Summer 2024

Parisian
Custard Tart
Everyone in France nurses a little fondness for
the Parisian flan, or flan pâtissier. This simple
custard tart can be found in every French
boulangerie and patisserie, with a pastry cream
texture that ranges from rubbery to velvety
smooth. In French restaurants, chefs are now
taking the flan up a notch by experimenting with
dark sugars and exotic vanilla flavors. For home
cooking, I’ve aimed to keep the recipe as simple
and delicious as possible without sacrificing taste
and texture. We’ll use a fresh vanilla bean, whole
milk, cream and short crust for a deliciously
creamy flan with a buttery, flaky crust.
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
1 premade puff pastry sheet
15.2 fl oz (450 ml) whole milk
5 fl oz (150 ml) heavy cream
1 fresh vanilla pod, split in half lengthwise with
the seeds scraped
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
4.5 oz (130 g) sugar
1.8 oz (50 g) cornstarch
2 tbsp (30 g) salted butter
1 tbsp (15 ml) pure maple syrup,
to glaze (optional)
Note
Double the
ingredients for
a 10-inch (25-
cm)–diameter
springform
cake pan.
Reprinted with permission from
French Cooking Academy by
Stephane Nguyen with Kate Blenkiron.
Page Street Publishing Co. 2023.
Photo credit: Kate Blenkiron
METHOD
In a large saucepan, combine the milk and
cream and place over medium heat. Add
the vanilla pod and bring the mixture to a
simmer, stirring from time to time.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together
the egg, egg yolk and sugar until the mixture
becomes a pale-yellow color, then gently
blend in the cornstarch.
As soon as the milk mixture starts to simmer,
turn off the heat and discard the vanilla pod.
Strain half of the milk mixture through a sieve
into the egg mixture and whisk to combine
before pouring in the rest. Give the custard a
gentle stir, taking care not to whisk too hard,
to prevent it becoming too foamy.
Pour the custard into the same saucepan
used to heat the milk and place over medium
heat. Whisk constantly, but gently, for 3 to
5 minutes, or until the custard thickens and
starts to boil. When it does, adjust the heat to
low and continue to cook for 2 minutes, then
turn off the heat and incorporate the butter.
Remove the cake pan from the freezer and
scrape the warm pastry cream into the pastry
casing, smoothing evenly with a spatula.
Place the cake pan on the middle shelf of
the oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until
the surface of the flan is golden with large
brown patches. Remove from the oven and
allow the flan to cool at room temperature
before placing it in the fridge for at least 3
hours, ideally overnight. The flan must be
completely cold before it’s unmolded. Brush
the top of the flan with some maple syrup (if
using) to provide some shine before serving.
Mise en place
Grease the inside of an 8-inch (20-cm)-
diameter round springform cake pan, dust
lightly with flour and then line it with the
pastry so that it covers the bottom and the
sides. Keep the cake pan in the freezer until
the pastry is rock solid. Preheat the oven to
340°F (170°C).
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