One of the main challenges for this week was trying to decide on the fillings for these retro classics.  Some of the contestants went with traditional retro fillings where as others, like Matt, really brought them up to date with his breakfast version.  Trying to use this as inspiration I decided to do three fillings instead of two. The reason for the third filling was because I was at My mums she couldn’t eat the Mushroom Duxelle filling, and her friend couldn’t have the Salmon Tartare so the third ended up being a whipped goat cheese filling with home grown beetroots.  With the filling finalised it was time to get on with the pastry.

This pastry is certainly tricky, trying to guarantee that the butter is well incorporated and the folds are nice and even all contribute to the lamination you are looking for in this pastry. All of this can be particularly difficult especially when you want to transport it from Surrey to Kent and the weather is nice and warm outside. Thankfully I managed to pack mine in the car in a picnic bag with a ice pack, so by the time I had got to my mums, it was still firm.  The method for this pastry is very similar to the crossiants and koign amman dough that I made last only this one didn’t have any yeast in it. The basic process was to make a flour, egg and water dough. The flour was a mix of strong plain bread flour and plain,in order to give the pastry some strength in the layers, I think. Once the dough came together it needed to be kneaded, like bread, in order for the gluten in the flour to warm up and become stretchy, again I assume this is good for the layers. After 10 minutes I had a nice smooth ball of dough that needed to rest, according to the PH recipe, overnight. Clearly the contestants on the show didn’t have this luxury but as I did, I took the

Beating & folding
The next stage of the dough was the all important butter layer. I’ll admit I look forward to this part as it mean I get to get out any baking frustrations on bashing butter with a roll get pin! When it was at the right shape and measurement, trying to remember to keep the edges as tidy as possible, it went back in the fridge while I continued to roll out the pastry to a slightly longer lengths than the butter. The next part was pretty easy, place the chilled butter on the pastry, fold the bottom third of pastry (that has no butter on it) over the butter, then fold the top third over the bottom third. Pinch the edges and place in the fridge for an hour to chill. After the hour was up, I then had to start the rest of the folding. Rolling out the dough lengthways and then folding it like the first cold, and chilling for an hour each time afterward. This has to be done 3 times and each time rest for an hour. If this is the case, I’m not surprised that the contestants bakes didn’t go well, there is no way they had time to chill for an hour between each turn let alone overnight!

Fill me up…
With the dough sitting in the fridge for one of its long rest periods (lucky thing), I got on with the fillings. The first one to tackle was the salmon tartare, nice fresh and relatively low maintenance. Into a bowl I made a the lemon juice, parsley and mustard dressing, into which the finely diced raw salmon is mixed and then left to cure in the fridge until needed. Easy but effective and delicious

The second was the mushrooms. Isn’t it amazing that with mushrooms you start of with a mountain of fungus that you think will be far too much to then be left with something less than half the amount when it’s cooked? Anyway I used a selection of 3 mushrooms for this, chestnut, and white and brown enoki. All of them were chopped finely, and cooked with plenty of butter (frankly the only way to cook mushrooms), onions and thyme, with a splash of Madeira to help reduce and enrich even further. Once reduced a generous spoonful of creme fraiche as mixed in and it too was left to cool, but this time at room temperature.

As I mentioned earlier the goat cheese filling was a last minute addition and as such a little rushed and ad-hoc! I whisked up some whipping cream to soft peaks, to which I added soft creamy goat cheese and seasoning. Once mixed it was transferred to a piping have for later. Being at my parents this weekend also gave me the added bonus of their allotment, and in particular their multi-coloured beetroots! The initial idea was to cut the beets into discs , the same size and the vol-au-vent hole, and layers them with the piped goat cheese, but all did not go as smoothly as planned…

With everything else ready for the cases it was time to roll out the pastry. I had given it plenty of time to chill between each fold and I had managed to keep it nice and neat, I even added a few extra folds for good measure. The final roll of the pastry was for the cutting of the cases. Using the 5cm ring to cut the main body of the case and a piping nozzle to partially cut the middle, I proceeded to cut out just over 36 cases. These were then brushed with egg and left to chill once more while the oven got to temperature

Semi rise..make do & mend
Once the trays were in the oven there was very little I could do but sit and pray that they would rises evenly and have the wonderful layers I. had so carefully laminated. First of all they seemed to be going well, especially the top tray, then it all seemed to go a bit static. The rising had stopped and even the ones that had risen weren’t particularly straight, so the prospect of cutting out the middles for 36 flattish cases was not something I looked forward to. But I had to persevere as I needed something to put the filling in!

New vs. old, piping versus the spoon With the state of the cases there was no way that my idea of layering the whipped goat cheese with the punched beetroot slices was going to work. Instead it had to become part of the decoration which was more colourful, and a bit trendy looking!

I tried to pipe the mushrooms into the cases, but a few of the larger mushrooms stopped the flow and it just came out in a mess when the pressure was too much, so it was back to the old fashioned spoon and chef’s finger! The same spoon method had to be used for the salmon too, but at least it meant the quantities were equal.

Finishing touches
As I had used the beetroot for the decoration on the goat cheese I couldn’t leave the mushroom and salmon naked.  Luckily I had some baby watercress/pea shoots that I used for the salmon, though it took a while to sift through the bag to find the really tiny leaves.  The mushrooms were a little tricky and I was getting too hungry making them all to come up with something really clever.  The only thing I had left was the tops of the pastry that I have removed from the center of the full cases.  In hindsight I think I should have left them off now, as I think they look a bit messy compared to the other too.

Vol-au-vent of plenty
The main disappointment for me had to be the pastry.  I’m not sure what happened and why there wasn’t a consistent rise, especially when I know that I can make this.  I think I possible over folded it and even rolled it a bit too, both of which would have compressed the butter more and making the pastry more dense. You can see the layers, just not enough air in between.  Next time, I must remember to not get overzealous with the folding!

The flavours of the fillings were received well, and the mushroom was really punchy.  A favourite among the tasters were the goat cheese and beetroot morsels.  Next time I think I’ll try pickling the  beets so that they punch through the creaminess of cheese. The Salmon was my favourite, clean, fresh and indulgent!