Sweet Vol-au-vent of Plums, Apples, or Any Other Fresh Fruit
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a good brisk oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Prepare 1 lb of puff pastry according to your favorite recipe.
Bake the pastry in a 400°F (200°C) oven until it rises and looks light.
Fill and glaze
Prepare the stewed fruit, boiling the syrup until very thick.
Fill the vol-au-vent with the thickened fruit compote, piling it high in the center.
Dust a little sugar over the top and return it to the oven to glaze, or use a salamander.
Serve
Serve the vol-au-vent warm.
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
What each ingredient does
- Puff pastry
- Bakes into a light, flaky, rising shell that holds the filling.
- Stewed fruit compote
- Provides the sweet, moist filling, thickened by boiling down its syrup.
- Sugar
- Dusted on top, it caramelises under heat to add sweetness and a glossy browned finish.
The step that matters
Boiling the syrup until very thick. Syrup that is still thin will soak into the pastry and make it soggy, while reducing it concentrates sugar and thickens it so the filling stays in place.
“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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