


Christmas Canapés: Smoked Salmon with Soured Cream Vol-au-Vents
Get the party started with these traditional vol-au-vents loaded with soured cream and smoked salmon. The perfect Christmas nibble to share, they’re great garnished with capers and a hint of lime.
Difficulty: Easy
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 10
Ingredients:
10 Jus-Rol™ Vol-au-Vents
Smoked salmon shredded or cut into small pieces
1tsp soured cream chilled, per case
1 lime
Equipment required:
Baking sheet
Baking paper
Method:
- Buy the smoked salmon trimmings as you will have to cut or tear the salmon in small pieces anyway.
- Bake vol-au-vent as per pack instructions. Meanwhile mix some soured cream with some grated lime zest, a dash of lime juice and black pepper.
- Put a good teaspoonful into each case and top with smoked salmon – garnish with lime zest and a tiny lime piece if desired.

What is the best way to serve Christmas canapés?
The best way to serve canapés depends on the kind of setting you’ve got planned. If it’s a stand-up party, platters with delicious nibbles piled high are ideal. If you’d like to serve canapés as an aperitif before Christmas dinner, you can be a little more adventurous. From snacks on skewers to canapés served on individual spoons, the choice is yours – the only important thing to remember is that a canapé should be nice and easy to eat!

What is the difference between canapés and hors d’oeuvres?
Lots of people use the two names interchangeably because both describe a small, self-contained snack served before a meal or as a party food. But traditionally, a canapé is actually a type of hors d’oeuvres. Canapés tend to have a base made from a carb (think bread, crackers, pastry) with a delicious topping and a garnish – although you’ll find plenty of Christmas nibbles with a twist to try.

How do you stop Christmas canapés from going soggy?
Stop your canapés from going soggy by making sure you don’t miss out one essential part of the process – the spread that goes between your base and your topping. A layer of butter, mayonnaise, cream cheese or sauce not only adds an extra burst of flavour to your canapé, it also acts as a barrier between a wet topping and a dry base – keeping sogginess at bay!

How many Christmas canapés should you serve per person?
If you’re serving canapés ahead of a meal, then around four per person should be plenty. When your canapés are a party snack or accompaniment to cocktails and there’s no sit-down dinner planned, take your canapés up to six per person to start with then add on an extra couple for each extra hour of your party. So if you expect your guests to stay for three hours, put together around 10 tasty Christmas nibbles per person.
Can you freeze Christmas canapés?
You can absolutely freeze canapés. In fact, it’s a great way to get Christmas Day nibbles prepped ahead of time. That said, some canapés take to being frozen better than others. Pastry-based canapés are particularly good for freezing and reheating while canapés with chilled ingredients like cream cheese and smoked salmon are best assembled on the day.
Which Christmas canapés go best with champagne?
You can’t go far wrong when it comes to picking Christmas canapés to serve with a glass of bubbly, but there are a few tips worth keeping in mind. One is that the acidic nature of champagne means it pairs perfectly with salty snacks – so canapés with smoked cheeses or meats are a smart choice. Also, canapés with a bit of crunch complement the bubbly nature of champagne, so why not give our Spanish Cheese Straws or Cranberry and Brie Filo Crackers a whirl?