Puff Paste Sandwich

Two sentences of instruction that assume a cook who already knows puff paste. The points below fill in what the original takes for granted.

• The hinge: bake the rounds flatThese are lids for a filled sandwich, not vol-au-vents, so you want crisp thin layers rather than lift. Roll to about 1/8 inch, prick the rounds all over with a fork, and bake between two sheets or under a second tray so they stay level.
• Oven heatThe recipe gives no oven direction at all. Puff paste wants a hot oven; a modern equivalent of around 425-450F is the usual recommendation, with thin rounds taking roughly 10-14 minutes. "A delicate brown" is pale gold, not the deep colour you would take a pie to.
• Marmalade means fruit pasteThe recipe's own "apple or peach marmalade" shows the word was not restricted to citrus at this date; it commonly meant fruit boiled down to a thick, spreadable pulp. Apple butter, a stiff peach preserve, or thick quince paste all fit; a loose jam will soak the pastry.
• AlmondsUse blanched sweet almonds, chopped fine rather than ground, and toast them lightly for flavour and to keep them from going soft in the fruit. Roughly one part almonds to three parts marmalade by volume gives texture without making the filling crumbly.
• Cutter size and yieldThe recipe names no size; biscuit cutters of the period varied, and something in the 2 to 2.5 inch range is a workable choice. On that basis half a pound of puff paste rolled thin yields roughly two dozen rounds, so twelve sandwiches, with something under a cup of filling needed.
• Assemble at the last minuteFill within an hour of serving. Baked rounds hold a day in a tin; once the fruit touches them the pastry begins to go limp from the inside.
• FinishingThe recipe stops at assembly. A dusting of powdered sugar over the tops would not be out of keeping with sweet sandwiches of this sort.