Homemade Vol-au-vent
I’ve always enjoyed pastries ever since I was a little girl 👧. What’s not to like?
When it came to desserts, Chocolate Éclairs, Mille-Feuille and Profiteroles were my favorites! Things haven’t changed much as they are still my top choices. The only difference is I make sure to only make them when I have company coming over otherwise I could eat them all on my own… lol!
There is another pastry that has also been my favorite but this one can be used in both savory and sweet recipes. It’s Vol-au-vent! If you are not familiar with them, let me describe them for you…
Vol-au-vents are a small hollow shell made with puff pastry. They are made up of two circles and one of them has another smaller circle in the center that is stacked on top of the other one. By cutting a smaller circle in it, it allows you to remove it after it’s done baking, stuff the hollow pastry with cooked ingredients & sauce, and then place that little circle back on top.
When using them in a savory recipe, this pastry is usually served as an appetizer and is filled with chicken such as in “Chicken à la King” or Cheesy Chicken Vol-au-vent, with fish and/or seafood. I’ve served it many times as a main course with Mashed Potatoes and steamed veggies. It’s delicious and filling! Another use for them is when I make my Breakfast Scramble Vol-au-vent with my delicious avocado sauce! It brings this scrambles to a whole new level of yumminess!😋
Interestingly enough though, it’s mostly served as a savory dish and I really don’t understand why it’s not used very often for sweet dishes. I have an incredible dessert recipe where I use vol-au-vent as my food vessels for my fruit custard which will be posted soon so stay tuned!
Although the shape is usually round, nothing is stopping you from making them octagonal, square 🟪 or rectangular… have fun with your French pastry! Now if you want to use the same sizes as mine in the video, here are my cookie cutter dimensions; the green cookie cutter is 3 1/16-inch or 78mm and the little white one is 1 7/8-inch or 48mm.
Until a few years ago, I’d never made vol-au-vent before as I was buying them from my supermarket until they stopped carrying them. I was forced to find a way to recreate this pastry and this was the easiest way I could come up with. They don’t look perfect – honestly I’m fine with that – but they sure do taste amazing…
Next time you need an airy, fluffy and buttery food vessel for your recipe, try this easy vol-au-vent. You’ll see just how fun and delicious they are…
Bon Appétit! 🍽
Check out these other homemade food vessel recipes… 😀
– Sardine Cups
– Hot Dog Buns
– Arepas with Beef Brisket
– Edible Cheese Bowls
– Indian Naan Bread
– Hamburger Buns
and for delicious appetizer recipes, click on this link… Recipe Category • Appetizers
Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel 📽 by clicking on this link… Club Foody YouTube
Homemade Vol-au-vent
Hover to scale
Ingredients
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry
- 1 large free-run egg yolk, beaten
- 1 tbsp. milk
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF
- Remove one sheet from the puff pastry package and let it thaw out.
- Stretch the sheet out on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat and using a cookie cutter (3 1/16-inch or 78 mm), cut out the circles. There will be some dough left so roll it out and cut a couple more circles.
- Using a smaller cookie cutter (1 7/8-inch or 48 mm), cut the center of only 4 of the 8 circles.
- Brush all eight circles with an egg wash (egg yolk mixed with milk).
- Take the circles with the smaller ones in the middle and stack them on top of the ones without the smaller circles.
- Transfer to the preheated oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from the heat and using a pointed knife, remove the small circle, leaving a hollow shell. Proceed with your recipe.
Notes
Don't forget to rate and comment on this recipe!
Wondering if these can be frozen to be used at a later date?
Hello Andrea☺ Absolutely. After they’re cooked, bring them to room temperature and place them in a container before transferring to the freezer. When it’s time to use them, thaw them in the fridge and then place the vol-au-vent in the oven at 250ºF to warm them up. Have a fabulous day🌞