A petit four (plural: petits fours, also known as mignardises) is a small bite-sized confectionery or savory appetizer. The name is French, ''petit four'' (), meaning "small oven".

History and etymology

In 18th and 19th century France, gas ovens did not exist. Large brick (Dutch design) ovens were used, which took a long time to heat up to bake bread, but also to cool down. Bakers used the ovens during the cooling process, taking advantage of their stored heat, for baking pastry. This was called baking ''à petit four'' (literally "at small oven"), a lower temperature which allowed pastry baking.

Types

Petits fours come in three varieties: * ''Glacé'' ("glazed"), iced or decorated tiny cakes covered in

fondant Fondant is a mixture of sugar and water used as a confection, filling, or icing. Sometimes gelatin and glycerine are used as softeners or stabilizers. There are numerous varieties of fondant, with the most basic being poured fondant. Others in ...

or icing, such as small éclairs, and

tartlet A tart is a baked dish consisting of a filling over a pastry base with an open top not covered with pastry. The pastry is usually shortcrust pastry; the filling may be sweet or savoury, though modern tarts are usually fruit-based, sometimes with ...

s * ''Salé'' ("salted"), savory bite-sized

appetizer An hors d'oeuvre ( ; french: hors-d'œuvre ), appetiser or starter is a small dish served before a meal in European cuisine. Some hors d'oeuvres are served cold, others hot. Hors d'oeuvres may be served at the dinner table as a part of the m ...

s usually served at cocktail parties or

buffet A buffet can be either a sideboard (a flat-topped piece of furniture with cupboards and drawers, used for storing crockery, glasses, and table linen) or a system of serving meals in which food is placed in a public area where the diners serve ...

s * ''Sec'' ("dry"), dainty biscuits, baked

meringue Meringue (, ; ) is a type of dessert or candy, often associated with Swiss, French, Polish and Italian cuisines, traditionally made from whipped egg whites and sugar, and occasionally an acidic ingredient such as lemon, vinegar, or cream o ...

macaron A macaron ( , ) or French macaroon ( ) is a sweet meringue-based confection made with egg white, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond meal, and food colouring. The macaron is traditionally held to have been introduced in France by the ...

s, and puff pastries In a French patisserie, assorted small desserts are usually called ''mignardises'', while hard, buttery biscuits are called petits fours.

References

Citations

General references

* Garrett, Toba. ''Professional Cake Decorating''. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, 2007. p. 226. * Kingslee, John. ''A Professional Text to Bakery and Confectionary''. New Delhi, India: New Age International, 2006. p. 244. * Maxfield, Jaynie. ''Cake Decorating for the First Time''. New York: Sterling Pub, 2003. p. 58. * Rinsky, Glenn, and Laura Halpin Rinsky. ''The Pastry Chef's Companion: A Comprehensive Resource Guide for the Baking and Pastry Professional''. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. p. 214. French pastries French cakes {{France-dessert-stub

History and etymology

Types

See also

References

Citations

General references