Jammy Fig, Walnuts & Fresh Chèvre Rough-Puff Friands
We are not suffering for brunch. That is my golden rule, and these friands are living proof. The inspiration hit me during late September in the Bay Area, when backyard Mission figs are bursting off the branches and local chèvre is as fresh as it gets. I wanted a pastry that felt like a high-end Parisian café item, but without spending my entire weekend tied to a butter block. Enter the twenty-minute laminate. By keeping your butter cold and using a quick rough-puff method, you get lacy, shattering layers that make you look like a baking wizard by four o'clock. Inside, we have jammy fresh figs, earthy toasted walnuts, tangy goat cheese, and just a whisper of orange zest to cut the richness. Why does this work? Because contrast is everything: sweet fruit, sharp cheese, and a crisp, flaky crust. Butter is not a garnish here, so use the good stuff. If you cannot find fresh figs, swap in tart plums or even a thick dollop of quality jam. Let time do the work on the chill, and don't skip the flaky salt on top. Cami's shortcut note: buy all-butter store-bought puff pastry in a pinch, but my quick method takes barely any extra effort. Don't skip this.
Featured Recipe
Jammy Fig, Walnuts & Fresh Chèvre Rough-Puff Friands
Buttery, multi-layered rough-puff packets filled with jammy fresh figs, tangy California chèvre, toasted walnuts, and a whisper of orange zest. High-impact café baking with a twenty-minute laminate that leaves you looking like a wizard by four o'clock.
Save a copy to your collection for editing
Timeline
Ingredients
- 250 g all-purpose flour(plus extra for rolling)
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 200 g unsalted cultured butter(cut into 1/2-inch cubes, well chilled)
- 110 ml ice water(very cold)
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar(helps tenderness and inhibits gluten)
- 8 fresh figs(Black Mission or Brown Turkey, stemmed and quartered)
- 120 g fresh chèvre(creamy goat cheese, room temp)
- 45 g raw walnuts(roughly chopped)
- 1 tsp orange zest(finely grated from 1 navel orange)
- 2 tbsp honey(wildflower or orange blossom)
- 1 egg(whisked with a pinch of salt for egg wash)
- 1/2 tsp flaky sea salt(Maldon or fleur de sel)
- 2 tbsp honey(Mentioned as 1 tbsp in step 4 and 1 tbsp in step 8, totaling 2 tbsp.)
Instructions
- 1
Toss 250 g all-purpose flour and 1 tsp fine sea salt in a large mixing bowl. Dump in the chilled 200 g unsalted cultured butter cubes. Using your thumbs and forefingers, press the cubes into flat, nickel-sized butter shingles. Do not rub down into fine crumbs; you want visible, chunky planks of cold butter throughout the flour.
5 min
Tip: If your hands run warm, pop the bowl in the freezer for 5 minutes before pressing.
- 2
Mix 1 tsp apple cider vinegar into the 110 ml ice water. Drizzle half over the flour and toss with a fork. Drizzle the rest, tossing until a ragged, shaggy mass forms. Turn out onto a clean counter and press firmly into a rough 6x10-inch rectangle. It will look dry and disjointed—that is completely fine. Butter is not a garnish; it is structural.
5 min
Tip: Do not knead; just compact it into a cohesive shape.
- 3
Roll the dough into an 8x15-inch rectangle. Fold the bottom third up and the top third down, exactly like a business letter. Turn the dough 90 degrees, roll out to 8x15 inches again, and repeat the letter fold. Wrap tightly in parchment and chill in the fridge for 25 minutes to firm the butter and relax the gluten.
7 min
Tip: Flour your pin lightly. Keep your corners as square as possible.
- 4
Toast 45 g raw walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat for 4 minutes until fragrant. Transfer to a small bowl and let cool. In another small bowl, mix 120 g fresh chèvre with 1 tsp orange zest and 1 tbsp honey until smooth.
6 min
Tip: Keep an eye on the walnuts—they go from fragrant to burnt in seconds.
- 5
Preheat your oven to 400°F (205°C) and line a heavy baking sheet with parchment paper.
2 min
Tip: A ripping hot oven ensures maximum oven spring before the butter melts.
- 6
Unwrap the chilled dough onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 12x12-inch square, about 1/8-inch thick. Trim any ragged edges with a chef's knife. Slice into 4 equal 6-inch squares.
5 min
Tip: Cut straight down without dragging the blade so the lamination layers aren't sealed shut.
- 7
Spoon 2 tablespoons of the chèvre mixture into the center of each pastry square. Divide the toasted 45 g raw walnuts over the cheese, then arrange the 8 fresh figs (quartered) on top, cut-side up. Pull opposite diagonal corners of each pastry square toward the center and pinch them firmly together over the fruit to create an open diamond friand packet.
6 min
Tip: Pinch the dough seam tightly with damp fingertips so it doesn't pop open during the bake.
- 8
Transfer pastries to the prepared baking sheet. Brush the exposed pastry edges thoroughly with 1 egg wash. Drizzle the figs with remaining 1 tbsp honey and sprinkle the whole tray with 1/2 tsp flaky sea salt.
4 min
Tip: Avoid letting egg wash pool on the cut sides of the pastry—it glues the flaky layers together.
- 9
Bake at 400°F (205°C) for 24-26 minutes until the rough-puff pastry is deeply burnished bronze, soaring into distinct lacy flakes, and the figs have collapsed into bubbling, jammy syrup. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and cool 10 minutes before serving warm.
26 min
Tip: Look for a deep mahogany color underneath; pale bottoms mean gummy dough.
Chef's Notes
Cami's shortcut note: Two simple letter folds on your rough-puff dough give you 90% of classic feuilletage volume with 10% of the elbow grease. We're not suffering for brunch or a 4 p.m. café bite. Don't skip this: cultured butter with at least 82% fat content is non-negotiable here. Standard supermarket butter has too much water, which steams out and makes your crumb tight like a bad alibi.
Camille Roux
Café-level bakes, weeknight methods, zero compromise.
Camille “Cami” Roux was born in Paris with flour in her hair and a healthy skepticism of culinary dogma. She grew up around neighborhood boulangeries that treated crust and crumb like religion—but what stuck with her wasn’t rigid tradition. It was the quiet precision: good butter that actually tastes like milk, patient fermentation that builds flavor for free, and desserts that know when to stop before they get cloying. After moving to the Bay Area, Cami trained in a bread-and-pastry scene obsessed with texture, naturally leavened doughs, and seasonal fruit—Tartine energy, minus the martyrdom. She became known for loaves that sing when they cool, jammy tarts with clean edges, and “how is this so good?” weeknight pastries made with a few smart shortcuts. Her motto is high impact, low fuss: splurge where it counts (butter, salt, time), streamline the rest (sheet pans, one bowl, cold-proofing). If it doesn’t improve flavor or structure, it doesn’t earn a step.