Parisian flan traditional recipe and advice

Parisian flan or pastry flan with creamy and melting texture and intense vanilla taste. Nothing like an old -fashioned dessert for pure delicacy.

The Parisian flan is one of these desserts that we buy on a whim in a bakery so much it makes you want on the stalls. Ultra comforting with its texture that is both firm and creamy, the flexible and golden top at will, and all these vanilla grains that we discover in the cut. I crack!

But have you ever prepared a homemade blank? I admit it can be scary but ultimately it’s pretty easy. I immersed myself in the latest book 100% devoted to the flans of chef Ju Chamalo to give you all the advice to make the real recipe for the Parisian flan, which you can decline in pastry blank without dough. This recipe reminds me a little about how to make the old-fashioned grandmother apart from the optional cooling step of the dough of course).

But before you share the tips and tricks, a ritual on this blog when I approach a traditional recipe for French cuisine, is to immerse myself in the origin and history of this dessert.

Parisian flan or pastry flan?

Pastry flan is an egg cream or overturned with a paste. It is Antoine Lent in his book The Parisian royal pastry chef from 1815 which mentions the Parisian flan for the first time.
But what he describes as a Parisian flan is similar to the pastry blank. So these are the same pastry. The Parisian FLAN undoubtedly takes its name from the fact that it is the best -selling dessert in bakeries in the capital.

The Academy of Taste tells us that the pastry blank is without dough. And that as soon as a flan has a paste, it is a Parisian flan. As often the sources contradicts, I will continue my research.

Advice for a successful blank

First the pie dough

What paste for the Parisian flan?

Shortcrust pastry, shortbread, sweet dough or puff pastryno missteps in terms of traditional recipe. It is a matter of taste, or time. It is generally broken or puff pastry that we find for this recipe.

The puff pastry is quite common but longer to make, I personally admit often hesitating to get into a homemade puff pastry. Doesn’t it be worth Better a good short or shortbread dough homemade Rather than a puff pastry of the trade? No judgment here, do as you wish.

First step, rush the dough

Start by making the pie doughspread it and place it in your mold. Dark the dough in the mold be whole by positioning thedough on the edges which are quite high, either by putting at the bottom a circle of the diameter of your mold and a strip of 4 cm or the thickness of the edge all around. You will then gently weld the disc to the band with your fingers.

Avoid this strip technique for strip for the puff pastry which would risk being sealed.

Once your pie dough is well placed in your mold, place it in the freezer time to prepare the flan device. This step is optional but gives a better rendering.

For the flan device

1. The flan apparatus designates the mixture of ingredients which will serve as a basis for a preparation.
2. Use some Ingredients at room temperature.
3. Choose whole milk and 30% grass materiale.
4. We use an ingredient that will allowthicken the deviceas for a pastry cream. Here cornstarch But pastry chefs often use Flane powder more difficult to find in the trade.
5. For eggs, we use average eggs heres. I give you this indication because in pastry, you must be precise.
   An average egg generally weighs 60 gr. By removing the shell (about 5 gr) there are 55 gr of whole egg including 20 gr of yellow and 35 gr of white.
   However, you can use large eggs, your blank will be a little richer. If you use small caliber eggs, increase the number or opt for the weighing technique.
6. Be very generous in vanilla.

2. For a plain flanmake the same recipe by removing vanilla. The blank can be made without dough in a well buttered and floured dish.
   For a chocolate versionadd 5 to 10 gr of bitter cocoa powder.
3. The device can be prepared the day before And kept in the refrigerator filmed in contact so that a crust is not formed on top.
   It seems that we get a more beautiful blank with a beautiful well golden film on the top as well. I have not yet been able to make the comparison.
4. Pour the apparatus with a cold flan or at the maximum at room temperature on the dough which has passed in the freezer.
   Variation: Another way of doing things that I have not yet tested is not to freeze the dough but to place the flan ready to cook for 1 hour in the refrigerator before putting in the oven.
5. For Smooth the blank top before cookingyou can use either a small pastry spatula, or a maryse, or a tablespoon that you will have previously passed under hot water.
6. Make cooked first at normal temperature, 180 ° C, then 5 minutes at the end at high temperature, 230 ° C, to obtain this pretty color on top.
   We see everything in recipes in terms of temperature and cooking time, I am the advice of chef Ju Chamalo by increasing the durations a little because I double the quantities.
7. Let rest before serving. This time is necessary for the device to freeze and to be held well. Be patient!
8. On the other hand Take the flan of the refrigerator for 15 minutes before its tasting So that it is not too cold and you can enjoy a good texture and the aromas of vanilla.

Material side

Sources: We will taste. Recipe and advice inspired by Ju Chamalo in his book “Mes Flans Pâtissiers” by Editions de la Martinière.