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Bouchée À LA Reine

A savory puff pastry shell filled with chicken, mushrooms, and a creamy sauce.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Chicken and mushroom are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,172 recipes. Both carry 1-butyl acetate, which smells fruity, banana. The science ↓

Bouchée À LA Reine

2–4
Oven350°F (gas mark 6)
Time5–10 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Place the chicken stock and bouquet garni in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and let infuse for 10–11 minutes.

  2. Cut the chicken breasts into small dice.

  3. Wash the mushrooms quickly and cut them into halves or quarters depending on size.

Make the sauce

  1. In a sauté pan (or frying pan), melt the butter over medium‑high heat and add the chopped shallot. Cook for about 1 minute, stirring.

  2. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute, mixing with a whisk or wooden spoon, without browning.

  3. Add the chicken stock little by little and cook for 2 minutes, stirring.

  4. Add the diced chicken and mushrooms and cook for 5–6 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Bake the shells

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (gas mark 6) and bake the vol‑au‑vent shells for 5–10 minutes or as directed by the manufacturer, without burning them.

Finish and serve

  1. In a bowl, mix the cream with the egg yolk.

  2. Increase the heat under the sauté pan.

  3. Add the egg yolk/cream mixture, beating to combine well with the sauce.

  4. Lower the heat as soon as it reaches a boil.

  5. The sauce should be unctuous and coat a spoon.

  6. Do not salt, only pepper.

  7. Remove the vol‑au‑vents from the oven.

  8. Fill rapidly and serve without delay as they cool.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

879Calories
54 gProtein
27 gFat
102 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Chicken100g cooked165
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Mushroom1/2 cup sliced (35g)15
Shallot1 tbsp minced (10g)7
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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.

  1. Chicken + mushroomtop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,172 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-butyl acetate (fruity, banana).

  2. Shallot + mushroomtop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,982 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  3. Shallot + flourtop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,081 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  4. Mushroom + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together12,525 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

  5. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Chicken breasts
Provide the main cooked protein, giving the filling its bulk and tender bite.
Mushrooms
Add moisture and savoury, earthy flavour to the filling as they release their juices.
Butter
Carries flavour into the shallot and adds richness to the sauce base.
Flour
Starch that thickens the stock into a body-rich sauce when cooked briefly.
Egg yolk
Thickens and enriches the sauce, giving it a smooth, velvety texture.
Crème fraîche
Adds richness and a slight tang, softening the sauce's flavour and body.

The step that matters

Add the egg yolk and cream mixture. Egg yolk thickens sauce through gentle heat. If the sauce is too hot or boils after adding it, the yolk can scramble and curdle, so heat must be lowered promptly and the mixture beaten in well.

Swap the shallot

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, mushroom, butter, flour, egg, cream, pepper):

  1. Spinachfits about as well
  2. Asparagusfits about as well
  3. Potatofits about as well
  4. Shallotthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, mushroom, butter, flour, egg, cream, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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.

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