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Commercial petit fours can be very hit or miss. In my experience, they are often too cloying. That, or they are filled with things that I don’t like (almond extract, anyone)? It’s a shame, because they are absolutely adorable. They also have to pack a lot of flavor into a small package. That was the goal when I made these Strawberries and Champagne Petit Fours.

For the uninitiated, a petit four (French for “little oven”) is the name given to a small confection (usually a cake) that is typically served after a meal. They are always bite sized. This is a good thing, because they tend to be very rich and/or sweet. My strawberries and champagne petit fours use a champagne pound cake, strawberry frosting, and poured fondant icing flavored with champagne.

Petit fours are a bit time-consuming to make, so it is best to plan ahead. Sometimes, I bake and frost my cakes one day, then cut and glaze the next.

I used sparkling Rose for my petit fours, mainly because I thought it would be cute to make pink ones for Valentine’s Day. But, you are welcome to use regular sparkling wine or champagne. Use the driest kind that you can find. There is already plenty of sugar in these, so there is no need to use a sweet champagne.

Strawberries and Champagne Petit Fours

Ingredients

For the Cake (adapted from this recipe):

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon sour cream
• 3 eggs, room temperature preferred
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon sparkling wine flavoring (optional)
• 1/2 cup champagne, still bubbly

For the soaking syrup:

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup champagne

For the Frosting:

• 1/2 batch of strawberry frosting (I used this recipe)

For the Poured Fondant (Adapted from this recipe):

• 4 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup champagne reduction (see *NOTE)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2-3 drops of sparkling wine flavoring
• Pink food coloring if desired

Directions

Make the Cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray an 8 x 8 inch square pan with nonstick cooking spray (the kind with flour) or grease and flour it.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the melted butter, sugar, and sour cream. Stir in eggs, one at a time, then stir in vanilla and sparkling wine flavoring (if using).

Add the dry ingredients alternately with the champagne, beating until just combined with each addition. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 27-32 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean (mine took 30 minutes). Place the cake (still in the pan) on a wire rack. Use a toothpick to poke holes over the surface of the cake, then slowly pour the champagne soaking syrup over the hot cake. Let the cake finish cooling completely before frosting.

To make the soaking syrup:

Heat the sugar and champagne in a small saucepan over medium heat until it boils. Boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat.

Prepare the strawberry frosting before assembling.

Assembly:

Remove the cooled cake from the pan. If the cake has a dome, trim off the dome using a cake leveler or a bread knife.

Torte the cake into two even halves. Spread strawberry frosting over one of the halves, then top with the second half. Spread additional strawberry frosting over this half, then place in the freezer until the frosting is firm and no longer sticks to your fingers when touched. This took about 2 hours for me.

Remove the cake from the freezer. Trim off the dry edges of the cake, then cut the cake into even pieces. You can cut it into squares using a knife, or you can use a cookie or biscuit cutter to cut out shapes.

Place the cut cake bites in the freezer while you make the poured fondant.

Make the Poured Fondant Icing:

Prepare a double boiler over medium heat; bring 2 inches of water in the lower pot to a simmer. Sift confectioners’ sugar and salt into the top of the boiler. Add corn syrup and champagne reduction; whisk until well blended. Stir with a spatula until icing is completely smooth and an instant-read thermometer registers no higher than 105 degrees F (40 degrees C), about 5 minutes.

Stir in the champagne flavoring and vanilla extract into the icing. Keep stirring until icing takes on a glossy sheen and flows easily off of the spatula, about 2 minutes. Add food coloring, if using. Reduce heat to low to keep the fondant the proper consistency while you glaze. Glaze your strawberries and champagne petit fours using your preferred method. For best results, take only a few out of the freezer at a time while you dip so that the rest remain firm for dipping.

*NOTE: To make champagne reduction, bring 1 cup of champagne to a boil in a small saucepan. Continue to boil until the champagne darkens in color and is reduced to about 1/4 cup.