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Vol-au-Vents Chantilly
Take one pound of puff-paste, give it six and a half turns, roll it out to about one-eighth of an inch in thickness, and with a fluted cutter cut out about two and one-half dozen pieces. Form them into rings by cutting out the centers with a cutter about one and one-fourth inch in diameter. With the trimmings of the paste prepare an equal number of rings the same size, brush them over with egg, put one of the other rings on top of each, press them together so they will adhere, place them on a baking-sheet, brush them over with egg, put them into a brisk oven, and bake. When nearly done, sprinkle them over with sugar, and stand them in the oven to glaze and finish cooking. When done, remove them and fill them with any kind of cream desired.
A pastry-shop formula written for cooks who already knew puff paste; the omissions are all in the assumptions. Two things decide the outcome: the paste must be cold when it goes in, and the oven must be hot enough to set the layers before the butter runs.
- "Six and a half turns"A turn is one roll-out and fold; six turns is standard for classic puff paste. What the extra half turn means here is not explained in the book — most likely the final roll before cutting, but that is inference. Bought all-butter puff pastry is already laminated; roll it once to an eighth of an inch and cut, no extra folds.
- A brisk ovenConventionally read today as roughly 425-450F; the book gives no temperatures. Puff paste needs that heat to convert the moisture in the butter layers to steam quickly; at 350F the butter melts out and the rings stay flat and greasy. Avoid opening the door during the early part of the bake.
- Rest before bakingNot stated, but assumed. After cutting, chill the assembled rings at least 20 minutes, and cut straight down with a floured cutter — a twisted or dragged edge seals the layers and the ring rises lopsided.
- The trimmings ringThe second ring is made from re-rolled scraps, whose lamination is partly destroyed, so it rises less and makes a sturdier foot; whether that was the intent or simply thrift, the recipe does not say. Note that there is no solid base: these are open crowns, so use a stiff filling that will not run out.
- Sugar glaze at the endSprinkled sugar goes on only in the last few minutes, as instructed. Granulated sugar added early will scorch black at 450F long before the pastry is set. Confectioners' sugar under a broiler for under a minute achieves the same lacquer if you prefer to watch it.
- "Any kind of cream desired"Chantilly in the title means sweetened whipped cream, lightly vanilla-scented — roughly 2 cups heavy cream with 3 tablespoons sugar for this quantity. Pastry cream, or pastry cream lightened with whipped cream, works and holds better.
- Yield and timingAbout 30 small shells; the recipe specifies only the 1 1/4-inch centre cutter, so the outer diameter is a guess (two inches or so). Reckon on roughly 15-20 minutes to a deep gold, plus a few minutes for the glaze. Fill within an hour of serving; the pastry softens quickly under cream.
Vol-au-vent — "flight in the wind" — names the near-weightlessness of a puff-paste case, and though the phrase is generally traced to early nineteenth-century French pâtisserie and often credited in kitchen lore to Carême, the technique of laminated paste is considerably older. Chantilly is simply sweetened whipped cream, named for the Château de Chantilly and traditionally attributed to its steward Vatel, an attribution repeated everywhere and documented nowhere. The pairing tells you what this book is: Oscar Tschirky's Waldorf ran on a French repertoire executed at hotel scale, and a recipe that begins by asking for a pound of puff paste and two and a half dozen cut rings was written for a pastry brigade turning out banquet trays, not for a home cook making dessert for six."}