Why it works: Meat and mushroom are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,423 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-one, which smells mushroom, metallic. The science ↓
Vol Au Vent
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the pastry
Roll out the puff pastry to ½ inch thick.
Use an upside‑down pie plate to mark and cut out circles from the pastry.
Cut thicker rims to place around the edge of the circles.
Place the pastry on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake and fill
Bake in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C) for 45 minutes.
Fill with cream, meats, mushrooms, or oysters, or serve as a dessert with stewed fruits and whipped cream.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
-
Meat + mushroomtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,423 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
-
Cream + mushroomtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,500 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
-
Cream + oystertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,886 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
-
Mushroom + oystertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,299 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
-
Meat + oystertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together536 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Puff pastry
- Its layered dough puffs and crisps in the oven, forming the hollow case.
- Cream
- Adds richness and moisture to the savoury filling.
- Mushrooms
- Contribute moisture and savoury, earthy flavour to the filling.
- Whipped cream
- Adds light, airy richness when the vol-au-vent is served as a dessert.
The step that matters
Cutting the rims. Puff pastry rises by steam pushing apart its many thin fat layers. Rims placed on the circles must be cut cleanly and sealed so the edges rise evenly and the center stays hollow for the filling.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
More vol-au-vent recipes
You might also like
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Spice Cake344 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.