Flan Parisien

It’s hard not to come across a bakery in Paris that doesn’t sell large slices of the popular Flan Parisien (also known as flan pâtissier) with its delicious thick custard browned on top and a buttery pâte brisée on the bottom. This flan couldn’t be any simpler, quicker or delicious and can only get better after spending the night in the refrigerator.

You could think of it as the “not-so-distant” cousin of the delicious Portuguese egg custard tart so popular in Portugal and all over Asia under the code name Tan-Ta. Ah, the calories! After coming back to New York i knew the craving would get worse. And get worse, it did!  At least that’s how i interpret the eye twitch every time i catch a glimpse of the dry pignoli cookies in the window of my local bakery.

So for medical reason i had to make my own version, to see if at last, it would take care of that damn eye twitch. I couldn’t resist scrapping half a tahitian vanilla bean into the custard but consider that ‘over the top’ for this simple and humble flan. I, or even you could get slapped by my grandmother for it. So add it discretely, and at your own risk.

As for my medical craving, i think i temporarily took care of it. Not sure how long the relief will last though.

In the meantime, enjoy!

  • Flan Parisien

  • Serves 8
    • For the pate brisee:
    • 2 1/4 cups flour
    • 3/4 cup butter, softened
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1 teaspoon sugar
    • 1 egg yolk
    • 3 tablespoons milk
    • For the flan patissier:
    • 3  cup milk
    • 1/2 cup water
    • 4 eggs
    • 1 3/4 cup powdered sugar
    • 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons cornstarch
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1/2 vanilla bean (seeds only)
    • apricot jam for glazing (optional)
    • For the pate brisee:
    • Sift the flour in a large bowl.
    • In another bowk, mix the butter with a spatula to a creamy consistency. Add the salt, sugar and egg yolk and mix well. Add the milk and mix.
    • Add the flour to the butter mixture and mix with your hands until you obtain a dough with smooth consistency.
    • Wrap it in cling wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
    • For the flan Parisien:
    • Butter an 8-inch wide & 1 1/4-inch tall pie dish.
    • Roll out the pate brisee and line the pie dish. Refrigerate until ready to use.
    • Preheat oven to 350’F
    • Combine the milk, water and vanilla in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, the sugar and the cornstarch. Add the mixture to the hot milk in a steady stream while whisking. Keep whisking until the mixture thickens and starts to boil. Remove from the heat.
    • Let the custard cool for 10 minutes before pouring it in the pie dish.
    • Bake for 1 hour, until set and brown on top. Cool and refrigerate overnight. Glaze with apricot jam.
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  • http://tokyoterrace.com/2009/11/04/argentine-empanadas/ Tokyo Terrace

    This looks just beautiful! Can you please bring some over to my house? 😉

  • Liren

    Beautiful! I’ve never made a flan Parisienne before but have a sneaking suspicion I will be in the near future 😉

  • http://lemonsandanchovies.wordpress.com/ Jean

    I have a renewed appreciation for flan–took for granted my mother’s version which is great. Yours looks just as appealing. Can’t wait to try it in September.

  • http://cakeonthebrain.blogspot.com cakebrain

    I love the caramelizey-burnished top! it looks gorgeously delicious!

  • http://the-wynk.net melissa

    This looks absolutely gorgeous.

    On a related note, I love your medical justification. It reminds me of my family’s euphemism for going out for ice cream (“going for some calcium”).

  • http://annna.net annna

    this is just too pretty to be eaten!

    I can already imagine it melting in my mouth on the first bite! :3~

  • Heather

    Yum ! I might give this a try – the apricot glaze is amazing.

  • http://blog.lemonpi.net Y

    Lordy! Bookmarked. Actually, forget the bookmark. I’m printing this out and making it NOW.

  • http://www.6bittersweets.com Xiaolu

    The moment I saw this, I knew I had to have it. Bookmarked! Glad you took care of that eye problem ;p. I bet this mouthwatering tart takes care of all sorts of ailments haha.

  • http://baconandrhubarb.blogspot.com Rachel (S[d]OC)

    Thanks. Now my eye is twitching.

  • http://kitchen-em.blogspot.com Kitchen M

    So simple and classic! It also seems a tad healthier than some of the Asian kind that’s made with heavy cream. Thank you for the recipe. I’ll try making it over the weekend. :)

  • http://www.my-easy-cooking.com nina

    Around here, we call that a milk tart. Whateva the name, one 1 slice is just never enough!

  • http://joylicious.net Joy

    what a beautiful flan zen :) The caramelized sugar on top made me instantly salivate, I am bookmarking this for when my mother comes in town — i think she’d love it!

  • http://www.bunkycooks.com/ bunkycooks

    I miss when you don’t post often, but this makes up for it!

  • http://www.wheelsandlollipops.com/2010/07/double-chocolate-cupcakes.html Sharlene (Wheels and Lollipops)

    Looks delicious and much better than some of the flans that are in some boulangeries here.

  • http://www.notquitenigella.com Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella

    How absolutely breathtaking! It sounds just like my sort of tart! 😛

  • http://www.mattikaarts.com/blog matt

    This is right up my alley – lovely looking flan. The apricot glaze has got to make this thing just perfect :)

    Lovely writing too mate, great humor and tone.

  • http://www.pigpigscorner.com pigpigscorner

    This is beautiful!

  • http://www.thekitchenslave.com Cynthia

    This looks so mouthwatering! I love custards and this one has got my eye twitching now!

  • http://www.theardentepicure.com/ Magic of Spice

    Looks wonderful :)

  • http://www.gourmetbaking.blogspot.com Bertha

    This has got to be the most perfect flan tart I’ve ever seen. It makes me happy just to look at it. I am definitely adding this to my list of things to make. Great capture too, perfect to capture the shininess, beautiful!

  • http://www.foodista.com/profile/CNSRCQZ8/amy-b Amy B.

    Omg this looks heavenly! We call this egg pie in the Philippines, or egg tart. If it’s not made into a pie, and just the custard flan, we call it leche flan or caramel flan. But whatever form or name it takes, I sure do love this food!!! YUM!

    Photos look great to! I’d love to share this to our readers in Foodista if you don’t mind. Just add the foodista widget for flan at the end of this post, and that should do it! Thanks and keep on sharing! xx

    Cheers from Australia,
    Amy @ Foodista

  • http://www.flanboyanteats.com Bren

    Love it. Looks good sweet guy!

  • http://www.clumbsycookie.blogspot.com clumbsycookie

    Oh please don’t compare it with our custard tarts! Ours are way better!!! Well well, this one looks amazing! The pictures are incredible my little French person friend!

  • http://www.ouichefnetwork.com Oui, Chef

    You’re right, these grace the shelves of every decent bakery in Paris, so why is it I’ve never tried a slice? What a fool I am, this looks delicious and will certainly a treat the kids and I will be making soon. Thx – S

  • http://colloquialcooking.com Colloquial Cook

    J’entends ta mémé hurler d’ici “comment, du glaçage sur mon flan? Vinjiou #%$$#”

  • http://www.stirthepots Jeremy

    Here in Ecuador eating shrimp,plantain and rice,not one flan to be seen!! I resort to sneaking a spoon of nutella now and then, can’t wait to get back home and make faln Pattisier!

  • http://rasamalaysia.com Rasa Malaysia

    Zen – I had this in Cannes, yes, every patisserie has it. It’s so different but delicious! Talking about egg custard, OMG, I am such a hopeless baker, but I think I had finally happy with the tan-ta recipe in my cookbook. PHEW!!! BAKING is hard and I have a huge respect for people who can cook and bake, such as yourself!!!

  • http://www.foodista.com/profile/CNSRCQZ8/amy-b Amy B.

    Haha clumbsy, feeling competitive huh?? For me all’s good, ours and yours. 😀 gotta love them. woot!

  • Jonny @ WANF

    funnily enough, I was bemoaning the way Anthony Bourdain completely ignored Parisien patisseries in his recent 100th episode jamboree for exactly the reasons you outline. It’s almost impossible, even for those of us with only very slight sweet-tooths (teeth?), to pass them by. Apart from the expert execution, stunning photography, not to mention shady use of Tahitian vanilla beans, this flan resembles hardly at all the basque custard tart we made last Christmas. I suppose in ethos it may have born some similarity, especially the creme patissiere filling, and the fact that I’m now jonesing for a slice but chained to my frickin’ desk.

  • Anonymous

    haha.. Great comment, Jonny. If i could i would deliver a slice to your frickin’ desk! You surely deserve it. Hope all is well with you guys.

  • http://theboogieblog.net/ boogie

    oh my goodness! that looks amazing

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jonathan-Van-Dalen/635958687 Jonathan Van Dalen

    This flan looks fantastic… nice blog, will check back once in a while.

  • Michele

    J’AI BESOIN DE LA RECETTE EN GRAMMES 😀 I NEED THE RECIPE IN GRAMMES 😀

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=3620562 Carly Prather

    I made this and it was awful. I like to think of myself as a fairly competent baker and it was no good. bummer!
    c’était mauvais!