Chocolate Pomegranate Petit Fours

Dressed to Impress, Chocolate Pomegranate Petit Fours are a show-off treat for your Valentine!

Every time I see Petit Fours I think of Alice in Wonderland, gingerly nibbling bite-sized cakes that made her shoot up to towering heights or shrink down to the size of a mouse.

What’s more, I remember how delightful the petit fours sounded, and recall thinking I would be willing to go through any challenge Alice had to face, to get my hands on them.

Petit Fours are in fact, a labor of love. It’s not that they are hard to make; it’s that there is so much WAITING involved… I don’t like to wait on my dessert.

Impatience is the reason most people don’t make Petit Fours; they buy them at a bakery. However fresh homemade petit fours are a mystifying treat, with flavor combinations you don’t often find at a bakery, like chocolate pomegranate petit fours!

So here is the process for making these insanely tasty Chocolate Pomegranate Petit Fours. Again, not hard, just lots of waiting around.

Bake the cake and place in the freezer. Wait…

Make the Whipped Pomegranate Cream. Spread on cake. Freeze and wait…

Make the Whipped Chocolate Cream. Spread on pomegranate filling. Freeze and wait…

Trim the cake edges and cut into perfect 1 inch squares. Freeze and wait…

Make the Pomegranate Poured Fondant. Coat each Petit Four. Place on a rack to dry.

Why all the freezing and waiting?

The cream layers and the cake layer of the Chocolate Pomegranate Petit Fours need to be rock-hard before blanketing them in warm poured fondant, otherwise the cream will melt and the tender cake will crumble into the poured fondant bowl creating a huge mess.

Yet these little beauties are worth the wait. At this moment, I’m surrounded by little pearly pink Chocolate Pomegranate Petut Fours, and that is a goo thing.

If you are of the patient sect, you will be quite pleased with the finished product.

Chocolate + Pomegranate = Exquisite Yum.

P.S. The color of the pomegranate juice is so concentrated; there is no need for artificial coloring!

AMENDMENT 2-11-12: I’ve noticed in the comments that several people have tried our Chocolate Pomegranate Petit Fours recipe and have struggled with the poured fondant. I pride myself on offering tried-and-true recipes that anyone can make at home, and I HATE that this has caused a few of you some kitchen hardship. Here is a video clip I found, that is very similar to how I make my poured fondant. If you have never made petit fours, please take a look at this before starting, and also watch “Step 3” that covers dipping, listed after this clip! This is still a recipe worth making, but if you are new to petit fours, proceed with caution.

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Chocolate Pomegranate Petit Fours

Prep Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Chocolate Pomegranate Petit Fours for weddings and Valentines Day! So beautiful, and they taste amazing. This petit four recipe is a must-try this year.

Servings: 96 pieces

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

For the Cake:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup scalding hot water

For the Pomegranate Cream:

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened (1 cup)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup pomegranate juice
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

For the Chocolate Cream:

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened (1/2 cup)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 ounces dark chocolate, melted and cooled to room temp.

For the Pomegranate Poured Fondant:

• 1 cup plain shortening
• 6-8 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup pomegranate juice

Instructions

For the Cake:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of a 9x13 pan with parchment paper and thoroughly grease the sides. Sift (or whisk) all dry ingredients in a bowl.
• Beat together the eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients, and whisk for two minutes. Once well combined pour in the hot water and mix well. Pour into the cake pan and tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any large bubbles.
• Bake for 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool for 15 minutes, then flip out on a plastic board. Remove the parchment paper. If the cake looks even, place in the freezer. If the top is rounded, carefully flip the cake over (using another cookie sheet) and trim the top with a serrated knife, then freeze.

For the Whipped Pomegranate Cream:

• Add the pomegranate juice and flour to a small sauce pan. Whisk until there are no lumps. Then heat over medium, whisking constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. Whisk and cook a few more minutes until it thickens into a paste. Remove from heat and place pan in the fridge to cool. Beat the butter and sugar in a clean mixing bowl, for 5-7 minutes, until fluffy and glossy.
• Once cooled, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until light and fluffy 5 minutes. Spread the pomegranate cream evenly over the cake and return to the freezer.

For the Whipped Chocolate Cream:

• Add the milk, flour, and cocoa powder to a small sauce pan. Whisk until there are no lumps. Then heat over medium, whisking constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. Whisk and cook a few more minutes until it thickens into a paste. Remove from heat and place pan in the fridge to cool. Beat the butter and sugar in a clean mixing bowl, for 5-7 minutes, until fluffy and glossy. Once cooled, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Pour in the vanilla and the cooled melted chocolate and beat until light and fluffy 5 minutes. Spread evenly over the top of the pomegranate cream. Return to the freezer.
• Once frozen, trim the edges of the cake until very smooth. The cake will be about 8x12 inches after trimming. Then carefully cut the cake into 1-inch squares, 96 total. You may want to use a clean ruler to mark the top of the chocolate cream to make the pieces even. Return the cake squares to the freezer.

For the Pomegranate Poured Fondant:

• Place the shortening and half the pomegranate juice in a large bowl. Microwave until the shortening has melted. Add 5 cups of powdered sugar to the mix and whisk until smooth. Add a little more juice and another cup of powdered sugar, whisk. The fondant should be smooth and glossy, thin enough to pour but thick enough to coat well, a little thicker than school glue. If you see shortening dots on the top, add more powdered sugar. It may take all the juice and as much as 8 cups of powdered sugar to even out--but not always. Rewarm and whisk before dipping the petit fours. The fondant needs to stay warm.
• Before dipping, dust the bottoms of each petit four, so that crumbs don't fall in the poured fondant.
• Place a petit four on a fork over the fondant bowl. Using a large spoon, scoop fondant over the top covering completely on all sides, then use another fork to carefully transfer to a drying rack. Repeat with all, rewarm the fondant if needed. Keep the remaining petit fours in the freezer, only removing a few at a time, so they stay completely frozen for dipping. If the petit fours thaw, the fondant won't stick.

Nutrition

Serving: 4pieces, Calories: 113kcal, Carbohydrates: 15g, Protein: 0g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 9mg, Sodium: 24mg, Potassium: 33mg, Fiber: 0g, Sugar: 13g, Vitamin A: 95IU, Calcium: 7mg, Iron: 0.2mg

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Author: Sommer Collier

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