Sunday, September 27, 2009

Windblown Treat

According to the internets, vol-au-vent means windblown because of the lightness of the puffy pastries. Ours certainly stayed true to their name, although they were simultaneously rich, too (all that butter!).

We baked this month over Labor Day weekend at our friend Emily's beach house in Santa Cruz, CA. It was a lovely, relaxing trip, although we were in an unfamiliar kitchen and had to improvise a few things, including cookie cutters. We used the can pictured above and the top of a container of lip gloss for the smaller circles.

Lots of leftovers, but they made great bread sticks!

Egg wash time... almost ready to go into the oven.

Our fears that they would collapse were unfounded. Each and every one puffed up, though not necessarily evenly... Once filled with our olive tapenade, mozzarella, and tomato filling (yum!!), they looked beautiful, and were a big hit among our friends.

The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.