Why it works: Sauce and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,787 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Small Vols-au-vents, or Patty-cases
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderately quick 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 thickness.
Use a larger round cutter to cut out the patties.
Dip the edge of a smaller cutter in hot water and press it halfway into the center of each patty.
Bake and fill
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for 10 to 12 minutes.
Remove the small rounds of crust from the tops with a sharp knife and scoop out the crumb inside.
Fill the patties with your choice of filling prepared with white sauce.
For sweet versions, glaze the pastry and fill with whipped cream, preserve, or boiled custard.
If using custard, return to a very gentle oven until set.
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.
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Sauce + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,787 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Shrimp + saucetop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,423 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Shrimp + creamtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,067 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
- Light puff pastry
- Its layers puff up in the oven to form the light, flaky hollow case.
- White sauce
- Binds the filling and adds moisture so the case is not left dry.
The step that matters
Pressing the inner cutter halfway into the patty. Dipping the cutter in hot water keeps the edge clean so the pastry cuts without sealing, letting the rim rise evenly. Cutting too deep or too shallow leaves a weak wall or a lid that will not lift off cleanly after baking.
“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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