Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you go
For ten beautiful friands
- 2 puff pastry sheets
For the cheese béchamel
- 50g (⅓ cup) flour
- 50g (3½ tbsp) butter
- 1L (4¼ cups) milk
- 60g (½ cup) cheese of your choice (parmesan, gruyère, emmental, comté, mozzarella…)
- A pinch of nutmeg
For the egg wash
- 1 beaten egg
Making the béchamel
In a saucepan, melt the butter, then add the flour and mix with a wooden spoon to incorporate everything well. A roux will form (a smooth mixture of flour and butter). Keep the heat at medium and not too high so the butter doesn’t burn. Cook for 2 minutes. Pour in all the milk at once. Bring to a boil, reduce to medium heat and whisk (to avoid lumps), continuing to cook until thickened. Add the cheese and continue cooking until it melts. (If you’re adding sliced mushrooms, now’s the time). Turn off the heat, season with salt and pepper, add the nutmeg. You should get a thick but still somewhat smooth consistency.
Shaping the cheese friands
Cut each puff pastry sheet into 5 rectangles. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, fill half of each rectangle with béchamel, then fold over and gently seal the edges. Brush with egg wash and bake at 210°C (410°F) in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes.
Serve hot or warm with a green salad.
Tips and variations
- You can add some finely sliced mushrooms to the béchamel.
- If you’re in Israel, I really love the Shimrit brand puff pastry from the refrigerated section – it’s truly delicious. I’m not sponsored, it’s just genuinely the best I’ve tried here.