#925 The delicious petit four

A petit four, also know as mignardises, is a small confectionery or savoury appetizer. The name is French, meaning “small oven”. The petit four were traditionally made in a smaller oven next to the main oven. In the 18th century some bakers made them during the cooling process of coal-fired brick ovens to take advantage of their stored heat, thus exploiting coal’s high burning temperature and economizing on its expense relative to wood.

The petit four can come in three varieties:

In a French patisserie, assorted small desserts are usually called mignardises, while hard, buttery biscuits are called petit four though petit four seems to encompass all tiny treats mentioned above. Who cares about the savory petit four? I am talking about the adorable, tiny layered cakes filled with fruit or frosting and covered in poured fondant or icing usually made from sponge cakes, genoise cakes, or pound cakes. Or something like that. As I have said before, there are so many styles of things in baking it is hard to go wrong. You can always invent whatever style you like.

But why would you call these delicious desserts “little ovens”? You see, in 19th century France, there were no gas ovens. The baker’s oven was the single type of oven bake then. It was a huge cabin made out of stone or brick, underneath which would be lit a fire. These ovens took a long time to get going but took a long time to die down. And you know, they didn’t really have a knob one could turn to modify the heat being 19th Century and all. Really, it only had two settings. The first setting was the grand four, big oven, where the fire was at its strongest. This setting was used when the big stuff such as roasts, boars, pigs, ribs, and the platters of veggies and potatoes were placed in to cook. The second setting was the petit four, when the fire started to die out and the heat began to weaken. In this setting you could bake individual pastries and bite-size appetizers to serve with tea. This is how these novelty foods were named petit four, describing the way they were prepared.

The petit four is usually served at fancy events like weddings or bridal showers. You see them a lot on cruise ships or at the buffet in Las Vegas or elsewhere. There are also recipes in various cookbooks that you could try on your own. Regardless of where you see them, be sure to have one or two but don’t forget to do your exercise later though. I always like to grab a few myself because the petit four always makes me smile.

Have you had the chance to enjoy a petit four? Where did you try them and what was your experience? Would love to hear from you in the comments section.