Petit Four Glaze Recipe
Petit Four Glaze
We love this easy Petit Four Glaze! Also, learn how to make petit fours in our free tutorial below.
Ingredients
- 9 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar (sift then measure) (945 g)
- ½ cup (164 g) light corn syrup
- ½ cup water (118g)
- 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract (4g)
- ½ teaspoon almond extract (optional)
Instructions
- In a heatproof bowl set over (but not touching) simmering water, mix sugar, corn syrup, ½ cup water, and flavoring together until warm and smooth. I like a thin consistency and so approximately 115 degrees F was the temperature that worked well for us. Don't worry if you do not have a candy thermometer..I just wanted to give you an idea. I prefer a nice, thin consistency.
- Stir in enough food coloring until desired color is reached. Do not overheat.
Notes
- *As you can see in the photo, the cakes were frosted on top before glazing so that the tops would not be transparent. These are from our cake video tutorial on Petit Fours!
- This glaze behaves just as it should, and sets after several minutes so that it becomes dry to the touch. This thin coating will keep your little cakes nice and moist, and I love the elegant matte semi-transparent finish.
*As you can see in the photo, the cakes were frosted on top before glazing so that the tops would not be transparent. These are from our cake video tutorial on Petit Fours!
This glaze behaves just as it should, and sets after several minutes so that it becomes dry to the touch. This thin coating will keep your little cakes nice and moist, and I love the elegant matte semi-transparent finish. (However, you can dust over them with pearl dust using a dry brush if you'd like, as you can see in my photo below!)
When we make petit fours, we use our FAVORITE Pound Cake recipe which you can find here!: Classic Pound Cake Recipe! Not only is this a fantastic pound cake recipe, but the density of pound cake makes for a clean and uniform cut when slicing your squares!
I can tell you from experience that trying to dip a square of cake with ragged edges makes for a very sad little petit four, haha. Still delicious...you'll just want your guests to avert their eyes. Stick to the dense cakes for these cuties!
We hope that you give this petit four glaze a try! This is a classic recipe that has been floating around for years, and for good reason. Super simple! Enjoy!
How to Make Petit Fours
Don't miss our step by step video tutorial on how to make petit fours the EASY way!
This is a video that was reserved for our members only for years, but we recently switched it to our free video tutorial section. We hope that you enjoy learning how to make these tiny cakes! Free Petit Fours Video Tutorial- How to make them the EASY way!
Bless you! I've "retired" due to chronic tendinitis in my right wrist, but still do cakes for a few special clients and my grands. I'm doing a second generation wedding cake in April after making the bride's parents' cake and all her birthday cakes as a child. What a blessing!
Hi Melissa and BeBe,
Would you please be so kind to check the measurements on the above recipe? I could be wrong, but I'm thinking that 2 cups of water and 2 cups of corn syrup is too much of a ratio to the powered sugar.
Also I notice that 2 cups of Corn Syrup is close to 600 grams and not 164gm.
Thank you for all you do! Love your school! :)
Diana
Hi Diana, you are right, thank you so much for letting us know that our recipe was off! We had an issue a while back when we transferred our recipes into a new recipe card plugin where the fractions were not recognized and automatically changed the measurements to whole numbers. We thought that we had corrected all of our recipes but this one slipped through the cracks! We've just adjusted the it. Thanks!
Hi! In a dry climate should this glaze dry to the touch? Can the completed petit fours be frozen and thawed the same way you would with a decorated cake?
Thanks!
Ok once I make the glaze do you pour it on the sheet cake or dip each piece
Hi Judie, Each petit four is dipped. Here is a link to the video that Melissa has on making petit fours, https://www.mycakeschool.com/video-tutorials/how-to-make-petit-foursa-video-tutorial/ . There are a number of steps to making these, making it a time consuming process, but the end result is very pretty. I want you to have success that is why I suggest watching the video. Let me know if you have other questions.
After making and glazing petit fours can and how do you freeze them?
Question—I had success using your recipe, except that my glaze did not set entirely—in fact it remaining tacky to the touch unless refrigerated.
I weighed my ingredients, but I do live in a fairly humid climate. In order to get the hard set that you achieved in the video, should I reduce the amount of water? Increase corn syrup. I was afraid it may affect the pourability of the glaze, so I wanted to ask for your expert advice first. Thanks so much!
Hi Kaime, I am sorry you are having this problem. Since you have a humid climate, you will need to experiment to find what works for you. I would decrease the amount of water just a bit. I wish I could be more definite on the amount.
its awesome...................
I bought a cake/candy mold of a Tardis (Dr. Who show) for a graduation cake, can I pour this over it as a test run then have enough for the real cake? I have a picture of the mold I bought.
Hi Lauri, We think it is best to use this glaze very soon after it is made. It become thicker as it cools. You could add just a bit more water to thin it to pouring consistency if it becomes to thick. I don't know how large your cake mold is but if you are trying to check how good it covers you could just pour some on the corner of the mold. You probably would not have enough to cover the mold as a test and also the completed cake. Also, if making in advance it will need refrigeration. Once it is made and poured onto a cake it dries and does not need refrigeration.
unfortunately this recipe did not work for me but i live in a super hot and humid tropics. the cake was frozen upon application and dry(ish) petit fours were moved to the fridge. i think the thawing made the glaze runny, it simply dripped off the cake pieces like water.
i did like the ingredients and the concept - it seems to be very tweakable by changing proportions to suit my environment. and it was tasty.
what i like most about baking is that it is work in progress. you never learn unless you try. and it takes lots of fails, sometimes.
thank you for your tutorial, despite all this i found it useful. and i will be back!