Vol-au-vent with pastry cream and strawberries: the easy, quick and indulgent recipe.
Making them at home has never been so simple.
Discover our recipe for a crunchy, fast dessert, perfect for buffets or as a finish to a meal.
Few ingredients, maximum result!
For these vol-au-vent you need 2 rectangular rolls of puff pastry straight from the supermarket fridge counter.
I will also give you the filling recipes both for the chocolate cream and for the classic pastry cream.
Thought for you:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Budget
- Rest time: 20 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 10 pieces
- Cooking methods: Boiling, Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 426.27 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 45.07 (g) of which sugars 18.82 (g)
- Proteins 7.52 (g)
- Fat 24.70 (g) of which saturated 5.45 (g)of which unsaturated 18.25 (g)
- Fibers 1.36 (g)
- Sodium 131.83 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 180 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients Vol-au-vent with Pastry Cream and Strawberries
Let’s go shopping
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 lemon zest
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar ((or 30 g of stevia or 160 g of erythritol))
- cornstarch (if diabetic use 35 g (about 1.2 oz) of FiberPasta flour)
- 1 pod vanilla
- 7-8 egg yolks (about 4.4 oz (125 g))
- 2 puff pastry (rectangular. if diabetic, better whole wheat)
- cups strawberries (or other fruit of choice (about 10.6 oz / 300 g))
- to taste powdered sugar (or powdered erythritol)
Vol-au-vent with pastry cream and strawberries
Tools
What we need
- 2 Saucepan
- 2 Baking trays
- 1 Parchment paper
- 1 Knife
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Piping bag
Steps Vol-au-vent with Pastry Cream and Strawberries
Let’s go to the kitchen
To prepare the vol-au-vent, start by unrolling the first roll of puff pastry.
Using a round cutter about 2.4 in (6 cm) in diameter, cut out many discs, trying as much as possible to avoid pastry scraps.
Do the same with the second sheet of puff pastry.
Set aside 10 whole discs and place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
On the remaining discs, cut a central hole using a smaller cutter about 1.2–1.6 in (3–4 cm) in diameter to make little crowns.
Prick the 10 whole discs with the tines of a fork and brush them with beaten egg.
On each of them place 3 crowns, taking care to brush the edges with beaten egg as well. This not only helps to fix the crowns to each other, but also gives the vol-au-vent their characteristic golden color.
Bake them in a preheated oven at 392°F (200°C) for 10–15 minutes or until the vol-au-vent are puffed and golden.
Re-roll the scraps and roll them out again; you can use them for additional vol-au-vent or for jam-filled cookies.
In a small saucepan heat the milk with the seeds scraped from a vanilla pod and the pod itself, and with the lemon zest (without the white pith). Bring to a boil.
Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, using the whisk of an electric mixer or a stand mixer, whip the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy.
Then add the cornstarch (or rice starch if you are celiac, or FiberPasta if you are diabetic) and mix again.
When the milk mixture begins to come to a boil, add the whipped egg mixture by pouring it slowly into the milk, and wait until the first bubbles appear on the surface.
At this point, remove the pan from the heat and stir quickly with a whisk. The cream will thicken immediately.
Transfer it to a wide, shallow dish, cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface, and let it cool.
The final touch for the cream, after resting: Before using the cream to fill the vol-au-vent, work the cold cream with a hand whisk for a few seconds. This will make it glossy and silky, ready to be put into a piping bag.
Fill each vol-au-vent completely.
Once they are all filled, dust with powdered sugar, and…
Finish with pieces of strawberries.
Here are the vol-au-vent with pastry cream and strawberries, ready to serve
Storage
Vol-au-vent with pastry cream and strawberries: filled vol-au-vent keep in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours, preferably consumed within 4-6 hours to avoid the puff pastry becoming too soft.
Freezing
You can freeze the vol-au-vent only if they are empty: they last up to 2 months in a freezer bag; before using them, heat them 5 minutes in the oven at 356°F (180°C) to restore crispness.
I do not recommend freezing them already filled, because the pastry would become soggy and the cream would lose consistency once thawed.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
Vol-au-vent with pastry cream and strawberries
Can I make them with chocolate?
Yes, this is the chocolate pastry cream recipe, click here.
Vol-au-vent with pastry cream and strawberries
