In my own personal opinion, I’ll have to say that the combination of chocolate and coffee are two flavors that go together so incredibly well. Even if this particular combination can keep you up half the night due to the amount of chocolate, caffeine and sugar, the taste is still incredibly delightful. I also use this cake and icing recipe for my Mocha Cake, which is always a big hit.
Click HERE to watch the video tutorial I watched in order to make these petit fours. This video has helped me tremendously with learning how to make petit fours.
In all honesty though, this recipe is quite rich. So, if you have the option of making these little guys smaller (so that they’re just the size for one bite), you can do so. You also have the option of making your own recipe of chocolate pound cake for a more dense cake for your petit fours.
For the Chocolate Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
1 cup milk
½ cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
Preheat oven to 350º F. Prepare 9×13 inch cake pan by spraying with baking spray or buttering and lightly flouring. Add flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and coffee granules to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk through to combine or, using your paddle attachment, stir through flour mixture until combined well. Add milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla to flour mixture and mix together on medium speed until well combined. Reduce speed and carefully add boiling water to the cake batter. Beat on high speed for about 1 minute to add air to the batter. Distribute cake batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes, remove from the pan and cool completely on cooling rack.
For the Coffee Icing:
1 pound confectioners sugar
1/2 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup strong brewed coffee
Beat butter and shortening with electric mixer at medium speed in mixing bowl for 2-3 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, continue beating for another 3-4 minutes. Store in airtight container (does not have to stay refrigerated).
For the Chocolate Poured Fondant:
8 cups Confectioners Sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup Corn Syrup, warmed in the microwave
4oz dark chocolate melting wafers
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
Water Warm 1/2 c – 1 cup adjust consisitency for desired result
Sift the confectioners sugar and cocoa in large mixing bowl. Using electric mixer (standing mixer works wonderfully for this recipe), slowly beat ingredients together, adding the warmed corn syrup and melted chocolate, add extract. Slowly add warm water and mix at medium speed, using the amount of water needed for desired consistency. You can reheat this mixture as needed for covering the petit fours.
