Late-Summer Peach & Vanilla Bean Rough-Puff Puits d'Amour
When late August rolls around, the farmer's markets explode with freestone peaches that smell like pure sunshine. Back in Paris, traditional puits d'amour—wells of love—feature choux pastry and glossy currant jelly. But here in California, my instincts pull me toward fruit that actually drips down your chin. This recipe marries classic French pastry restraint with the raw, messy bounty of West Coast late summer.
My inspiration hit during a stifling Sunday in my tiny apartment when I refused to turn on the oven for a multi-layered tart. Instead, I leaned on a lamination-lite rough-puff. Butter is not a garnish, people, and cold butter folded quickly gives you that shattering, lacy flake without ruining your entire morning. We are not suffering for brunch.
Inside those golden rings sits a cloud of vanilla bean mascarpone, topped with peaches macerated just enough to release their syrup. Let time do the work with the fruit, but keep the pastry ice-cold. Cami's shortcut note: store-bought butter block is fine, but European-style high-fat butter is non-negotiable for the flavor. Don't skip the flaky salt at the end—it wakes up the peach sugar.
Featured Recipe
Late-Summer Peach & Vanilla Bean Rough-Puff Puits d'Amour
Crisp, golden rings of rough-puff pastry filled with luscious vanilla mascarpone cream and crowned with juicy, macerated late-summer peaches. Elegant French bakery quality made effortlessly in a single morning.
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Timeline
Ingredients
- 2 cups All-purpose flour(250g, chilled for best results)
- 1 cup Cold cultured butter(225g, 82% butterfat preferred, cut into 1/2-inch cubes)
- 1 tsp Fine sea salt
- 0.5 cup Ice water(120ml, ice removed)
- 3 Ripe yellow peaches(sliced into 1/4-inch moons)
- 0.25 cup Granulated sugar(50g, for macerating peaches)
- 1 tbsp Fresh lemon juice
- 0.67 cup Mascarpone cheese(150g, cold)
- 0.5 cup Heavy cream(120ml, cold)
- 0.25 cup Powdered sugar(30g)
- 1 tsp Vanilla bean paste
- 1 large Egg(beaten with 1 tsp water for egg wash)
- 0.5 tsp Flaky sea salt(Maldon or Fleur de Sel)
Instructions
- 1
In a large bowl, toss 2 cups all-purpose flour and 1 tsp fine sea salt. Add 1 cup cold cultured butter and toss to coat each cube. Use your fingertips to flatten butter cubes into thin shingle-like sheets, keeping pieces large and distinct. Pour in 0.5 cup ice water and mix with a fork until a shaggy dough forms with visible butter chunks.
10 min
Tip: Butter chunks mean lacy flakes later. If your butter feels greasy or soft, pop the bowl in the freezer for 5 minutes.
- 2
Turn dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, press into a rough 1-inch thick square, wrap tightly, and chill in the refrigerator.
20 min
Tip: Chilling relaxes the gluten and re-hardens the butter so your layers don't melt together during rolling.
- 3
While dough chills, toss 3 ripe yellow peaches with 0.25 cup granulated sugar and 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice in a bowl. Set aside at room temperature to draw out rich, aromatic peach juices.
5 min
Tip: Macerating softens fruit slightly and concentrates flavors without cooking down the crisp peach texture.
- 4
Unwrap dough on a lightly floured surface. Roll into an 8x15-inch rectangle. Fold the top third down, then the bottom third up like a business letter (envelope fold). Turn dough 90 degrees and repeat twice more for 3 total turns, dusting off excess flour between folds.
10 min
Tip: This quick laminating builds dozens of paper-thin buttery layers without hours of classic French puff pastry labor.
- 5
Wrap the laminated dough square tightly and return it to the refrigerator for its final rest.
20 min
Tip: Never bake warm rough-puff dough; warm butter leaks out in the oven instead of creating steam lift.
- 6
Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C) and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
5 min
Tip: An accurate oven temperature is non-negotiable for max rise and golden color.
- 7
In a chilled bowl, combine 0.67 cup mascarpone cheese, 0.5 cup heavy cream, 0.25 cup powdered sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla bean paste. Whip with a hand mixer or whisk until smooth with silky medium peaks. Chill until assembly.
5 min
Tip: Mascarpone adds structure so the cream won't melt or weeping into hot pastries later.
- 8
Roll cold dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out twelve 3.5-inch rounds. Using a 2-inch cutter, punch holes in the centers of six rounds to create top rings. Brush intact round bases with 1 large egg wash, lay rings directly on top, and dock centers with a fork.
15 min
Tip: Puits d'amour translates to 'wells of love'—creating rings creates a pastry well to hold cream and peaches.
- 9
Brush tops of pastry rings generously with 1 large egg wash, taking care not to drip down edges. Bake at 400°F for 20 to 22 minutes until deep golden-brown, puffed, and fully dry underneath.
20 min
Tip: Egg wash on the cut sides will glue pastry layers shut and prevent puffing.
- 10
Transfer baked pastry shells to a wire rack. Gently press down risen center dough wells with the back of a spoon to reopen wells. Allow to cool completely.
15 min
Tip: Always fill cold pastries; warm crusts turn vanilla cream into soup.
- 11
Spoon chilled vanilla cream into center wells of cooled pastries. Top with macerated peach slices 3 ripe yellow peaches and finish each with a pinch of 0.5 tsp flaky sea salt. Serve immediately.
10 min
Tip: Salt amplifies sweet peaches and cuts rich mascarpone.
Chef's Notes
Cami's shortcut note: rough puff lets us skip full croissant laminating entirely while delivering deeply layered shatter. Don't skip this: chill dough thoroughly between folds. Warm dough gives a tight crumb like a bad alibi, but cold butter creates lacy, shatteringly crisp flakes. We're not suffering for brunch.
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.