBC to the top and make sure it's super smooth. This will eliminate any imperfections in the cake surface.
Now freeze this bad boy solid and then cut into the desired size. For us, petit fours are 1x1x1" and petit fives are 2x2x2". Refreeze.
Make the "Quick Pour Fondant Icing" off of allrecipes.com and heat over a double boiler until it thins and is fairly warm. I have never used a thermometer, but I'd say its about 120 degrees F.
Your dipping set up will be a sheet tray, something high in the center (I like a full 5# fondant bucket), a glazing rack (like shown in the video), then something heavy to keep it from spinning or slipping (like another fondant bucket).
Pull out as many petit fours and you can dip before they soften (I can do like 30) and QUICKLY flip them over, insert a bamboo skewer (shortened if necessary), dip into fondant, turn it right side up, insert skewer into a hole in the rack, lower petit four to rack, remove skewer. Repeat. This is a bit of set up, but once you are going it is FAST. The excess fondant drips off (you can't re-use it but there isn't nearly as much run-off as in the video) and the warm fondant sets up very quickly against the frozen cake. By the time the tray is full, you can handle the first ones and put them into their cups (a paring knife or small offset spat will assist you.)
HTH!
Good news! There is a secretly easy way .... dipping, not pouring.
Bake your cake sheet and if you want to torte and fill, simple syrup them or whatever you want to do. If you want a traditional marzipan top, do that now to the whole sheet. At my shop, we add a thin layer of SMBC to the top and make sure it's super smooth. This will eliminate any imperfections in the cake surface.
Now freeze this bad boy solid and then cut into the desired size. For us, petit fours are 1x1x1" and petit fives are 2x2x2". Refreeze.
Make the "Quick Pour Fondant Icing" off of allrecipes.com and heat over a double boiler until it thins and is fairly warm. I have never used a thermometer, but I'd say its about 120 degrees F.
Your dipping set up will be a sheet tray, something high in the center (I like a full 5# fondant bucket), a glazing rack (like shown in the video), then something heavy to keep it from spinning or slipping (like another fondant bucket).
Pull out as many petit fours and you can dip before they soften (I can do like 30) and QUICKLY flip them over, insert a bamboo skewer (shortened if necessary), dip into fondant, turn it right side up, insert skewer into a hole in the rack, lower petit four to rack, remove skewer. Repeat. This is a bit of set up, but once you are going it is FAST. The excess fondant drips off (you can't re-use it but there isn't nearly as much run-off as in the video) and the warm fondant sets up very quickly against the frozen cake. By the time the tray is full, you can handle the first ones and put them into their cups (a paring knife or small offset spat will assist you.)
HTH!
Good news! There is a secretly easy way .... dipping, not pouring.
Bake your cake sheet and if you want to torte and fill, simple syrup them or whatever you want to do. If you want a traditional marzipan top, do that now to the whole sheet. At my shop, we add a thin layer of SMBC to the top and make sure it's super smooth. This will eliminate any imperfections in the cake surface.
Now freeze this bad boy solid and then cut into the desired size. For us, petit fours are 1x1x1" and petit fives are 2x2x2". Refreeze.
Make the "Quick Pour Fondant Icing" off of allrecipes.com and heat over a double boiler until it thins and is fairly warm. I have never used a thermometer, but I'd say its about 120 degrees F.
Your dipping set up will be a sheet tray, something high in the center (I like a full 5# fondant bucket), a glazing rack (like shown in the video), then something heavy to keep it from spinning or slipping (like another fondant bucket).
Pull out as many petit fours and you can dip before they soften (I can do like 30) and QUICKLY flip them over, insert a bamboo skewer (shortened if necessary), dip into fondant, turn it right side up, insert skewer into a hole in the rack, lower petit four to rack, remove skewer. Repeat. This is a bit of set up, but once you are going it is FAST. The excess fondant drips off (you can't re-use it but there isn't nearly as much run-off as in the video) and the warm fondant sets up very quickly against the frozen cake. By the time the tray is full, you can handle the first ones and put them into their cups (a paring knife or small offset spat will assist you.)
HTH!
Good news! There is a secretly easy way
.... dipping, not pouring.Bake your cake sheet and if you want to torte and fill, simple syrup them or whatever you want to do. If you want a traditional marzipan top, do that now to the whole sheet. At my shop, we add a thin layer of SMBC to the top and make sure it's super smooth. This will eliminate any imperfections in the cake surface.
Now freeze this bad boy solid and then cut into the desired size. For us, petit fours are 1x1x1" and petit fives are 2x2x2". Refreeze.
Make the "Quick Pour Fondant Icing" off of allrecipes.com and heat over a double boiler until it thins and is fairly warm. I have never used a thermometer, but I'd say its about 120 degrees F.
Your dipping set up will be a sheet tray, something high in the center (I like a full 5# fondant bucket), a glazing rack (like shown in the video), then something heavy to keep it from spinning or slipping (like another fondant bucket).
Pull out as many petit fours and you can dip before they soften (I can do like 30) and QUICKLY flip them over, insert a bamboo skewer (shortened if necessary), dip into fondant, turn it right side up, insert skewer into a hole in the rack, lower petit four to rack, remove skewer. Repeat. This is a bit of set up, but once you are going it is FAST. The excess fondant drips off (you can't re-use it but there isn't nearly as much run-off as in the video) and the warm fondant sets up very quickly against the frozen cake. By the time the tray is full, you can handle the first ones and put them into their cups (a paring knife or small offset spat will assist you.)
HTH!
For an absolute FREAKING GENIUS, you'd think you would've posted that just once! 
Good news! There is a secretly easy way
.... dipping, not pouring.Bake your cake sheet and if you want to torte and fill, simple syrup them or whatever you want to do. If you want a traditional marzipan top, do that now to the whole sheet. At my shop, we add a thin layer of SMBC to the top and make sure it's super smooth. This will eliminate any imperfections in the cake surface.
Now freeze this bad boy solid and then cut into the desired size. For us, petit fours are 1x1x1" and petit fives are 2x2x2". Refreeze.
Make the "Quick Pour Fondant Icing" off of allrecipes.com and heat over a double boiler until it thins and is fairly warm. I have never used a thermometer, but I'd say its about 120 degrees F.
Your dipping set up will be a sheet tray, something high in the center (I like a full 5# fondant bucket), a glazing rack (like shown in the video), then something heavy to keep it from spinning or slipping (like another fondant bucket).
Pull out as many petit fours and you can dip before they soften (I can do like 30) and QUICKLY flip them over, insert a bamboo skewer (shortened if necessary), dip into fondant, turn it right side up, insert skewer into a hole in the rack, lower petit four to rack, remove skewer. Repeat. This is a bit of set up, but once you are going it is FAST. The excess fondant drips off (you can't re-use it but there isn't nearly as much run-off as in the video) and the warm fondant sets up very quickly against the frozen cake. By the time the tray is full, you can handle the first ones and put them into their cups (a paring knife or small offset spat will assist you.)
HTH!
For an absolute FREAKING GENIUS, you'd think you would've posted that just once!
Good news! There is a secretly easy way
.... dipping, not pouring.Bake your cake sheet and if you want to torte and fill, simple syrup them or whatever you want to do. If you want a traditional marzipan top, do that now to the whole sheet. At my shop, we add a thin layer of SMBC to the top and make sure it's super smooth. This will eliminate any imperfections in the cake surface.
Now freeze this bad boy solid and then cut into the desired size. For us, petit fours are 1x1x1" and petit fives are 2x2x2". Refreeze.
Make the "Quick Pour Fondant Icing" off of allrecipes.com and heat over a double boiler until it thins and is fairly warm. I have never used a thermometer, but I'd say its about 120 degrees F.
Your dipping set up will be a sheet tray, something high in the center (I like a full 5# fondant bucket), a glazing rack (like shown in the video), then something heavy to keep it from spinning or slipping (like another fondant bucket).
Pull out as many petit fours and you can dip before they soften (I can do like 30) and QUICKLY flip them over, insert a bamboo skewer (shortened if necessary), dip into fondant, turn it right side up, insert skewer into a hole in the rack, lower petit four to rack, remove skewer. Repeat. This is a bit of set up, but once you are going it is FAST. The excess fondant drips off (you can't re-use it but there isn't nearly as much run-off as in the video) and the warm fondant sets up very quickly against the frozen cake. By the time the tray is full, you can handle the first ones and put them into their cups (a paring knife or small offset spat will assist you.)
HTH!
For an absolute FREAKING GENIUS, you'd think you would've posted that just once!
Good news! There is a secretly easy way
.... dipping, not pouring.Bake your cake sheet and if you want to torte and fill, simple syrup them or whatever you want to do. If you want a traditional marzipan top, do that now to the whole sheet. At my shop, we add a thin layer of SMBC to the top and make sure it's super smooth. This will eliminate any imperfections in the cake surface.
Now freeze this bad boy solid and then cut into the desired size. For us, petit fours are 1x1x1" and petit fives are 2x2x2". Refreeze.
Make the "Quick Pour Fondant Icing" off of allrecipes.com and heat over a double boiler until it thins and is fairly warm. I have never used a thermometer, but I'd say its about 120 degrees F.
Your dipping set up will be a sheet tray, something high in the center (I like a full 5# fondant bucket), a glazing rack (like shown in the video), then something heavy to keep it from spinning or slipping (like another fondant bucket).
Pull out as many petit fours and you can dip before they soften (I can do like 30) and QUICKLY flip them over, insert a bamboo skewer (shortened if necessary), dip into fondant, turn it right side up, insert skewer into a hole in the rack, lower petit four to rack, remove skewer. Repeat. This is a bit of set up, but once you are going it is FAST. The excess fondant drips off (you can't re-use it but there isn't nearly as much run-off as in the video) and the warm fondant sets up very quickly against the frozen cake. By the time the tray is full, you can handle the first ones and put them into their cups (a paring knife or small offset spat will assist you.)
HTH!
For an absolute FREAKING GENIUS, you'd think you would've posted that just once!
hahaahhaha! It did it to me too! That's what I get for being a smart @$$!
DITTO!! lol!
I swear I hit the button just once! Oh, Cake Central....
I know for a fact that i hit it once, because I didn't want it to happen to me when I was being a smarty, lol! It "cranked" for quite some time, then timed out. I closed it and opened another tab, and there it was, 4 or more times!
[quote="Annabakescakes"]
Good news! There is a secretly easy way
.... dipping, not pouring.Bake your cake sheet and if you want to torte and fill, simple syrup them or whatever you want to do. If you want a traditional marzipan top, do that now to the whole sheet. At my shop, we add a thin layer of SMBC to the top and make sure it's super smooth. This will eliminate any imperfections in the cake surface.
Now freeze this bad boy solid and then cut into the desired size. For us, petit fours are 1x1x1" and petit fives are 2x2x2". Refreeze.
Make the "Quick Pour Fondant Icing" off of allrecipes.com and heat over a double boiler until it thins and is fairly warm. I have never used a thermometer, but I'd say its about 120 degrees F.
Your dipping set up will be a sheet tray, something high in the center (I like a full 5# fondant bucket), a glazing rack (like shown in the video), then something heavy to keep it from spinning or slipping (like another fondant bucket).
Pull out as many petit fours and you can dip before they soften (I can do like 30) and QUICKLY flip them over, insert a bamboo skewer (shortened if necessary), dip into fondant, turn it right side up, insert skewer into a hole in the rack, lower petit four to rack, remove skewer. Repeat. This is a bit of set up, but once you are going it is FAST. The excess fondant drips off (you can't re-use it but there isn't nearly as much run-off as in the video) and the warm fondant sets up very quickly against the frozen cake. By the time the tray is full, you can handle the first ones and put them into their cups (a paring knife or small offset spat will assist you.)
HTH!
You mention a video for your method. Can you post the link to that video? I would love to see the set up for the rack and removing the skewer. I also have another question, if you wanted to have a layer of jam would you bake 2 sheet cakes and sandwich the squares or would you torte 1 sheet cake?
[quote="Crazy-4-Cakes"]
Good news! There is a secretly easy way
.... dipping, not pouring.Bake your cake sheet and if you want to torte and fill, simple syrup them or whatever you want to do. If you want a traditional marzipan top, do that now to the whole sheet. At my shop, we add a thin layer of SMBC to the top and make sure it's super smooth. This will eliminate any imperfections in the cake surface.
Now freeze this bad boy solid and then cut into the desired size. For us, petit fours are 1x1x1" and petit fives are 2x2x2". Refreeze.
Make the "Quick Pour Fondant Icing" off of allrecipes.com and heat over a double boiler until it thins and is fairly warm. I have never used a thermometer, but I'd say its about 120 degrees F.
Your dipping set up will be a sheet tray, something high in the center (I like a full 5# fondant bucket), a glazing rack (like shown in the video), then something heavy to keep it from spinning or slipping (like another fondant bucket).
Pull out as many petit fours and you can dip before they soften (I can do like 30) and QUICKLY flip them over, insert a bamboo skewer (shortened if necessary), dip into fondant, turn it right side up, insert skewer into a hole in the rack, lower petit four to rack, remove skewer. Repeat. This is a bit of set up, but once you are going it is FAST. The excess fondant drips off (you can't re-use it but there isn't nearly as much run-off as in the video) and the warm fondant sets up very quickly against the frozen cake. By the time the tray is full, you can handle the first ones and put them into their cups (a paring knife or small offset spat will assist you.)
HTH!
You mention a video for your method. Can you post the link to that video? I would love to see the set up for the rack and removing the skewer. I also have another question, if you wanted to have a layer of jam would you bake 2 sheet cakes and sandwich the squares or would you torte 1 sheet cake?
I am not KoryAK, but I was assuming that the video she spoke of was not of her method, but of a different method. Hers is GENIOUS!
And if I wanted to fill mine, I would definetly torte. I think 2 layers would be too tall, unless you were making giant cakes to begin with, but then you couldn't dip them without having them fall apart.
Crazy-4-Cakes: the video I mention is earlier in the thread and illustrates a different method (not posted by me)
If I am making a ton of them (as in I'm baking full sheet cakes), I will bake two half-tall layers because that's easier. If I am baking a half sheet size or less (which still makes a LOT of petit fours) then I will bake the full height and torte. They both come out the same in the end.
Annabakescakes: I have done up to 3x3x3" (3 layers of cake and two layers of jam) with this method without them falling apart. The freezing is the key!
KoryAk- I can't seem to find where you said the video is posted. Would you mind, reposting the link or pm'ing me with it. Thank you for your tip on making these. I have never wanted to attempt, as I knew they were very time consuming. Your suggestions seem much easier! Thank you. 
I do petit fours all the time and yes there is a secret. But being the generous soul I am, I'll share.
These cakes are lighter than air with a very sweet icing so I never tort and fill them with anything. I don't think filling would work with my dipping method.
Since petit fours are suppose to be bite size they aren't thick so it's best to bake them in a jelly roll pan. Use more batter than the pan size calls, so it will rise up well above the pan and you can cut the entire top off. You don't want any brown crust on the top or sides of the cakes. Once cooled, place cake on covered board, wrap and freeze cake completely. Trim all the edges off the cake and cut into 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 squares while frozen. Cover and return to freezer. When ready to dip cakes, place a piece of freezer paper or some plastic garbage bags on the counter to and put a wire cooling grid on it.
Make poured fondant icing like this.....
6 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup (it's colorless)
1/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons cream
1 teaspoon almond extract
In a double boiler or a glass mixing bowl that fits into a saucepan but doesn't go to the bottom. Add water to bottom pan until it reaches slightly over the bottom of the top pan. Add sugar, milk, cream and syrup, stir well then add extract. If mixture is really thick add some more milk or some water 1 tablespoon at a time. Heat mixture over low heat until mixture is lukewarm to the touch about 100 degrees. Do not over heat. If water gets to hot, replace with cooler water and continue. Take about 10 petite fours out of freezer at a time to work with. With your fingers gripping the very bottom edges, dip cake cut side down in the icing until it is sides are completely covered, but don't let it coat the bottoms of the cakes. Take petit four out turn right side up and place on rack to drip. You can touch up any bare spots at the bottom with a cake knife/spatula. After the petite fours have dried enough to move, cut them loose from the rack and move them to a clean one. After they have dried completely you can decorate and box. Store in refrigerator in needed. You can do about 3 - 3 1/2 petit fours with this icing.
I know it sounds like a PITA but once you get the hang of it, it's really a breeze. I charge $12 a dozen them.
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