Bank holiday bonanza

With three long weekends to enjoy this month, including one to mark the coronation of King Charles III on 6 May, there's plenty of time to get creative in the kitchen with these street-party ideas

Celebration vol-au-vents

These retro pastry cases are easy to make. For a vegan version, use shop-bought puff pastry (many are vegan, but check the label to ensure they’re not ‘all-butter’), then brush with plant milk instead of egg. Cassie Best

MAKES 12 PREP 20 mins

COOK 15 mins EASY V

500g block all-butter puff pastry plain flour, for dusting 1 egg, beaten

1 Line two baking trays with baking parchment. Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface until slightly thicker than a 1 coin. Use an 8cm round cutter to mark out 12 circles, being careful not to stamp all the way through, then roll the pastry out again to make it a little thinner and wider if you can’t quite fit 12. Stamp out the 12 circles and arrange on the baking tray, spaced apart. Use a6cm round cutter to mark out a circle in the middle of each pastry disc, being careful not to stamp all the way through. Will keep chilled for two days or frozen for a month.

2 Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6. Brush the edge of each pastry case with egg, avoiding the markedout middles. Bake for 15-20 mins, swapping the trays halfway through, if needed. When ready, the pastry cases will be puffed up and deep golden brown. Gently press down the middle of each you may need to use asmall, sharp knife to do this. Leave to cool slightly, then fill and serve. Best served on the day.