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!
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Flan Parisien
- Serves 8
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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
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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)
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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.
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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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August 9th, 2010 at 11:41 pm
This looks just beautiful! Can you please bring some over to my house?
August 10th, 2010 at 12:05 am
Beautiful! I’ve never made a flan Parisienne before but have a sneaking suspicion I will be in the near future
August 10th, 2010 at 12:40 am
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.
August 10th, 2010 at 12:41 am
I love the caramelizey-burnished top! it looks gorgeously delicious!
August 10th, 2010 at 12:57 am
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”).
August 10th, 2010 at 1:09 am
this is just too pretty to be eaten!
I can already imagine it melting in my mouth on the first bite! :3~
August 10th, 2010 at 3:18 am
Yum ! I might give this a try – the apricot glaze is amazing.
August 10th, 2010 at 3:37 am
Lordy! Bookmarked. Actually, forget the bookmark. I’m printing this out and making it NOW.
August 10th, 2010 at 7:28 am
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.
August 10th, 2010 at 1:40 pm
Thanks. Now my eye is twitching.
August 10th, 2010 at 2:20 pm
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.
August 10th, 2010 at 3:28 pm
Around here, we call that a milk tart. Whateva the name, one 1 slice is just never enough!
August 10th, 2010 at 4:39 pm
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!
August 10th, 2010 at 9:45 pm
I miss when you don’t post often, but this makes up for it!
August 11th, 2010 at 4:45 am
Looks delicious and much better than some of the flans that are in some boulangeries here.
August 11th, 2010 at 8:11 am
How absolutely breathtaking! It sounds just like my sort of tart!
August 11th, 2010 at 1:26 pm
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.
August 11th, 2010 at 5:10 pm
This is beautiful!
August 11th, 2010 at 6:07 pm
This looks so mouthwatering! I love custards and this one has got my eye twitching now!
August 12th, 2010 at 1:17 am
Looks wonderful
August 13th, 2010 at 2:19 am
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!
August 13th, 2010 at 9:16 pm
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
August 15th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
Love it. Looks good sweet guy!
August 15th, 2010 at 3:11 pm
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!
August 15th, 2010 at 7:17 pm
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
August 16th, 2010 at 7:41 am
J’entends ta mémé hurler d’ici “comment, du glaçage sur mon flan? Vinjiou #%$$#”
August 16th, 2010 at 5:24 pm
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!
August 16th, 2010 at 10:11 pm
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!!!
August 24th, 2010 at 10:29 am
Haha clumbsy, feeling competitive huh?? For me all’s good, ours and yours.
gotta love them. woot!
September 10th, 2010 at 8:43 pm
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.
September 11th, 2010 at 3:52 am
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.
September 23rd, 2010 at 6:50 am
oh my goodness! that looks amazing
March 27th, 2011 at 4:35 pm
This flan looks fantastic… nice blog, will check back once in a while.