Smoked Salmon Puff Pastry Cups

Pretty and versatile, these Smoked Salmon Puff Pastry Cups make a tasty, elegant appetizer; perfect for parties, wedding or baby showers, or holiday gatherings! Easy to make ahead of time and fill at the last minute.

These smoked salmon appetizer bites are deceptively easy to make! The easy-to-make puff pastry cups can be filled with any number of sweet or savory fillings. For this easy salmon appetizer recipe, we are showcasing a creamy smoked salmon filling, made with mascarpone and seasoned with fresh dill.

Jump to:

• Salmon Appetizer Ingredients
• How to Make Puff Pastry Appetizers
• Substitutions
• Variations
• Equipment
• Top Tip: Make Ahead
• More Salmon Recipes
• Party Food Recipes
• Smoked Salmon Pastry Cups
• Food safety

Salmon Appetizer Ingredients

• Smoked salmon: We recommend using hot-smoked salmon when making this recipe.
• Mascarpone: Mascarpone is an slightly sweet, exceptionally smooth, spreadable fresh cream cheese.
• Whipping cream: Use full-fat whipping cream for this recipe.
• Fresh dill: If you don't have fresh dill, you can substitute 1 teaspoon of dried dill.
• Puff pastry: Frozen puff pastry is one of the few premade ingredients we regularly purchase and use. It is such a time-saver!

How to Make Puff Pastry Appetizers

Salmon Filling

In a medium bowl, whip together mascarpone, whipping cream, Worcestershire sauce, and hot pepper sauce until smooth and light.

Fold in chopped salmon, dill, and lemon zest.

Put filling into a pastry bag and set aside. (A Ziploc bag will work too.)

Pastry Cups

Preheat oven to 400°F (205°C).

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, whisk together one beaten egg plus one tablespoon of cold water. Set prepared egg-wash aside.

Lay puff pastry out on a floured surface and flatten a bit with your hands. Do not use a rolling pin to roll out the pastry sheet.

Cut one puff pastry sheet into small circles, about 1½ - 2 inches across. Put these "whole circles" on the prepared baking sheet.

Cut the second puff pastry sheet into small circles of the same size. Cut another, smaller circle out of the middle of each one of these circles, donut-style. (Save the small circles!)

Brush each of the whole circles on the baking sheet with egg wash.

Place a donut circle on top of each of the egg-washed whole circles.

Brush the top of the donut circles with egg-wash.

Cut small decorative shapes from remaining puff pastry, to be used as garnish.

We use every bit of puff pastry dough we can. You can use the extra dough to create lovely little garnishes and accents!

Bake prepared pastry cups and pastry garnishes separately; in a preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Remove from oven and place on cooling rack. Allow to cool completely.

Assemble & Serve

Pipe each prepared pastry cup full of filling. Garnish with fresh dill and small pastry shapes.

Chill until ready to serve. Serve within 4 hours after assembly.

Substitutions

Smoked salmon: We recommend using hot-smoked salmon when making this recipe. Smoked salmon is a blanket term for salmon of any origin or cut that is cured with any kind of smoke. You can also use leftover grilled salmon, which makes a good substitute for smoked salmon in this particular recipe.

Do not use cold-smoked or brine-cured salmon (i.e., lox or gravlax). Cold smoked salmon is much like lox, with a silky, buttery texture and a concentrated briny, salty flavor. Lox are delicious but don't work well in recipes like this one, where you want a more meaty, flaky salmon texture.

Mascarpone: Neufchatel and regular cream cheese are both acceptable substitutes for mascarpone in this recipe.

Whipping cream: Regular whipping cream or half-and-half plus melted butter (50/50) are good substitutes.

Pastry cups: For real time-saving, you can make these appetizers with homemade puff pastry, or premade frozen pastry cups or mini phyllo shells.

Variations

Puff pastry cups are one of our favorite party tricks - they can be filled with any number of sweet or savory cream puff fillings. Here are just a few ideas:

• Roasted garlic & herb pastry cups: Substitute ¼ cup roasted garlic and ¼ cup fresh herbs of your choice for smoked salmon.
• Spinach-artichoke pastry cups: Substitute ½ cup spinach-artichoke dip for smoked salmon.
• Chicken salad pastry cups: Substitute chicken for the smoked salmon, and use poultry seasoning in place of the dill.
• Mediterranean pastry cups: Fill cups with hummus, crumbled feta, and diced tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and cucumbers.
• French onion pastry cups: Fill cups with gruyere and caramelized onions.

Equipment

Many years ago, I purchased a set of small leaf cutters. At the time, I had no idea how handy they would become. I've used them countless times now - for everything from shaped vegetable chips to pastry embellishment - and they are well worth the small investment. If you do a lot of baking, I encourage you to check them out!

Top Tip: Make Ahead

It's very easy to make these little salmon and pastry apps ahead of time. The filling can be made up to 2 days ahead of time and refrigerated in a sealed pastry bag until you are ready to fill the pastry cups.

The pastry cups can be made early the day of and filled right before serving.

More Salmon Recipes

If you love salmon, be sure to try our Honey Glazed Salmon. Perfect for summer barbecue, it's quick and easy, and it makes a beautiful presentation, too!

Party Food Recipes

Looking for more eye-catching and delicious bite-sized appetizers for your next party or potluck? Some of our favorite finger-food recipes include Sweet Potato Samosas, Deviled Eggs, Mini Lemon Tarts, and Kahuku Shrimp.

Food safety

• Never leave seafood or other perishable food out of the refrigerator for more than 2 hours, or for more than 1 hour when temperatures are above 90°F.

See more guidelines at USDA.gov.

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