Description
There’s just something about bite-sized chocolate cakes that feels special. These little petit fours are soft, fudgy, and dressed up with a silky cocoa icing and a drizzle of white chocolate. They’re perfect for when you want a fancy-looking treat without the fuss.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Cake:
- 1/2 cup (125ml) cooking oil
- 1/2 cup (125ml) butter
- 3 tbsp (45ml) cocoa powder
- 2 cups (500ml) cake flour
- 1 1/2 cups (375ml) buttermilk
- 1 tsp (5ml) vanilla essence
- 2 extra-large eggs, whisked
- 1 tsp (5ml) bicarbonate of soda, mixed into a little milk
- 1 1/2 cups sugar (use less if you do not want it overly sweet)
Icing:
- 100g butter
- 1 tsp cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup icing sugar (up to 1 cup for pouring consistency)
- 2 tbsp buttermilk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
- White chocolate, melted or grated, for decoration
Instructions
Cake:
- Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
- Grease a 24x24cm square cake tin with nonstick spray. Optional: Bake in two tins for thinner, Petit fours.
- In a small pot, bring oil, butter, and cocoa powder to a gentle boil.
- Remove from the heat and let it cool slightly.
- Sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Stir in the sugar.
- Pour in the cooled cocoa mixture.
- In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, vanilla, eggs, and the bicarbonate mixture.
- Add this to the cocoa batter and mix until smooth.
- Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 30–35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely.
Icing:
- In a small saucepan, bring butter, cocoa, icing sugar, and buttermilk to a gentle boil. Let it simmer for 1 minute.
- Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Allow to cool slightly until pourable but not runny.
Assembly:
- Cut the cooled cake into 4–5cm squares.
- Place them on a wire rack with a tray underneath. Pour icing evenly over each square.
- Decorate with white chocolate drizzle, curls, or shavings.
- Let it set before serving.
Notes
Prepared, tried, and tested by Joy
