Simple Cake Mix Petit Fours

These simple cake mix petit fours are elegant, delicious, and surprisingly easy to make! Made with boxed cake mix, buttercream, jam, and almond bark, they’re perfect for tea parties, weddings, showers, and special occasions.

Why You’ll Love These Petit Fours

These little cakes are:

• Elegant but achievable
• Easier than traditional petit fours
• Perfect for spring parties and showers
• Great for tea trays and dessert tables
• Easy to customize with colors and flavors
• Made with boxed cake mix shortcuts

Most importantly, they truly feel special.

What Are Petit Fours?

There’s something so elegant about petit fours. Even the name feels fancy! Those pretty little mini cakes often feature jam, buttercream, or curd between delicate cake layers. They're a favorite at weddings, tea parties, showers, and other elegant celebrations.

I'll be honest: I love going to tea parties. We do them up right in my friends group. And I'm often the one bringing the sweet treats to our event.

But, petit fours? Nope. Never brought those.

Why, you ask? Because I couldn't conquer them.

Oh, I tried. And tried. And failed. When it came time to stack those tiny cakes and coat them in poured fondant, they fell apart on me every time.

But this time? Everything changed.

A Simple Petit Fours Method

Instead of traditional poured fondant, I decided to try almond bark, thinned down with a bit of oil. And instead of struggling to pour coating over tiny cakes balanced on a wire rack, I developed a much easier spoon-and-bowl method that worked beautifully.

The result was soft, delicate petit fours that looked elegant enough for a bridal shower or tea party but were simple enough for real-life home bakers to make. Nothing fussy about this approach, I promise. But your guests won't know it. They'll think you slaved for hours!

By the way, if you're worried they won't taste like traditional petit fours because of the chocolate coating (as opposed to poured fondant) you're about to be very, very relieved. These are perfection!

At a Glance

Skill Level: Intermediate but beginner-friendly with this method
Flavor Profile: Sweet, fruity, buttery, soft cake with a delicate coating
Options Included: Jam fillings, buttercream, color variations, decorations
Best For: Tea parties, bridal showers, baby showers, weddings, graduations, dessert tables

Ingredients

You will find a full printable recipe card at the bottom of this post but here's a peek at what you'll need. As is so often the case with Out of the Box recipes, this one starts with a box of cake mix. Two, actually!

You will find a full printable recipe card at the bottom of this post but here's a quick glance at what you'll need. These are simple ingredients you probably already have on hand.

• 1 box lemon cake mix, plus ingredients called for on box
• 1 box strawberry cake mix, plus ingredients called for on box
• 1 batch of buttercream (see recipe below)
• ½ cup strawberry jam or preserves
• 1 package white almond bark (24 ounces)
• 1–2 tablespoons vegetable oil or coconut oil, if needed for thinning
• Pink food coloring, optional
• Sugar pearls, sprinkles, or decorations of choice
• For the Buttercream
• 1½ cups butter (3 sticks), softened
• 5 cups powdered sugar
• 2–4 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Buttercream

• 1 stick butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1–2 tablespoons cream
• ½ teaspoon vanilla

Note: This buttercream should make about a cup and a half, which should be plenty, since you're just outlining the tops of the tiny bottom cakes.

How to Make Simple Cake Mix Petit Fours

Bake Thin Cake Layers

Prepare the cake mixes according to package directions. Spread each batter into greased half-sheet pans and bake until done. The thin layers are ideal for petit fours because they create a more delicate final dessert.

Allow the cakes to cool completely, then refrigerate them in the pans until cold. Cold cake is much easier to cut and stack cleanly.

Cut the Cakes

Cut the lemon and strawberry cakes into matching squares. I found that smaller squares looked more elegant and were easier to coat.

Note: If your cakes are uneven or too tall, you might choose to level them before cutting.

Add the Filling

Pipe a thin border of buttercream around the edge of your lemon cake squares.

Add a small dollop of strawberry jam to the center of each.

Top with a strawberry cake square. Don't press down too hard. The buttercream border acts as a barrier to keep the jam from leaking out during coating but you'll need to use care.

Freeze Until Firm

Place the assembled petit fours into the freezer until very cold and firm.

This is one of the biggest secrets to success. Frozen cakes are far easier to coat cleanly.

NOTE: While the cakes are freezing, place a piece of parchment paper or waxed paper on a cookie sheet, then put a wire rack on top.

Prepare the Almond Bark

Melt the almond bark slowly according to package directions.

Add a small amount of oil or coconut oil to thin the coating slightly. This step is critical. If the coating is too thick, it won’t flow smoothly over the cakes.

Coat the Petit Fours

After experimenting, I discovered that placing the frozen petit four directly into the bowl of coating worked far better than pouring coating over the top.

Here’s the method that finally worked for me:

• Place the frozen petit four into the bowl
• Spoon coating over the top until fully covered
• Lift carefully with a fork
• Tap gently to remove excess coating
• Use a small knife to slide the petit four onto the wire rack

This method gave me much smoother, prettier results.

Decorate

While the coating is still wet, drizzle with chocolate in a different color, then add sugar pearls or decorations.

Place in refrigerator for about 30-40 minutes until the coating has a change to firm up. You'll need a sharp knife (paring knife or steak knife) to "saw" the cold petit fours from the wire rack. It's worth the effort, I promise.

Serve and enjoy!

Tips for Success

Thin the Coating More Than You Think

My first batch failed because the coating was too thick. A thinner coating creates smoother, more elegant petit fours.

Freeze the Cakes Thoroughly

Cold cakes stay stable and create cleaner edges.

Use Thin Cake Layers

Thin layers feel more elegant and refined. You can use a cake leveler to trim down the cooled, chilled cakes while they're still in the pans.

Don’t Overfill

Too much jam or frosting can cause the layers to slide.

Pale Colors Are Forgiving

Soft pinks and pale shades hide imperfections beautifully.

What to Expect from this Recipe

Oh, friends! I mentioned above that the refrigeration process helps, and that's not an exaggeration. There's something about strawberry and lemon cake, straight from the fridge that's so amazing! And the coating is light, but has a "bite" (a light crunch when you bite into it). Against the tender cake, it's sheer perfection.

After all these years and trying and failing with poured fondant, it turned out the simpler thinned-down almond bark approach was best.

You'll be so happy with the results, especially after the little cakes have a chance to "crisp up" in the fridge. In fact, you can serve these to your guests with pride, whether it's at a wedding, bridal shower, tea party, or simply an afternoon with the kids.

Troubleshooting

My Petit Fours Look Lumpy

Your coating is probably too thick. Thin it slightly with oil.

The Cakes Are Sliding Apart

Freeze them longer before coating. This is where I went wrong a couple of years ago when I first tried to make petit fours. I didn't freeze the cakes before trying to coat them and they broke into pieces during the coating process. The freezer doesn't just firm up the cakes, it solidified the buttercream, which keeps the cake layers from separating.

Bare Spots Are Showing

Try the spoon-and-bowl coating method instead of pouring coating over the top. But let me insert a thought here: petit fours aren't meant to be perfect. Look at even the most expensive ones and you'll notice you can see the texture of the cake underneath. And the coating doesn't always cover every single bit of the cake. (I offer as an example a picture of some petit fours I enjoyed at a friend's party. She paid a lot of money for these.)

My Coating Is Pooling at the Bottom

Tap off excess coating before placing on the rack.

Variations

There are so many ways to customize these petit fours:

• Lemon with raspberry jam
• White cake with almond buttercream
• Chocolate cake with ganache
• Strawberry with cream cheese frosting
• Coconut cake with lemon curd

You can also change the colors and decorations to fit holidays and special events.

How to Serve Petit Fours

Petit fours are beautiful served:

• On tiered trays
• At tea parties
• On bridal shower dessert tables
• At baby showers
• At graduation parties
• Alongside macarons and tea cakes

They pair beautifully with coffee, tea, lemonade, or punch.

How to Store

Store petit fours in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

For best texture, allow them to sit at room temperature for about 15–20 minutes before serving.

Because these petit fours are coated in almond bark rather than traditional fondant, they freeze exceptionally well, making them a wonderful make-ahead dessert for weddings, showers, tea parties, and holiday gatherings.

Other Tea Party Favorites

If you like these types of treats and you're prepping for a fancy event, here are some other recipes and tutorials to check out.

• How to Host a Tea Party
• Tea Party Recipes
• The Ultimate Party Planning Guide
• Lemon Cream Scones
• Luscious Raspberry Cheesecake Bites
• Easy French Macarons
• Puff Pastry Cream Horns

Final Thoughts

I’m honestly relieved to finally feel successful at making petit fours after struggling with them in the past. This simpler almond bark method completely changed the process for me and made these elegant little cakes feel approachable instead of intimidating.

If you’ve always wanted to make petit fours but felt nervous to try, I hope this easier version gives you confidence to jump in and have fun with them.

Thanks for stopping by! If you make this recipe and enjoy it, please leave a comment or review. And before you go, why not pin some photos to your Pinterest boards?

Janice Thompson is a professional baker, cake designer, and author with over 20 years of experience creating unique cakes and desserts. She’s the creator of Out of the Box Baking, where she shares her favorite doctored cake mix recipes, tutorials, and baking tips. Learn more →