Saturday, August 14, 2010

Vol Au Vents, Brouchees, Pithiviers, Palmiers

Round & Round We Go

The uses of puff are endless: pies, tarts, quiches or strudels, savoury or sweet, small or super upsized. Vol au vents are a classic amuse bouche of round puff casings filled with, in our case today, a rich chicken, celery and mayo salad. Bouchees are simply mini vol au vents.

Pithiviers were one of the first things I ever made, an incredibly delicate dessert after my heart: fragrant almond paste in an elaborately decorated puff shell, I've been an almond paste convert ever since.

Chef's Palmiers

Starry Starry Night

My carving skills leave a lot to be desired, saving grace was the puff that baked and rose beautifully. We made palmiers with the scrap, or leftover, puff, drenched with way too much sugar and baked to golden brown and delicious. 

Rising Glory

Vol au vents are the true test of the maker's lamination skills, and in my case, thank the pastry Gods, they came out beautifully! I hold up head up high.

For Simon

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