Eek, it's Fanny's Cheese Flower

I'm a little nervous about unleashing this one onto the blog. I've been carefully thinking how to introduce it, how to name it, what puns to use, which ones not to - but sometimes Fanny has written her own innuendos, and this penultimate flan is such a time. There's not much more I can say.

Essentially this seems like a giant vol-au-vent made to look extra fancy with a scalloped, or 'petalled' as Fanny prefers to call it, edge. Fanny says I can use shop bought or home made puff pastry for this one, and as I haven't used shop bought so far that's what I go for. The rest of the ingredients are store cupboard staples, so perhaps this 'Fleur au Parmesan' is one which could be rustled up in a hurry.

Fanny gives me a pic-strip to show how to create the flower - using a plate as a central template and then a fluted pastry cutter for the petals. Fanny says I can see 'quite clearly' how this is done and also notes that it is 'impossible to go wrong' as the plate stops the cutter going all the way. Ahem. 

The bit I was nervous about was ending up with an uneven number and arrangement of petals, perhaps I was taking this too seriously? I wondered if I should measure them or plot them out, but in the end decided just to go for it. After all, it was 'impossible to go wrong'. It worked! Fanny then tells me to grab two forks and 'bang away' (resist all innuendo thoughts at this point) at the surface staying inside the plate mark to 'fork' all the centre. Please note Fanny says this is a 'springy bounce up and down movement' rather than a 'prod'. Phew. 

Then, brush with beaten, strained egg and bake the flower, before making the cheese filling. For this, Fanny tells me to pop two egg yolks, some milk, flour, Parmesan butter and seasoning in a small pan and heat gently until it boils, thickens and becomes smooth miraculously! It does.

Once it's cool I need to beat in a little stiffly whipped double cream and get my piping bag at the ready! Simply pipe the cheese filling into the centre of the baked flower, and Fanny assures me I have an appetising treat. Apparently. Actually, it tastes not too bad, the cheese reminds me of Primula the way it's piped out. So 70's. So, there we have it, I have recreated Fanny's Cheese Flower and only sniggered several times...