Here is a treat that is found everywhere: in stores, at restaurants, and bakeries. A Petit Four is a French term that means "small oven." It is described as any bite-sized cake, cookie, pastry, or confection served after a meal, with coffee or tea. A Petit Four is specified as a sponge cake with layers of cream filling. The bite-size pieces individually coated in fondant icing and elaborately decorated.
Petit Fours may also be recognized as a more abundant pastry, baked, and served as a smaller portion. An example is an éclair; baked Pate a Choux with a pastry cream filling. The Pate a Choux is piped shorter in length, using a smaller pastry tip. When it is baked, the water will begin to evaporate, creating steam. The steam is the leavening agent, allowing the piped batter to expand. The expansion of the pastry will be smaller because of its low-water content since it was piped as a smaller size compared to a traditional size éclair.
Cookies are also categorized as a Petit Four. Cookies that have been cut out and shaped into smaller pieces. All Petit Fours can be designed in different shapes and sizes. Different flavors, fillings, and garnishes will also make a difference.
Petit Fours may also be recognized as a more abundant pastry, baked, and served as a smaller portion. An example is an éclair; baked Pate a Choux with a pastry cream filling. The Pate a Choux is piped shorter in length, using a smaller pastry tip. When it is baked, the water will begin to evaporate, creating steam. The steam is the leavening agent, allowing the piped batter to expand. The expansion of the pastry will be smaller because of its low-water content since it was piped as a smaller size compared to a traditional size éclair.
Cookies are also categorized as a Petit Four. Cookies that have been cut out and shaped into smaller pieces. All Petit Fours can be designed in different shapes and sizes. Different flavors, fillings, and garnishes will also make a difference.
Lining Round Cake Pans
All cakes will fall into the category of being a petit-four when it's cut and served in smaller portions or bite-size pieces. Other than being called a dessert, in the United States, professionals in the industry will identify this delicacy as a pastry; baked, tender, sweet, and, sometimes, frosted with icing, buttercream, or ganache. A cake will also be identified by its appearance of layers with, more commonly, a thin filling between each layer. Traditionally, cakes are round and baked in a circular pan that identifies it as a spring-form or straight-edge cake pan.
Spring-Form pans are identified by the opening and closing spring on its side that will lock the base of the pan into place. Generally, this is an ideal pan for many home bakers and industrialists in food service but have flaws. To line, up a spring-form cake pan can be done by following the steps below.
Spring-Form pans are identified by the opening and closing spring on its side that will lock the base of the pan into place. Generally, this is an ideal pan for many home bakers and industrialists in food service but have flaws. To line, up a spring-form cake pan can be done by following the steps below.
- Prepare a piece of parchment paper large than the diameter of the cake pan of choice. Unlock the side of the pan and place the parchment paper on top of its base.
- Line the edge of the cake pan around the base. Slowly close and lock the pan so the parchment paper cannot be released when pulled. It's okay if the air is present beneath the parchment paper.
- Taking your scissors, cut around the outside edges of your pan. Once done, the base of your pan will be lined with parchment paper to prevent the bottom of your cake from sticking to the base of the pan. You’ll want to consider greasing the sides inside the pan.
The images above is a step-by-step example of lining a spring-form round cake pan. The pan size used in the example is a 4-inch round cake pan.
The flaw of using a spring-form pan is the batter (especially loose batters) may leak from beneath where the edge of the base meets the edges inside of the pan. The density of the batter will determine how fast it will begin to leak through the bottom. A technique some will use is foiling the outside of the pan and placing it in a slightly larger pan to slow down and hold the leakage (this technique is common when preparing cheesecake).
- Place the lined parchment paper cake pan on top of the foil cutout.
- Fold the outsides of the foil to the top edge of the cake pan, crimp it down, and cover the top. It's essential to keep the foil on the inside close to the top edges of the pan. This will lead to the cake having a clean appearance when removing the spring.
The example images above uses a 4-inch round cake pan.
A Straight-Edge pan is identified by being unable to separate the base from the sides of the pan. Straight edges are common in all kitchens with multiple uses, in and out of the bakeshop. Pans come in a number of shapes and sizes, expanding the opportunity for them to be used for other things aside from baking. Lining a straight-edge pan with parchment paper is as simple as cutting out a sheet of it, equivalent to the length and width of a pan. A circular straight-edge pan, one that measures in diameter, can be lined by the following steps:
**Depending on the design of the pan, some prefer to place the pan top-side down. Some round pans have an edge that “sticks outs” creating the top to look wider than the base. When tracing around the edge, it creates a gap and the cutout (after it’s placed into the pan) will fold upwards. The person can trim it in case they are unsure whether the base of the pan will be wide enough to fit inside the pan.
- Layout a piece of parchment paper. Place the pan (many prefer top side faced down**) on top of the parchment paper.
- Trace around the pan with a writing utensil a cut out the tracing. The cutout should match the diameter of the base when placed into the pan.
**Depending on the design of the pan, some prefer to place the pan top-side down. Some round pans have an edge that “sticks outs” creating the top to look wider than the base. When tracing around the edge, it creates a gap and the cutout (after it’s placed into the pan) will fold upwards. The person can trim it in case they are unsure whether the base of the pan will be wide enough to fit inside the pan.
The images above is a step-by-step example of lining a straight-edge round cake pan. The pan size used in the example is a 4-inch round cake pan.
