A new bakery has given the staid petit four a modern makeover. Petit Fours Cakes Gourmet sells large, drop-dead gorgeous versions that make traditional petits fours seem dowdy.
NATALIE CAUDILL/DMN
Carolyn Key (left) and Mary Jane Moreau co-own Petit Fours.
What's more, these cakes taste as good as they look, with flavors such as Pink Passionfruit, Chocolate Toffee Obsession and Peanut Butter & Ganache. There are classic flavors, too: red velvet, Italian cream and German chocolate. They're created by pastry chef Bill Hunter, formerly of the Mansion on Turtle Creek, the Crescent and the Fairmont.
The petits fours are generously sized as four-bite desserts. Instead of coating them in traditional fondant, chef Hunter opts for buttercream, ganache or cream cheese frosting. And he doesn't cut corners: All cakes have five thin layers. But it's the fanciful decorations that wow you at first glance: intricate piping, fruit-leather figures and geometric chocolate accents.
MAD PLAID: The designer plaid chocolate espresso cake, $55, or petit four, $5, feature layers of dark Swiss chocolate cake with espresso buttercream.
The bakery also sells stunning larger cakes in 17 flavors and several sizes. Prices range from $5 for petits fours to $70 for a decadent party cake. That may sound steep, but co-owners Carolyn Key and Mary Jane Moreau see these desserts as a smart alternative to sending flowers.
Want a taste before sending a gift box? Sit in the bakery's parlor or at a table and enjoy petits fours with a latte, chocolate chai tea, white hot chocolate or soda.
DMN
Petit Fours Cakes Gourmet, 3000 Blackburn, 214-559-2253, www.pfcakes.com
