January 31, 2011

Baking with Carla: Ecclés, aka puff pastry pockets



Despite the fancy name, these are nothing else but puff pastry pockets! Ahhh, the French! They can make anything sound better and fancier simply with their chic names.


Lately Carla and I have neglected reading. We usually read a short story or part of a book (in Italian) while our goodies are in the oven. But lately we got a lot into baking things that take most of the hour we have available to be prepared and so we haven’t been reading much.

Last week we realized how much we missed reading so I decided to make this recipe because it’s super quick to prepare and it would have saved us time to read a good story. Well, I read the story J



Going through an old little French book I have (French because it’s in French!), looking for new recipes I found these ecclés, which, as I said, are nothing else but puff pastry pockets filled with raisins. You really don’t need a recipe to make these pockets. Just thaw the puff pastry, cut it in squares or rounds, filled them with whatever yummy things you have available and seal the pockets. 

Perfect for a last minut afternoon snack.


Ecclés
Ingredients
Yields 9-10 pockets

250-300 gr (1 sheet) puff pastry, thawed
30 gr (2 tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature
30 gr (2 tbsp) light brown sugar
100 gr rasisin
50 gr chocolate chips
10 gr (2 tsp) of your favorite spices*
(2 tsp) orange zest (optional)

egg for egg wash or milk

*nutmeg, ginger, or cinnamon will do, depending on the filling you chose


Method

Preheat the oven to 425F degrees and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a bowl, mix the butter and the sugar together until you obtain a cream. Toss in your chose filling (raisin, chocolate chips, nuts, etc) and the orange zest, if you decide to use it.

Put the thawed puff pastry on a flat surface sprinkled with some flour and cut out about 9-10 little rounds or squares.

Spoon the filling in the center of the little puff pastry cut outs (don’t put too much filling, one tablespoon will do).

Close the rounds/squares of puff pastries into little pockets. Wet the tips of your fingers to seal the pockets.

With a rolling pin, gently flatten out the pockets and brush them with a little milk (as you know sometimes I really don’t like doing the egg wash. I adds unnecessary calories/heaviness to a simple recipe and you waste an egg! When possible I just brush some milk).

Place the pockets on the prepared baking sheet and apply two or three small cuts on top of each.

Bake for about 15 minutes. When ready, let them cool out on a cooling rack before serving them.

Have a sweet day!

38 comments:

  1. Mmmm!! Sara, these are just scrumptious! You do such a good job with Carla, I'm sure she really looks forward to your days together. She will have such wonderful memories and recipes when she grows up! Nicely done!

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  2. Looks yummy! Love the filling you've used. Thanks for introducing us to this great dish...

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  3. Nice and simple recipe. I have been planning to buy puff pastry for a while.

    They can make anything sound better and fancier "and tastier by adding lots of butter and sugar":)

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  4. These look great! I have always wanted to try puff pastry, but i can't seem to find it in my supermarket. I guess i will have to look harder next time!

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  5. What a pretty, tasty pastry. Yummy.

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  6. Sorry to be a spoil sport but Eccles cakes are from a town called Eccles just outside Manchester in the North of England! They are traditionally served with a mild Lancashire crumbly cheese and yours look delicious, might have to give them a go my other half would be very pleased they are his favourite!

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  7. Ohhh good to know @foodblogandthedog! You see this French book claims they are French. Thanks for correcting that! I did not know them before this post :)

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  8. Mmm... puff pastry makes everything taste better! This looks so elegant and delicious, but I love how simple it is to make. thanks!

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  9. Oh do these look soooo good. The combination of raisins and chocolate sounds incredible. I'm always looking for ways to use puff pastry and now I know what I'll be making! :)

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  10. I love how simple these sound! They would be perfect for breakfast or a snack in the middle of the day! Thanks for sharing, and translating :)

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  11. Love these little puff pockets, that you can fill with anything you happen to have leftover in your pantry. Cooking with your children is priceless!

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  12. Hi Sara
    what a quick and tasty treat, its perfect recipe for kids, I'm glad you had time to read with Carla this week, I wish I had more time with my girls we seem to just rush through the recipes
    Have a wonderful week
    Dennis

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  13. Delicious! I love this! Cooking with puff pastry is one of my favorite things and I love how versatile it is!

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  14. These are adorable little pockets of tasty goodness!!

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  15. this sounds so lovely:) thank you for sharing this.

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  16. These look really great! And I would have never known you didn't slave for hours over them if you didn't tell us. :)

    What would you suggest as a filling if we don't like rasins?

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  17. oh wow, these look fantastic. i love how versatile and convenient puff pastry dough is. thanks for sharing!

    i am hosting a Gardein giveaway on my site. check it out if you have any interest. cheers.

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  18. What a perfect little bite! I caught myself trying to sniff the picture because they look like they smell incredible as well as taste incredible!

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  19. I was a little surprised to read that Eccles cakes were French, but I'm glad to see that confusion was cleared up already.
    Leave it to the French to add an accent just so they can take credit for an awesome pastry, though. ;)
    I haven't had a proper Eccles cake in years... not since I lived on the East Coast and had access to a real British bakery. Can't wait to try out your recipe and see if they live up to my fond memories. I never realised how easy these are to make!

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  20. These little pastries look so tempting, I'd be sneaking these all day long:)

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  21. A perfect treat that can be filled with so much.

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  22. Sara, these really look scrumptious and I find them very tempting. I hope you have a great evening. Blessings...Mary

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  23. I read my daughter books in French all the time. She LOVES them. If I found the courage to bake these treats, it may become a great tandem activity.

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  24. Yum! Those look delish! Great photos, too. We'd love for you to share your work at dishfolio.com.

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  25. Yum! And I love that you could fill them w/dried apricots, or cranberries, or blueberries! Super cute too!

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  26. Ciao Sara-These look so good! I love baking with puff pastry...so much you can do with them:)What are you reading Carla? She's lucky to have special time with you each week. Buona settimana!

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  27. this looks delicious lovely pastries

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  28. I hear you about the fancy French names :))
    these little pockets look so good. chocolate and raisins make me drool.
    Thanks for sharing Sara, hope you're having a wonderful day

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  29. The possibilities for fillings are endless with these little guys! I've been wanting to make my own puff pastry just to try but having the store bought ones just seems so much easier! :)

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  30. They look so good, fancy name or not. I just love the things you make with Carla.

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  31. Mmmm...you could probably put nuts in them too- so simple yet elegant and delicious. :)

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  32. Reading while treats are baking is the best use of time I've ever heard. I want to start this tradition on my own :) And then continue reading while I eat a treat like this one! What a great after-school snack!

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  33. It's amazing how when you give something a fancy name, or even just a fancy garnish, it changes the game! These looks lovely and would seem to have endless possibilities!

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  34. These are lovely and made even better by how simple they are. I like hearing about your time with Carla. It says a lot about you how well you get along with her. I hope you've had a good week, Sara. :-)

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  35. These are gorgeous - I haven't baked much with puff pastry but this is inspiring me to. I think they would be great filled with nutella!

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  36. Those look so delicious and so simple :) Thank you for sharing, they just reminded me of times when I lived in French part of Switzerland :) Thank you for kind words over CHef's Dennis blog :)

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  37. These look delicious. So easy!! I really need to try making puff pastry!!

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