Vol Au Vents Recipe Using Fresh Puff Pastry Dough

This delicious vol au vents recipe makes a nice puff pastry shell that you can use to create all sorts of delightful appetizers.  This recipe uses a fresh puff pastry dough, but you can of course use frozen pre-made dough.  I particular enjoy the satisfaction of making my dough from scratch, but pre-made dough will suffice as well.

Vol Au Vents Recipe Instructions

Making the vol au vents is not that difficult, so long as you make sure that you have plenty of room to work.  You will need to keep placing it in the refrigerator to chill it, if you find that it starts getting sticky to the touch.  Puff pastry has a lot of butter in it, therefore the butter should stay in solid form as much as possible.

As you work with the dough, the warmth of your hands will cause the butter to melt.  By chilling often and repeatedly, you can ensure that the butter remains solid and stable.  This is the most important key for having flaky puff pastry.

When cutting your shells, be sure to roll out your puff pastry to approximately 1/4″ thick.  This will allow you to bake a very nice, fluffy shell that can hold all sorts of delicious fillings.

When using the egg wash, take great care not to let it flow over the sides.  This can create areas that could “burn” on the shells.  This can impart a very bad flavor to all of the shells cooked at the same time in the same oven.

I am particularly found of using a small silicone oil basting brush to apply egg to my vol au vent shells.  The brush is small enough to prevent mishaps, yet durable enough to cover completely.

When heating your oven, you will need to be sure to heat it at exactly 325 degrees F.  Do not place the pastry into the oven, until it has pre-heated to this temperature.  Leave the pastry to chill in the refrigerator as you heat the oven, so that the butter will remain solid and stable.

Vol Au Vents Recipe

Vol Au Vents

This delicious vol au vent recipe makes a nice puff pastry shell that you can use to create all sorts of delightful appetizers, and side dishes.  This recipe uses a fresh puff pastry dough, but you can of course use frozen pre-made dough if you do not wish to make the dough fresh yourself.  If you use frozen pre-made dough, I can not guarantee that it will taste as great as homemade!
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Course: Pâtisserie
Cuisine: French
Keyword: Vol Au Vents
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Chilling Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 3 hours
Servings: 1 Batch
Calories: 601kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 Batch Puff Pastry
  • 2 Tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
  • 2 Eggs
  • 2 Tablespoons Heavy Cream

Instructions

Prepare The Egg Wash

  • Beat the eggs, then mix in the heavy cream. Set this aside to brush onto the pastry later.

Prepare The Pastry

  • You will need to work with the puff pastry while it is chilled, as you work with it, if it starts to get sticky, then place it back in the refrigerator until it chills thoroughly again.
  • Lay out the puff pastry and dust with flour.
  • Roll it to 1/4" thick.
  • Using a pastry brush, dust off any excess flour.
  • Using a 4" pastry cutter, cut out the circles for the bottoms of the vol au vents.
  • Place these circles on a baking sheets that has been covered with a piece of parchment paper. Mist the parchment paper a bit with water to prevent slipping.
  • Using a 2 1/2" circle, cut a circle in the center almost all the way through the dough. You do not wish to go completely through the dough, try to leave at least 1/16" of uncut dough at the bottom.
  • Brush the circles with a bit of the egg wash, being careful not to let any egg wash flow over the sides.
  • Place the dough in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
  • Brush another layer of egg wash over the dough, then place in the freezer until frozen thoroughly.
  • Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F
  • Place 2 metal rings that are 1 1/2 " tall in the middle of your baking pan, and place a wire baking rack on top of these rings. The wire rack will help ensure that your vol au vents raise with a straight top.
  • Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until the vol au vents are golden brown on the tops.
  • Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
  • Once cool, cut out the centers of the vol au vents, and use these shells to hold whichever filling you desire.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1Batch | Calories: 601kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 43g | Saturated Fat: 25g | Cholesterol: 429mg | Sodium: 486mg | Potassium: 161mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1624IU | Calcium: 80mg | Iron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @EpicureChefts or tag #Chefts!

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