This Easter Egg Petit Fours (with Marzipan) recipe produces bite-size grapefruit and masa harina pound cake filled with carrot buttercream and raspberry jam enrobed in a white chocolate poured fondant in gorgeous spring colors. These little cakes present in a palette of pastel colors and boast a speckled robin's egg garnish to look like little easter eggs. These bite-sized confections would make for beautiful easter treats in a gift basket or as the centerpiece at an Easter party.
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I first set out to make these miniature work of art cakes in 2019, before I even started youthsweets. I saw these from Sugar Hero and saved them to Pinterest. I bought all the stuff to make them — Easter egg-shaped cookie cutters, fresh ingredients and store-bought pourable fondant. I set my butter out to come to room temperature in the morning and left for work. When I got home from work, I walked in on my own wedding proposal happening. Due to the festivities, these never came to be. But, now, six years later, IT'S TIME. And since baking is my full time job now, and I've learned a thing or two, we're making our own fondant, thanks to Preppy Kitchen's recipe. These are a labor of love, but I promise it'll all be worth it after that first delightful bite.
For the easter egg petit fours' (with marzipan) filling, I used the base recipe for the ermine frosting from my Blood Orange Layer Cake, swapping the blood orange juice for carrot juice. Carrots are technically year round, but I do love them especially for Easter. The obvious use for them is carrot cake, but I think they lend an earthy natural flavor here that plays so beautifully with raspberry, grapefruit and corn from the masa harina. I also just love the challenge of putting "weird" flavors into buttercream.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- The medley of carrot, grapefruit, corn and raspberry in these screams spring, and makes for an extra flavorful bite.
- Kids and adults alike will love the pastel colors and speckled egg look.
- It is SO satisfying to make petit fours. They are a labor of love, but worth it.
- Like all petit fours, these dainty treats are perfect for tea parties.
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour and masa harina give the pound cake a tender, flavorful crumb.
- Carrot juice flavors the ermine buttercream frosting.
- Granulated sugar sweetens the pound cake and the carrot frosting.
- Eggs provide structure to the pound cake.
- Baking powder gives a bit of lift to the pound cake.
- Unsalted butter gives richness to the pound cake and carrot frosting.
- Kosher salt and vanilla extract balance the overall flavor profile.
- Corn syrup gives the fondant a sheen.
- Powdered sugar sweetens the fondant.
- White chocolate flavors the fondant.
- Grapefruit juice and zest flavors the pound cake.
- I used store-bought raspberry jam for filling. My favorite is Bonne Maman brand. If you like a bit more tang, you could add citric acid to store-bought jam to mimic homemade.
- Marzipan is rolled thin to top the cakes, making for a smooth surface to coat.
- Sour cream adds richness and makes for a moist cake crumb.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions and variations
Here's how to customize these classic bite-sized treasures to your liking:
- Fondant color — use natural food coloring or omit the color altogether for white speckled eggs.
- Shape — if you don't have an egg-shaped cookie cutter you can do any shape you like. I think rounds or squares would still visually work with the speckled egg motif.
- Buttercream flavor — swap carrot juice in the ermine buttercream frosting for another fruit juice, like orange, mango or cranberry. Or make an American buttercream and add an artificial flavor, like butter rum or raspberry.
- Jam swap — swap the raspberry jam for another jam or lemon curd.
- No cocoa powder — if you don't have cocoa powder to make the speckles, you can use brown food coloring diluted with water instead.
- Easier fondant — use candy melts thinned out with a tiny bit of oil. You can usually find pastel-colored chocolate candy melts by brands like Wilton.
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This recipe has not been tested with any substitutions or variations. If you try any, please let me know how it turned out by commenting below!
How to make easter egg donuts
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease an 11x17 inch rimmed baking sheet pan and place a sheet of parchment paper in the bottom. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with hand beaters, combine the room temperature butter and granulated sugar. Beat on medium for 3-4 minutes or until the mixture is lighter in color and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating in between each addition until fully incorporated. Add the grapefruit zest, grapefruit juice, vanilla extract and sour cream. Beat until incorporated. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, masa harina, baking powder and kosher salt. Add these dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in three parts. Mix only until no streaks of dry flour remain. Do not overmix. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread to the edges with an offset spatula. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick or metal cake tester inserted comes out clean. Let cool in the pan at least 30 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
Step 2: Combine flour and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk and cook for about 2-3 minutes to cook the flour. Slowly add the carrot juice, whisking to combine, and turn heat to medium-high. Bring the mixture to a simmer, whisking continuously until it is thick and pudding-like. Once simmering, cook for an additional minute. Transfer to a heat-proof bowl. Cover with plastic wrap so that it is touching the surface without any air bubbles in between to prevent a skin from forming. Let cool in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. Alternatively, Spread the mixture onto a sheet pan, cover it in plastic wrap and put it in the freezer for 30 minutes to cool it down faster. Ensure the mixture is completely cool, otherwise it will melt the butter. Add the room temperature butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on high until very light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the cooled carrot pudding mixture gradually, by the spoonful, while still beating. Incorporating the mixture slowly ensures a smoother consistency. Add vanilla and salt, and mix until fully incorporated.
Step 3: With the sheet of cooled cake on a work surface in front of you, make a vertical cut down the center of the cake. With an offset spatula, spread a thin layer of the carrot buttercream from edge to edge covering the whole layer. Be careful not to use too much. Repeat with the raspberry jam. Place the other layer of cake on top. If using, roll out the marzipan until thin between two sheets of parchment paper. Peel off the top layer of parchment and flip it onto the top of the cake, trimming the edges off. Place the cake in the freezer for at least 2 hours to stabilize it. Remove the cake from the freezer and begin punching out egg shapes using a small egg-shaped cookie cutter. Having a small knife handy will help trim around excess bits to get the cutter out. Place the eggs back in the freezer while you make the fondant.
Step 4: Gently melt the chopped white chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a bain-marie or double boiler (a pan with an inch of water) over medium low heat. Once fully melted, remove to a clean bowl to cool. Sift the powdered sugar into a large mixing bowl. Drizzle in the corn syrup and hot water. Whisk until smooth. It may take awhile to get the lumps out. Add the cooled white chocolate and whisk to incorporate. Add a few drops more of hot water, as needed, to get a smooth consistency. Bang the bowl on the counter a few times to release air bubbles. If you still have air bubbles, try smoothing the fondant around the sides of bowl with a flexible rubber spatula in a back and forth motion. At this point your fondant is ready, but I like to add a little white food coloring in addition to other gel food coloring to color it. I added white food coloring, dipped a quarter of the eggs in white, then split the fondant into two bowls, coloring one yellow and one blue. I dipped more eggs in those colors and then combined those fondants back into the original bowl to make green. You may need to add more hot water for consistency, but don’t get carried away as it can make it too thin and see-through when it’s poured on.
Step 5: Prepare a sheet pan with a wire rack on top. Set an egg into the fondant to coat the bottom then place it on a large fork. Spoon a generous amount of fondant over the egg, letting the excess drip off. Bang the fork with the egg on the side of the bowl to get more off before setting it on the rack to continue dripping. Repeat with all of the eggs.
Step 6: Add 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder (I prefer dutch process cocoa for a darker color) to a small bowl and add a few drops of water at a time until a flickable consistency is reached. Use a clean paintbrush and the tines of a fork to flick specks of the mixture onto the petit fours.
Top tips
- If your frosting “breaks” (looks grainy or curdled) mix in 50 grams of melted and cooled white chocolate for every 200 grams of frosting. This works for most frostings, especially those with add-ins that have the potential to break the emulsion.
- The bottoms are really hard to get smooth so don't beat yourself up over it!
- Using a small offset spatula ensures you'll get thin layers of filling so you don't overstuff the cake.
Recipe FAQs
Store petit fours in an airtight container. They should be served at room temperature, but after serving, store any leftovers in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or in the freezer for up to one month.
These would still be very cute as rounds, if you have round cutters, or cut in squares if you don't have any cutters at all.
Yes, the marzipan is really just to make the tops smooth.
More recipes you'll love
Lastly, if you make this Easter Egg Petit Fours (with Marzipan) recipe be sure to leave a comment or give it a rating. I love to see when people make my recipes, so please tag me @youthsweets on Instagram if you post!
📖 Recipe
Easter Egg Petit Fours (with marzipan)
Equipment
Ingredients
Pound cake with masa harina and grapefruit
- 1 cup unsalted butter (8 oz, 2 sticks, 226g)
- 1 ⅓ cup granulated sugar (8 oz, 226g)
- 4 large eggs + 1 egg yolk (8 oz)
- 2 tablespoon grapefruit juice can sub for lemon or lime
- 1 tablespoon grapefruit zest can sub for lemon or lime
- ½ cup sour cream (115g)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (187g)
- ¼ cup masa harina sub for regular flour if desired (27g, 1 oz)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Carrot ermine frosting
- ¾ cups + 2 tablespoon granulated sugar (150g, 5.25 oz)
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour (31g, 1.1 oz)
- ¾ cups carrot juice (6 oz, 170g)
- ¾ cups unsalted butter (161g, 8 oz, 1 ½ sticks room temperature)
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Poured fondant
- 8 oz white chocolate finely chopped (226g)
- 3 ½ cups powdered sugar (420g)
- ¼ cup light corn syrup (81g)
- ⅓ cup water hot, more as needed
- Food coloring
Other
- ½ cup raspberry jam (160g, 8 tbsp) more or less depending on the brand you use
- 200 g marzipan store bought
Instructions
Do ahead
- The carrot buttercream can be made a day or two ahead of time and stored in an airtight container at room temperature until needed.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease an 11x17 inch rimmed baking sheet pan and place a sheet of parchment paper in the bottom.
Make the pound cake
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with hand beaters, combine the room temperature butter and granulated sugar. Beat on medium for 3-4 minutes or until the mixture is lighter in color and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating in between each addition until fully incorporated. Add the grapefruit zest, grapefruit juice, vanilla extract and sour cream. Beat until incorporated.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, masa harina, baking powder and kosher salt. Add these dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in three parts. Mix only until no streaks of dry flour remain. Do not overmix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared sheet pan and spread to the edges with an offset spatula.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick or metal cake tester inserted comes out clean. Let cool in the pan at least 30 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the carrot buttercream
- Combine flour and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk and cook for about 2-3 minutes to toast the flour.
- Slowly add the carrot juice, whisking to combine, and turn heat to medium-high. Bring the mixture to a simmer, whisking continuously until it is thick and pudding-like. Once simmering, cook for an additional minute.
- Transfer to a heat-proof bowl. Cover with plastic wrap so that it is touching the surface without any air bubbles in between to prevent a skin from forming. Let cool in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. Alternatively, Spread the mixture onto a sheet pan, cover it in plastic wrap and put it in the freezer for 30 minutes to cool it down faster. Ensure the mixture is completely cool, otherwise it will melt the butter.
- Add the room temperature butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on high until very light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add the cooled carrot pudding mixture gradually, by the spoonful, while still beating. Incorporating the mixture slowly ensures a smoother consistency.
- Add vanilla and salt, and mix until fully incorporated*.
Assemble
- With the sheet of cooled cake on a work surface in front of you, make a vertical cut down the center of the cake. With an offset spatula, spread a thin layer of the carrot buttercream from edge to edge covering the whole layer. Be careful not to use too much. Repeat with the raspberry jam. Place the other layer of cake on top.
- If using, roll out the marzipan until thin between two sheets of parchment paper. Peel off the top layer of parchment and flip it onto the top of the cake, trimming the edges off.
- Place the cake in the freezer for at least 2 hours to stabilize it.
Punch out the eggs
- Remove the cake from the freezer and begin punching out egg shapes using a small egg-shaped cookie cutter. Having a small knife handy will help trim around excess bits to get the cutter out. Place the eggs back in the freezer while you make the fondant.
Make the fondant
- Gently melt the chopped white chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a bain-marie (a pan with an inch of water) over medium low heat. Once fully melted, remove to a clean bowl to cool.
- Sift the powdered sugar into a large mixing bowl. Drizzle in the corn syrup and hot water. Whisk until smooth. It may take awhile to get the lumps out.
- Add the cooled white chocolate and whisk to incorporate. Add a few drops more of hot water, as needed, to get a smooth consistency. Bang the bowl on the counter a few times to release air bubbles. If you still have air bubbles, try smoothing the fondant around the edge of the bowl with a flexible rubber spatula in a back and forth motion.
- At this point your fondant is ready, but I like to add a little white food coloring in addition to other gel food coloring to color it. I added white food coloring, dipped a quarter of the eggs in white, then split the fondant into two bowls, coloring one yellow and one blue. I dipped more eggs in those colors and then combined those fondants back into the original bowl to make green. You may need to add more hot water for consistency, but don’t get carried away as it can make it too thin and see-through when it’s poured on.
Coat the petit fours
- Prepare a sheet pan with a wire rack on top.
- Set an egg into the fondant to coat the bottom then place it on a large fork. Spoon a generous amount of fondant over the egg, letting the excess drip off. Bang the fork with the egg on the side of the bowl to get more off before setting it on the rack to continue dripping. Repeat with all of the eggs.
Add the speckles
- Add 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder (I prefer dutch process cocoa for a darker color) to a small bowl and add a few drops of water at a time until a flickable consistency is reached. Use a clean paintbrush and the tines of a fork to flick specks of the mixture onto the petit fours.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published 04/16/2025.
These flavors work so beautifully together. This recipe is definitely a labor of love, but worth it. Full disclosure, I am the author of this recipe.