Its mascot is a costumed cherub, after all. So what, friends, could be better to behold this day than a newsletter dedicated to the most dashing cad of all things puffed and golden? Open your hearts, would you? Check them out here! Why not give it a go? Come and join the gang! You can do it in advance months! Size matters : Though the mini or canape size vol-au-vent is probably the most well-known, think of a vol-au-vent as a deep dish, free-form pie which can be eaten as a main course, served with lots of sauce and gravy, plonked right in the middle of a plate.
A somewhere-in-the-middle size is perfect for a starter, too! The mini-cases will always look most dramatic - this is because the width-to-height ratio is at its most extreme. What about hats? Some recipes will ask you to bake the circles made by stamping out the middle of the vol-au-vent and adding it back later as a hat. This is a design choice and entirely up to you!
Pastry type: I tested the VAV cases with a few pastry types. Inverted puff pastry made the neatest, tallest cases with the cleanest layers, followed by c lassic homemade puff, then shop-bought. I also checked to see how different fat-content puff pastries performed. Resting: The fridge and freezer are your best friend! Resting after roll-out, after cutting before moving! Stacking: Your puff will rise approximately times its height, so we want to be aiming for about mm once the pastry is stacked.
But, you can also sneak another layer in there. If height is what you are after, you can stack three layers of pastry - adding another base, or ring, making it a triple, rather than double, layer. I found anything more than three layers would fall over. And yes, yes you can! Stability: Due to that aforementioned height to width ratio, the smallest vav cases are the most likely to fall over in the oven. Ultimately there will be a few wiggly cases - if you are very worried about this happening, I would suggest baking with no fan and increasing the oven temp by 20c.
The cutter: I hate to rely on equipment, but you will get the cleanest edges and most beautiful cases from using a sharp pastry cutter. You could cut out each ring with a sharp knife, but I know this is unlikely, and impossible if you want the classic fluted edge. Dull cutters sometimes seal the edges - rather than cutting through the pastry, it has the effect of pressing them together and instead of a flaky rise, the pastry is fused together.
