Vanilla Cream Puff Pastry

Vol-Au-Vent with fresh fruit

Average: 5 (2 ratings)

These gorgeous puff pastry cups are equally impressive as they are delicious.

Prep:

30 Minutes

Cook Time: 10 Minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 pkg. Wewalka Puff Pastry Dough
Egg wash (1 egg and 2 Tbsp. water, beaten)
2 cups milk*
1/3 cup sugar*
2 Tbsp. cornstarch*
2 eggs, lightly beaten*
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. rum
6 Tbsp. berry jam
12 oz. fresh berries (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc.)
Fresh mint leaves

Baking Tips

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Use product immediately upon removal from refrigerator as there is no need to thaw! No need to use flour and a rolling pin to stretch the dough.

Dough will roll out and cut easier if it is chilled. If you're trying to create a specific shape, keep the pastry as cold as possible (but not frozen) and it will be easier to make precise cuts.

If you want to keep the inside from rising as much as the edges, just use a paring knife to score a border. Don’t cut the dough all the way though! Use a fork to prick the dough. The pastry will still be light and flaky with the edges puffed up and the center will stay down.

Pop the dough in the fridge after working with it, while the oven preheats. This step gives the fat in the dough a chance to re-solidify, to get an even better baking result.

Egg-wash: Just before baking, brush your puff pastry with egg wash (1 large egg with about 2 tablespoons water, beaten) to give it an attractive shine and color.

To seal the pastry edges for any stuffed pocket-style pastry, just brush a thin layer of water or egg whites along the edges and press them together to make them stick.

Crimp edges of smaller pastries like hand pies with a fork. Larger pastries can be crimped with your fingertips.

Serve soon after baking! Puff Pastry is best when fresh, so ideally bake close to serving. Only few recipes are great to make ahead. Puff Pastry is best when baked and served the same day.

To unroll the dough, remove dough from package and gently separate the dough and parchment paper from the roll, so that the dough on paper begins to lay flat. Be careful not to separate the dough from the parchment paper. There may be some sticking, but the dough and paper should easily pull away from the roll.

Once the dough is lying flat on the baking tray, cut off or tuck any excess paper under, so it does not hang over the edge.

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Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Unroll refrigerated Puff Pastry Dough on enclosed parchment paper and place on a baking sheet. Cut into 12 even squares (4x3). Then using a small, round pastry cutter, cut out circles on 8 of the pastry squares. Place the ones with the hole on top of the other squares, 3 pastry sheets high, to form little "dough towers."

3. Coat each tower with egg wash.

4. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and nicely puffed. Let them cool completely.

5. Meanwhile, using a whisk, combine milk, sugar, and cornstarch in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Allow milk to heat so that tiny bubbles form around the edges. Whisk occasionally to keep cornstarch from clumping. Remove from heat.

6. Mix 2 Tbsp. of the hot milk into the beaten eggs and then slowly add the egg mixture into the hot milk, whisking constantly. Return the pan to the heat until the custard thickens slightly. Do not allow to boil. Remove from heat and mix in vanilla extract and rum. *Can also substitute pudding, whipped cream or pre-made pastry cream rather than making homemade.

7. On cooled pastry towers, spread or pipe jam on the base of the puff pastry towers, filling with vanilla cream and garnish with berries and mint leaves.

Ratings & Reviews

Average: 5 (2 ratings)

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