Raspberry and Vanilla Bean Quick-Feuilleté Slab
We are not suffering for brunch. Traditional lamination requires endless folding and a prayer to the pastry gods, but my quick-feuilleté delivers that shattered, lacy crumb with zero drama. I first played with this slab format in my tiny Berkeley kitchen when friends dropped by unannounced and I refused to serve store-bought Danishes. Butter is not a garnish here—cold, grated cultured butter creates steam pockets that give you massive flake with half the effort. Pressing the dough into a single sheet pan means everyone gets maximum crust-to-crumb ratio. Top it with a slick of tangy vanilla bean cream and fresh raspberries that burst into sticky pockets as it bakes. Let time do the work by keeping your ingredients ice-cold. Cami’s shortcut note: freeze your grated butter for ten minutes before cutting it into the flour. Don't skip the flaky salt at the finish to cut the richness.
Featured Recipe
Raspberry & Vanilla Bean Quick-Feuilleté Slab
Café-style laminated pastry without the three-day existential dread. Crisp, deeply shattered layers of quick rough puff topped with a tangy vanilla bean cream and fresh raspberries that burst into jammy pockets in the oven. High impact, low fuss, and built for a glorious weekend breakfast.
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Timeline
Ingredients
- 250 g All-purpose flour(cold)
- 200 g Cultured unsalted butter(cubed into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled until rock hard)
- 1 tsp Fine sea salt
- 100 ml Ice water(very cold)
- 150 g Full-fat cream cheese(softened)
- 40 g Powdered sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla bean paste
- 1 tsp Fresh lemon zest(from 1 organic lemon)
- 250 g Fresh raspberries(washed and dried thoroughly)
- 2 tbsp Granulated sugar(for dusting)
- 1 Egg(beaten with 1 tsp water for egg wash)
- 0.5 tsp Flaky sea salt(such as Maldon)
Instructions
- 1
In a large bowl, combine 250 g All-purpose flour and 1 tsp Fine sea salt. Add 200 g Cultured unsalted butter. Use your fingers or a pastry cutter to press the butter cubes flat into thick sheets. You are not looking for fine crumbs here—leave butter pieces visible like thick quarters.
10 min
Tip: Keep everything cold. If your kitchen is warm, chill the bowl for 10 minutes before adding liquid.
- 2
Pour in 100 ml Ice water and mix with a fork until a shaggy, uneven dough forms. Dump onto a lightly floured surface and press into a rough rectangle. Roll into an 8x15-inch sheet. Fold the bottom third up and top third down like a business letter (*feuilletage rapide*). Rotate 90 degrees, roll out again, and repeat the fold. Repeat one more time for 3 folds total.
10 min
Tip: Why it works: Butter layers flattened into sheets flatten the dough instantly, creating steam vents during baking for shattered, lacy crispness without hours of lamination.
- 3
Wrap the laminated dough packet tightly in parchment paper and slide it into the freezer for 20 minutes to rest and solidify the butter layers.
20 min
Tip: Let time do the work. Butter must be cold when entering the oven so steam explodes into distinct layers instead of melting out.
- 4
While dough chills, whisk 150 g Full-fat cream cheese, 40 g Powdered sugar, 1 tsp Vanilla bean paste, and 1 tsp Fresh lemon zest in a medium bowl until silky and smooth. Keep at room temperature.
10 min
Tip: Do not overbeat or the cream cheese will break and become runny.
- 5
Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C) and line a large rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper.
10 min
Tip: A hot oven is non-negotiable for max puff and deep bronzed caramelization.
- 6
Unwrap chilled pastry onto the lined sheet pan. Roll into a 10x14-inch rectangle about 1/4-inch thick. Score a 1-inch border all around with a knife, taking care not to cut all the way through. Prick the inner rectangle with a fork. Spread the vanilla cream inside the border, then nestle 250 g Fresh raspberries evenly over the cream.
10 min
Tip: Pricking the inner rectangle prevents central ballooning, forcing the edges to rise high into a crisp picture frame.
- 7
Brush pastry border lightly with 1 Egg egg wash. Dust 2 tbsp Granulated sugar over the raspberries and pastry rim, then sprinkle 0.5 tsp Flaky sea salt across the whole slab.
5 min
Tip: Butter is not a garnish, and neither is salt—flaky salt cuts through rich cream cheese and balances the sweet-tart berries.
- 8
Bake for 28-32 minutes until the pastry border is deeply bronzed, tall, and shattered-looking, and raspberries have slumped into sparkling, bubbling jam.
30 min
Tip: Look for visual cues: a deep golden mahogany color and energetic bubbling jam center. If it looks pale, it will taste doughy.
- 9
Cool on the sheet pan for 10 minutes so cream cheese sets slightly, then slice into 6 large rectangular portions and serve immediately.
5 min
Tip: We're not suffering for brunch. Slice with a sharp serrated knife to avoid crushing the delicate, flaky top.
Chef's Notes
Cami's shortcut note: This *feuilletage rapide* (quick puff pastry) cuts three hours of traditional lamination down to 20 minutes of active dough handling. Don't skip this: Your butter MUST remain cold and solid during the folding step. If it starts melting or leaking onto your counter, pop it in the freezer for 5 minutes before continuing. Tight crumb is for sandwiches; we want lacy, shattered pastry shards on our plates.
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.