Wild Mushroom & Cantal Rough-Puff Friands
When the autumn fog rolls into the Bay Area, I crave the earthy flavors of my childhood near Paris. These friands are my answer to a fancy bakery snack built for a Tuesday night. The inspiration hit me during a rainy market run when gorgeous chanterelles collided with my obsession for buttery, lacy pastries. Instead of spending hours on traditional lamination, we use a quick rough-puff method. Butter is not a garnish, so we fold in cold cubes that melt into shattering, flaky layers in the oven. Inside, you get sweet caramelized wild mushrooms, sharp Cantal cheese—a French mountain cheese with serious punch—and a smear of Dijon mustard to cut the richness. We are not suffering for brunch, so let the fridge do the heavy lifting overnight. Make it your own by swapping the mushrooms for roasted leeks or adding a pinch of thyme. Don't skip the high heat at the start; it is the secret to getting that gorgeous, puffed-up height. Let time do the work, and enjoy a slice of café life right at home.
Featured Recipe
Wild Mushroom & Cantal Rough-Puff Friands
Buttery, shattering rough-puff pockets loaded with caramelized wild mushrooms, sharp Cantal cheese, and a punch of Dijon. High café luxury built with a weeknight blitz method and zero delicate fuss.
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Timeline
Ingredients
- 240 g all-purpose flour(about 2 cups, chilled in the bowl for 10 minutes)
- 1 tsp kosher salt(for dough)
- 225 g unsalted cultured butter(1 cup (2 sticks), rock-cold, cut into 1/2-inch cubes)
- 120 ml ice water(1/2 cup, truly icy)
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter(for sautéing the duxelles)
- 2 shallots(large, finely minced)
- 340 g mixed wild mushrooms(12 oz, such as chanterelle, maitake, and cremini, finely chopped)
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves(finely chopped)
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt(for mushroom filling)
- 1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- 2 tbsp dry sherry(or dry white wine)
- 2 tbsp crème fraîche
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard(sharp French Dijon)
- 85 g Cantal cheese(3 oz, coarsely grated (aged Gruyère or sharp farmhouse cheddar works if Cantal isn't on hand))
- 1 egg(whisked with 1 tsp cold water for egg wash)
- 1 tsp flaky sea salt(such as Maldon, for finishing)
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour(for dusting counter)
Instructions
- 1
In a wide mixing bowl, whisk 240 g all-purpose flour and 1 tsp kosher salt. Toss in 225 g unsalted cultured butter. Using your fingers or a pastry blender, smash the butter cubes flat into walnut-sized flakes—do not rub them down into sand. Pour in 120 ml ice water and use a stiff spatula or your hand to gather the mass into a shaggy, uneven dough. Butter chunks should remain blatantly visible.
10 min
Tip: Butter is not a garnish—keep those large flat slabs intact. They create the steam pockets that lift your layers.
- 2
Dump the shaggy dough onto a lightly floured counter. Roll it out into a rough 8x15-inch rectangle. Fold the top third down, then the bottom third up like a business letter (turn one). Rotate 90 degrees, roll out again to 8x15 inches, and fold into thirds once more (turn two). Repeat this process one final time for turn three. You now have quick lamination. Wrap the block snugly in parchment or plastic.
10 min
Tip: If the butter begins to feel greasy at any second, slide the slab onto a sheet pan and freeze for 5 minutes before finishing the folds.
- 3
Transfer wrapped dough to the refrigerator to rest and chill for 25 minutes. This relaxes gluten tension and locks the butter solid.
25 min
Tip: Let time do the work here; warm dough turns greasy, but cold rested dough will puff sky-high.
- 4
While the dough relaxes, set a wide skillet over medium-high heat and melt 2 tbsp unsalted butter. Add 2 shallots and 340 g mixed wild mushrooms along with 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, 1/2 tsp fine sea salt, and 1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper. Cook vigorously, stirring often, until mushrooms give up their water and it evaporates completely, about 8 minutes. Deglaze the pan with 2 tbsp dry sherry, scraping every browned bit off the bottom until the pan is dry. Pull from heat and fold in 2 tbsp crème fraîche and 1 tsp Dijon mustard.
15 min
Tip: Cook the mushrooms until bone-dry in the pan. Any leftover liquid turns your bottom crust soggy.
- 5
Spread the mushroom mixture flat onto a plate and stash it in the fridge for 10 minutes to cool completely. Meanwhile, arrange an oven rack in the lower-middle position with a heavy baking sheet set on it, and preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C).
10 min
Tip: Never put hot filling on cold laminated dough, or you will melt out all the butter layers before they reach the oven.
- 6
Retrieve chilled dough. On a floured board, roll it out into a tidy 12x18-inch rectangle roughly 1/8-inch thick. Trim ragged edges with a sharp knife, then slice cleanly into 6 equal rectangles (each about 4x6 inches). Stir 85 g Cantal cheese into the cooled mushroom mixture. Spoon 2 generous tablespoons of filling onto the bottom half of each rectangle, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Lightly brush borders with a little whisked 1 egg, fold the top half over to enclose the filling into a neat parcel, and press the edges firmly to seal. Crimp firmly with the tines of a fork.
12 min
Tip: Press straight down with your knife when trimming—sawing drags and seals the laminated butter edges shut.
- 7
Transfer the 6 friands to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush tops lightly with the remaining whisked 1 egg (avoid letting egg wash drip down the cut sides, which glues layers together). Cut three delicate diagonal steam vents into the top of each parcel with the tip of a paring knife. Sprinkle evenly with 1 tsp flaky sea salt. Slide the parchment sheet directly onto the preheated baking steel or sheet in the oven. Bake at 425°F (220°C) for 22 to 25 minutes until deeply bronzed, puffed into dramatic crisp strata, and the bottoms are firm and golden.
25 min
Tip: Look for a rich chestnut-mahogany hue. Pale pastry is soft pastry; don't pull them early out of fear.
- 8
Slide friands onto a wire rack. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving warm.
5 min
Tip: The molten Cantal and mushroom duxelles need a few minutes to settle so they don't scald your palate.
Chef's Notes
A friand is the French baker's ultimate grab-and-go savory snack—crisp, rich, and infinitely cleaner to eat than a sandwich. Cami's shortcut note: Rough puff takes twenty minutes of actual work; the fridge does the heavy lifting while you sear off the mushrooms. Don't skip this: Make sure your mushrooms are browned down until dry, and chill the filling stone-cold before assembling. Hot mushrooms melt your butter pockets on contact, and we don't tolerate soggy bottoms.
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.