Goat's cheese and honey puff pastry, the recipe that takes 10 minutes

"Goat's cheese, honey, walnuts: it's the safest pairing on any cheese platter. Wrapped in puff pastry, it becomes a starter."

Why this puff pastry works every time

Everyone has eaten goat's cheese and honey puff pastry at some point, often a disappointing one: a slice of factory-made log, limp pastry, honey that has leaked out. And yet it has everything going for it. Four ingredients that have always got on well. Ten minutes to assemble. Twenty minutes in the oven. It's the goat's cheese and honey puff pastry recipe you make again without thinking, on a Tuesday evening as much as on a special occasion.

First of all, it's a starter. Serve it with a salad, or cut in half with aperitifs. That size changes everything: the pastry stays crisp, the cheese keeps its heart, the honey drowns nothing. Then the contrast does the work: the pastry shatters, the goat's cheese oozes, the honey caramelises, the walnuts crunch. Four textures in one bite, without a single technical step.

Here, we do things properly: a real matured goat's cheese crottin, whole, per person. Lime blossom honey. Walnut halves. And an all-butter puff pastry folded into a parcel, which keeps everything inside all the way to the plate. We've got everything you need to treat yourself!

Ingredients for 4 parcels

Preparation: 10 min — Cooking: 20 min

Puff pastry, goat's cheese crottins, lime blossom honey, walnuts. Four ingredients that get on well.

• 1 sheet all-butter puff pastry, ideally rectangular (230 to 250 g)
• 4 small goat's cheese crottins (about 60 g each), half-matured
• 3 tablespoons runny honey: lime blossom, acacia or wildflower
• A handful of walnut halves, roughly crushed
• Thyme, dried, or herbes de Provence
• 1 egg yolk for glazing
• Freshly ground pepper, a pinch of fleur de sel

Optional:

• A thin slice of cured ham slipped under the cheese: the salt comes from there, so no need to add more
• A few slices of pear or a wedge of fresh fig between the two halves

Which goat's cheese: crottin or log?

This is where the meltingness is decided, and where the soggy-pastry drama is solved.

Half-matured crottin

This is our choice for this recipe. Supple bloomy rind, paste still creamy in the centre, a milky flavour with a hint of hazelnut. It melts from the inside without spreading, and the rind all around holds the cheese together during baking. Press it lightly with your thumb: it should give without squashing. Too fresh, it releases water and makes the pastry soggy; too dry, it won't ooze.

Matured log

A Sainte-Maure, an ash-coated log, a three-week-old palet. Firmer paste, almost chalky in the centre, less moisture, a bolder flavour with that goaty note some people adore. Cut into 3 cm pieces, it gives a neat bite that holds its shape on an aperitif board.

A word of caution: raw milk cheeses are not recommended for pregnant women, young children and people who are immunocompromised. During pregnancy, bloomy-rind cheeses, even pasteurised ones, should only be eaten thoroughly cooked: serve the parcel piping hot, with the cheese melted right through. If in doubt, ask your doctor or midwife for advice. And to understand the differences between fresh, half-matured and dry, our guide to goat's cheese answers your pre-purchase questions.

The recipe step by step

1. Cut the pastry

Preheat the oven to 200 °C, fan, rack in the upper third. Unroll the puff pastry on its paper and cut it into 4 equal squares of about 12 cm. With a round sheet, cut it into quarters and then trim off the rounded edges. Put the squares back in the fridge while you prepare the goat's cheese.

Four squares, one per parcel.

2. Cut the crottins

Cut each crottin in half horizontally, like a macaron. Keep the rind on: it's edible and adds flavour. If the cheese sticks to the knife, run the blade under hot water.

Halved horizontally, rind and all.

3. Place and rebuild

Place one crottin half in the centre of each square, cut side up. Pour half a teaspoon of honey on top, then put the second half back over it. That honey melts into the centre during baking and soaks into the cheese.

One half in the centre of each square.

Rebuilt, with the honey hidden between the two halves.

4. Honey, walnuts, thyme

Pour the rest of the honey in a thin stream over the top of each crottin, letting it run slightly down the sides. Scatter with crushed walnuts and thyme. Season with pepper.

A generous drizzle of honey.

Walnuts and thyme on top. Ready to close.

5. Fold into a parcel

Bring the four corners of the pastry to the centre, one after another, and pinch them together at the top to seal. Press the edges lightly between thumb and forefinger. A little honey peeking out doesn't matter: it will caramelise.

Corners to the centre, one at a time.

Pinched at the top. The parcel is sealed.

6. Glaze and bake

Place the parcels on a baking tray lined with baking paper, well spaced out. Brush them with egg yolk, with a pinch of fleur de sel on top. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes in the upper third of the oven, without opening the door before fifteen minutes, until the pastry is puffed and golden.

Egg yolk glaze, over the whole surface.

20 minutes at 200 °C: puffed, golden, the honey starting to caramelise.

Leave to rest for 3 to 5 minutes before serving: the cheese is scalding hot straight out of the oven, and patience has a flavour of its own.

Golden, crisp, with oozing goat's cheese inside.

Serve hot, within ten minutes, with a rocket or lamb's lettuce salad, dressed with cider vinegar and walnut oil. An extra drizzle of raw honey on the plate for those with a sweet tooth.

Baking: the setting that prevents soggy pastry

The real secret isn't in the cheese. It's in the position of the rack. In the upper third, the heat hits the top of the pastry first: the upper layers dry and set before the moisture from the goat's cheese can sink down. The base stays dry, the pastry opens into light layers.

• Oven preheated for fifteen minutes at 200 °C. A lukewarm oven melts the butter in the pastry before it rises: it collapses.
• An empty tray one shelf lower blocks the direct heat from below, which burns the base and makes it damp.
• Don't open the oven before fifteen minutes. A draught makes the pastry fall.
• If the top browns too quickly, lay a sheet of foil flat over it, without tucking it in.

Our tips for perfect puff pastry parcels

Well-chilled pastry

Take the pastry out of the fridge at the last minute and work quickly. Warm pastry sticks, tears and rises poorly. If your kitchen is warm, put the folded parcels back in the fridge for 10 minutes before baking.

Seal the corners

Honey: which one, and when?

A mild, runny honey: lime blossom, acacia, spring wildflower. Chestnut honey, woody and slightly bitter, works for a bolder autumn parcel; fir honey overpowers the goat's cheese. Crystallised honey melts in the oven.

Before or after baking? Both, but not with the same result. Before, it caramelises, soaks into the cheese, turns a mahogany colour. After, it stays raw, floral, runny. Our recipe does both: in the centre and on top before, a drizzle on the plate after.

Aperitif version

Cut the pastry into 8 or 9 small 6 cm squares and use crottin halves without rebuilding them, with half a spoonful of honey: bite-sized pieces that bake in 12 to 15 minutes. One board, and aperitifs are ready.

Fig version

A wedge of fresh fig between the two crottin halves. Our fig, caramelised onion and goat's cheese tarte tatin takes the same idea to a larger format.

Storing and reheating

Assembled, uncooked: one night in the fridge, covered with cling film, without the glaze. Glaze and bake just before serving. They can be frozen for one month, flat, in a sealed container: bake from frozen, adding five minutes.

Cooked: two days in the fridge in a sealed container. Reheat for 6 to 8 minutes at 160 °C on a rack, to bring back the crispness. Never in the microwave: the steam makes the pastry soggy.

Cold: they can be eaten cold, and picnics love them. But meltingness loves heat.

What to serve with goat's cheese and honey puff pastry?

It's a starter, so keep the rest of the table light: a lamb's lettuce or rocket salad with walnut oil, crunchy crudités, a gentle soup in winter (squash, red kuri squash). If the parcel becomes a main course, allow two per person and a big salad. Our warm goat's cheese salad tells the same story on a bigger scale: it's the recipe our customers ask for most.

To drink: a dry white from the Loire (Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé, Quincy), a brut cider, or simply sparkling water with lemon to cut through the richness of the pastry.

FAQ