Chocolate Petit Fours Recipe
Easy Chocolate Petit Fours Recipe – Whimsical and sweet chocolate mini cakes filled with Nutella and coated in melted chocolate. Chocolate Petit Fours are easier to make than you might think, and are great for customizing with colored sprinkles!
Why We Love This Chocolate Petit Fours Recipe
There’s nothing quite like lovely little square Chocolate Petit Fours to add a level of fanciness and fun to a party.
Most people think of petit fours as special treats that are complicated to make. Although there are several steps and plenty of freezer time, this is by far the easiest petit four recipe we’ve ever made…
No mousse. No baking racks. No poured fondant. Just a classic, moist and tender homemade chocolate cake filled with Nutella, and coated in melted chocolate.
Garnish your mini cakes with pretty sprinkles, or gold food coloring spray, and you have a party treat that’s perfect for sharing.
Ingredients You Need
- Granulated sugar – to keep things sweet
- All-purpose flour – swap with gluten-free flour to make these gluten-free
- Unsweetened cocoa powder – to make the cake part chocolatey
- Baking soda – to make the fluffy cake interior
- Salt – to balance the flavors
- Egg – use large eggs at room temperature
- Buttermilk – it’s easy to make your own buttermilk if you don’t have any on hand
- Vegetable oil – makes the cake extra moist and soft
- Vanilla extract – use a high-quality version
- Hot coffee (or hot water) – smoothes out batter and coffee enhances chocolate taste
- Dark chocolate chips – to balance the sweetness of the petit fours cake and filling
- Vegetable shortening – creates a smooth, dunk-able chocolate coating with a lovely shine
- Nutella – for the filling
- Colored sprinkles – for decorating
How to Make Chocolate Petit Fours
- Preheat the oven and spray a large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray.
- To start, mix all of the dry ingredients together in the bowl of an electric mixer
- In another large bowl combine all of the wet ingredients — the egg, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla extract.
- Add the wet and dry ingredients together and whisk until smooth. Then you can slowly add in the hot coffee.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepped baking pan and bake until it’s soft and fluffy in the middle.
- Once your cake is ready and cooled, freeze it for about an hour or two until the cake is firm.
- Once the cake is hard, use a serrated knife to cut it in half. Slather on Nutella in a thin layer over one-half of the cake. Place the plain cake layer over the Nutella layer, creating a two-layer cake. Clean up the cake’s edges and cut it into 1-inch squares — you’ll get about 100 petit fours. Freeze the mini cakes for another 1-2 hours until they’re hard.
- Then melt together the chocolate chips and vegetable shortening on the stovetop or in the microwave, and just stir that through until it’s smooth.
- Line a large baking sheet with paper muffin liners. Flatten one or two liners at a time — they’ll pop back up eventually, so no need to press more than a couple at once! Use a wooden skewer to quickly dunk each cake in the melted chocolate, making sure it’s fully coated.
- Gently tap to remove any excess chocolate, and place the chocolate petit four onto a flattened paper liner. Top each mini cake with a pinch of candy sprinkles.
Pro Tip: Work in batches and quickly so you can add sprinkles on before the chocolate ganache sets.
Repeat, repeat, repeat each step with all of the petit fours.
Get the Complete (Printable) Chocolate Petit Fours Recipe Below. Enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
Petit four chocolate cakes can be served at elevated parties and get-togethers. These would actually be perfect for a small DIY wedding, bridal showers, maybe to celebrate New Year’s Eve!
Serve them alongside some chocolate pomegranate petit fours at afternoon tea for a fun variety! All of your guests will be so impressed!
Recipe Variations
- Vegan – You can make these chocolate petit fours vegan by using egg substitutes and dairy-free alternatives like applesauce, flaxseed and coconut yogurt.
- Fruit Filling – Bring in some fruity flavors to each bite by adding in a layer of chopped fresh strawberries or raspberry jam. You can even mix in a little orange zest for some extra citrus flavor!
- Flour – Swap the all-purpose flour with almond flour to incorporate some nuttiness into each bite. Almond flour is also a great gluten-free alternative.
- Espresso – Try using hot espresso instead of regular hot coffee for a more intense chocolate flavor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Once finished, cover the baking sheet of chocolate mini cakes with plastic to keep fresh. Keep the sweet chocolate mini cakes at room temperature for 2-3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to a week.
You can easily make this a gluten-free petit fours recipe by swapping all-purpose flour with your favorite GF substitute. For the best texture, we recommend using a blend that includes potato starch and tapioca starch.
A simple decoration is adding sprinkles to the top of them before the chocolate coating has hardened! You can switch up the sprinkles and colors based on the time of year or special occasion. Or, instead of sprinkles you can pipe a little dollop of frosting on top for extra fancy petit fours!
When planning on making petit fours, plan for about 2-3 little pieces per person. Since this recipe makes 100 petit four cakes, this is great for your next gathering of about 30 people! But keep in mind, if you have leftovers, you can keep them in fridge and eat on them as the days go by.
Looking for More Classic Sweet Treat Recipes? Be Sure To Try:
- Chocolate Pomegranate Petit Fours
- Chocolate Dipped Lace Cookies
- Nutella Chocolate Fondue Recipe
- Blackout Mini Cake Recipe
- Chocolate Dipped Strawberries (Strawberry Pops)
- Ultimate Brownie Mix Cookies
- Red Velvet Cookie Pops
- Ghirardelli Brownie Mix (Homemade Brownies)
- Chocolate Budino
Chocolate Petit Fours Recipe
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Cake –
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup hot coffee or hot water
For the Filling –
For the Coating –
- 10 ounces dark chocolate chips 60% cacao
- 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Set out a 13X18 rimmed baking sheet and line it with parchment paper. Spray the parchment with nonstick cooking spray.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, add the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well.
- In a separate bowl (or measuring pitcher) combine the egg, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine.
- Turn the mixer on low and slowly pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture. Once fully incorporated, turn the mixer on medium and beat for 1 minute. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula. Then turn on low again and beat in the hot coffee. Once smooth, turn off the mixer.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan. Gently shake the pan to even out the batter. Then bake for 11-13 minutes, until soft and fluffy in the middle.
- Cool the cake for 15 minutes at room temperature. Then move the cake pan to the freezer and freeze until hard. (about 1-2 hours)
- Once the cake is firm, cut it in half. Spread the Nutella in a thin layer over one-half of the cake. Then use the parchment paper to lift the naked half of the cake over the top of the Nutella to create one cake with two layers. Peel off the parchment paper. Use a serrated knife to cut off the rough edges, then cut the cake into 1 inch squares. You should have approximately 100 petit fours. Place the baking sheet back into the freezer until the cakes are very hard. (about 1-2 hours)
- Once the cake is rock-hard, place the chocolate chips in a small saucepot or in a microwave-safe bowl. Add the vegetable shortening. Warm over low heat, stirring until melted and smooth. Or microwave in one-minute increments, stirring in between, until smooth.
- Lay paper muffin liners on a large rimmed baking sheet. Press 1-2 liners flat at a time. Take only 1-2 mini cakes out of the freezer at a time, so they stay cold and hard, until ready to dunk. Poke a wooden skewer into the center of one cake and quickly dunk it in melted chocolate. (Sometimes it helps to have a spatula to splash the chocolate over the top. Do this fast so the cake doesn’t soften and fall off the skewer.)
- Tap the skewer on the edge of the pot, to remove excess chocolate. (You want to keep it thin.) Then quickly move the petit four to one of the flattened paper liners. Twist the skewer to remove it from the cake and quickly fill the hole with melted chocolate, using a skewer or small spoon. Before the chocolate hardens, sprinkle it with decorative candy sprinkles.
- Repeat, repeat, repeat, making sure to keep the majority of the mini cakes frozen, and rewarming the chocolate as needed, so it thinly coats the cakes.
- Once finished, cover the baking sheet with plastic to keep fresh.
These petit fours were a big hit for Valentine’s Day! So easy to make and they disappeared fast lol!
Such a perfect chocolatey treat! My kids will love it!
These are the perfect little cakes. They taste so amazing!