Square Pumpkin-Cake Petits Fours with Honey-Chocolate Glaze

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marizpan pumpkin petits fours
Photo: Christopher Baker

These Square Pumpkin-Cake Petits Fours with Honey-Chocolate Glaze are perfect for serving at your haunting Halloween bash or for topping off your Thanksgiving menu.

Ingredients

For the Honey-Chocolate Glaze

  • 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (preferably 61 percent cacao), finely chopped

  • ¾ cup heavy cream

  • ½ cup clover honey

  • ½ vanilla bean, seeds scraped, pod reserved

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

  • Unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, for dusting

For the Petits Fours

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for sheets

  • cup turbinado sugar

  • 1 tablespoon baking powder

  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves

  • ¼ teaspoon ground allspice

  • 1 teaspoon coarse salt

  • 1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin

  • ¼ cup heavy cream

  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

  • 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for sheets

  • 3 cups granulated sugar

  • 4 large eggs, room temperature

  • 1 large egg yolk, room temperature

Directions

  1. Make the petits fours: Preheat oven to 350. Butter 2 rimmed baking sheets. Line with parchment, butter and flour parchment, and tap out excess.

  2. Whisk flour, turbinado sugar, baking powder, cloves, allspice, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk pumpkin, cream, and vanilla in a medium bowl.

  3. Beat butter and granulated sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, and yolk, beating well after each addition, scraping down bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low, and add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with pumpkin mixture, starting and ending with flour mixture. Raise speed to medium, and beat until well combined. Divide batter evenly between sheets.

  4. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Let cool in sheets on wire racks for 30 minutes. Run a knife around edges of cakes, invert cakes onto racks, and remove parchment. Let cool. Invert cakes onto parchment-lined baking sheets, cover each with plastic, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.

  5. Make the glaze: Place chocolate in a food processor. Bring cream, honey, and vanilla seeds and pod to a simmer in a small saucepan, whisking until combined. Remove from heat, cover, and let steep for 15 minutes. Return cream mixture to a simmer, then pour through a fine sieve over chocolate. Process until completely smooth. Transfer to a bowl, and whisk in butter. Cover with plastic until ready to use. (Stir gently before glazing cakes.)

  6. To assemble: Cut each cake horizontally into thirds to create thin layers. Spread 1/3 cup glaze on top of 1 cake layer, and gently press a second cake layer on top. Repeat layering once to create a 3-tiered cake. Repeat with remaining layers to create a second cake. Pour remaining glaze on top of cakes. Refrigerate until very firm, about 1 1/2 hours (or overnight).

  7. Using a serrated knife, trim each cake into a 5-by-11 1/4-inch rectangle, reserving trimmings for another use. Cut each rectangle into 1 1/4-inch squares, wiping knife clean frequently. Just before serving, dust with cocoa powder.

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