These ham and cheese puff pastries are filled with savory ham and a rich, creamy cheesy béchamel sauce, then baked until beautifully golden and flaky. Crisp on the outside and irresistibly soft and melty inside, they are French comfort food at its best.
Not me publishing yet another recipe involving homemade, incredibly delicious béchamel sauce.
Well, it is not as though I did not warn you. There have been clues all over this blog. My quenelles with béchamel sauce. My endive and ham gratin with béchamel sauce. My cauliflower gratin, in which béchamel gives a humble vegetable a full French makeover and, frankly, far more sex appeal than cauliflower has any right to possess.
At this point, béchamel is less of a sauce around here and more of a recurring character.
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The Mother of All French Comfort Food
But how could you possibly be mad at me? These ham and cheese puff pastries are the mother of all comfort food. Known in France as friands jambon fromage et béchamel, they are served to French children from a very young age, including in school cafeterias. Yes, even French cafeteria food occasionally involves buttery pastry and homemade sauce. We have standards.
Each little friand combines crisp, flaky puff pastry with ham, melted Emmental, and a thick, velvety béchamel sauce. The filling is soft, creamy, and wonderfully cheesy, while the pastry shatters into delicate golden layers with every bite.
Use the best ham you can find. It may not have been sliced for you at a charming little French charcuterie, but do not worry. Once it is tucked beneath cheese béchamel and wrapped in buttery puff pastry, it will be living a very glamorous life.
Emmental is the traditional choice, but Gruyère or another flavorful melting cheese will work beautifully too. Serve these French friands warm from the oven, when the pastry is at its crispiest and the center is irresistibly creamy and melty.
Ingredients You'll Need
Puff pastry: Good-quality, all-butter puff pastry gives the friands their delicate layers and rich flavor. Store-bought pastry works perfectly and makes this recipe wonderfully easy.
Butter and flour: These form the base of the roux that thickens the béchamel. Cook them together briefly before adding the milk so the finished sauce does not taste floury.
Milk: Whole milk produces the richest and creamiest béchamel, although 2% milk can also be used.
Ham: Choose a good-quality sliced ham with plenty of flavor. Because the filling contains only a few ingredients, this is not the moment for sad, watery sandwich ham.
Emmental cheese: Emmental melts smoothly into the béchamel and gives the filling its classic French flavor. Gruyère is an excellent substitute, or you can use your favorite flavorful melting cheese.
Salt, black pepper, and nutmeg: A small pinch of nutmeg is traditional in béchamel and gives the sauce a subtle warmth. Season carefully because both the ham and cheese already contain salt.
Egg yolk and water: Mixed together and brushed over the pastry, this simple egg wash creates that beautiful, glossy golden finish.
How to Make Ham and Cheese Puff Pastries
1. Begin the béchamel
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk vigorously until the mixture is smooth and begins to thicken. Gradually pour in the milk while whisking continuously to prevent lumps from forming.
2. Add the cheese
Continue cooking and stirring until the béchamel becomes quite thick. It needs to be thicker than a sauce you would pour over pasta so that it stays neatly inside the puff pastry.
Remove the saucepan from the heat, then season with salt, black pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg. Add the grated Emmental and stir until the cheese has melted completely into the sauce. Set the cheese béchamel aside to cool.
3. Prepare the puff pastry
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Unfold or unroll the puff pastry and cut it into four equal squares. Each square will be folded in half over the filling to create a rectangular pastry.
4. Add the filling
Spoon some of the cooled cheese béchamel onto one half of each pastry square, leaving approximately ½ inch of uncovered pastry around the edges. Cut the ham into small pieces and scatter it over the béchamel.
Avoid overfilling the pastries, no matter how tempting it may be. An enthusiastic amount of béchamel is wonderful on your plate, but less charming when it escapes all over the baking sheet.
5. Fold and seal
Lightly moisten the exposed edges of the pastry by running a damp fingertip over them. Fold the empty half of each square over the filling to form a rectangle.
Press the edges together, then seal them firmly with the tines of a fork. This helps keep all that creamy ham and cheese filling safely inside while the pastry rises.
6. Add the egg wash
Mix the egg yolk with 2 teaspoons of water. Brush the mixture evenly over the tops of the pastries.
For a traditional decorative finish, use the dull side of a knife to gently draw patterns across the surface. Be careful not to cut through the pastry.
7. Bake until golden
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the ham and cheese puff pastries are puffed, crisp, and deeply golden. Allow them to rest for a few minutes before serving because the béchamel inside will be extremely hot.
What to Serve with Ham and Cheese Puff Pastries
These French friands are substantial enough to serve as a main dish, especially with a simple green salad dressed in a sharp Dijon vinaigrette. The fresh, tangy salad balances the buttery puff pastry and rich béchamel beautifully.
You could also serve them with:
- A tomato and cucumber salad
- Steamed or roasted vegetables
- A bowl of vegetable soup
- Carrot salad with mustard vinaigrette
- Raw vegetables and cornichons for a casual lunch
Smaller portions can be served as an appetizer, while a whole friand with salad makes an easy lunch or light dinner.
Once you break through the crisp golden pastry and reach that creamy ham, cheese, and béchamel center, my sauce obsession will suddenly make perfect sense. Consider this your warning, though: the béchamel will almost certainly return.
You'll find the detailed recipe in the recipe card below. If you try it, I'd love to hear what you think. Please leave a comment at the very bottom of the page and give it a star rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. It truly helps support my little blog and means the world to me. Thank you!
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Ham and Cheese Puff Pastries (French Friands)
Ingredients
- 1 sheet all-butter puff pastry, or homemade puff pastry (about 250 g or 9 oz)
- 25 g butter (scant 2 tablespoons)
- 25 g all-purpose flour (about 3 tablespoons plus ½ teaspoon)
- 250 ml whole milk (1 cup plus 1 tablespoon)
- 2 to 4 slices cooked ham (depending on their size)
- 40 g shredded Emmental, Gruyère, or another good melting cheese (about ⅓ cup)
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tsps water
- Salt to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Once melted, add the flour and whisk vigorously until the mixture thickens. Gradually add the milk while whisking continuously.
- Continue whisking until you have a fairly thick béchamel sauce. Turn off the heat. Season with salt, black pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg. Add the shredded cheese and stir until well combined. Set aside to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). While the béchamel cools, cut the puff pastry into 4 equal squares. Each square will be folded in half after filling to form a rectangle.
- Spoon some of the béchamel onto one half of each pastry square, leaving approximately ½ inch (1 cm) uncovered around the edges. Cut the ham into small pieces and arrange them over the béchamel.
- Lightly moisten the edges of the pastry by running a damp fingertip over them. Fold each square in half to close the pastry. Seal the edges firmly by pressing them with the tines of a fork.
- Make the egg wash by mixing the egg yolk with 2 teaspoons of water. Brush it over the pastries. If desired, decorate the tops by gently drawing patterns with the dull side of a knife.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the pastries are puffed and beautifully golden brown.
Notes
- For the most accurate results, I recommend using the metric measurements in grams and milliliters. U.S. customary measurements are provided for convenience but may be slightly less precise.
