My husband and I recently got back from a quick trip to Europe — a real whirlwind tour, racing through everything at breakneck speed. We spent time in France, and had just 7 hours to see Paris. We managed to hit the sights, but there was no time for tasting French culinary masterpieces — we only got to try macarons (by the way, there's a recipe on Kamelist: Macaron Cookies). As a food blogger, that was pretty disappointing! So when I got home, I decided to make something French to fill that gap — and that's why today I'm sharing a recipe for Parisian flan. This is one version of a classic French pastry, made with either puff pastry or shortcrust, and filled with a custard of milk, heavy cream, and egg yolks. Vanilla is the traditional flavoring, though you'll also find versions with lemon zest, caramel, and so on. I went with a shortcrust base and a vanilla filling. I used a vanilla bean so the dessert would have those beautiful little black specks when sliced, and added 3 drops of vanilla extract for extra fragrance — in my opinion, a vanilla bean alone doesn't give quite enough aroma, but that's just my take. You can absolutely use just the bean, or simply add a packet of vanilla sugar, and it'll be just as delicious (just without those magical black specks in the cross-section ?). The result is an incredibly delicate, delicious dessert — a thin, crispy, buttery shortcrust paired with a silky, melt-in-your-mouth vanilla cream layer. It turned out so good, I loved it, and my taste testers were definitely asking for seconds!
Ingredients:
- Crust:
- 150 g flour
- 80 g butter
- 20 g powdered sugar
- 1-2 tbsp cold water
- a pinch of salt
- Filling:
- 500 ml milk
- 200 ml heavy cream 30-33%
- 150 g sugar
- 60 g cornstarch
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 vanilla bean (or a packet of vanilla sugar)
How to cook Parisian flan
Place the flour, powdered sugar, and salt in a food processor and mix. Add the butter cut into small pieces (straight from the refrigerator).
Pulse in the food processor until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the cold water and pulse again.
Bring the dough together, then shape it into a ball (don't overwork it — just knead as little as possible to bring it together). Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Make the filling. Pour the milk and heavy cream into a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise, scrape out the seeds, and add both the seeds and the pod to the saucepan. Heat until hot but not boiling, then cover and let steep for 10–15 minutes. If you're using vanilla sugar, skip this heating and steeping step. Those 10–15 minutes are needed to infuse the milk mixture with vanilla flavor. If using vanilla sugar, simply warm the milk and cream until warm.
Pour the warm milk through a strainer (to catch any remaining pod pieces) into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan.
Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the cream thickens considerably. At the end, I added 3 drops of vanilla extract. Transfer the cream to a clean bowl and press plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming.
Prepare your pan or ring mold — I used an 18 cm ring. Roll out the dough, transfer it using a rolling pin, and press it into the mold evenly.
Line with parchment paper (I crumple it thoroughly first so it lies more evenly). Fill with pie weights so they cover both the bottom and the sides. Dried beans or peas work great for this — they keep the dough from puffing up and the sides from slipping down during baking. You can save the beans in a separate jar and reuse them for the same purpose. Bake in an oven preheated to 180°C (350°F) for 10–15 minutes.
Remove from the oven, spread the cream filling evenly over the crust. Trim the edges if you'd like them level with the cream. Return to the oven and bake at the same temperature for another 50–60 minutes. Toward the end of baking, the cream will still have a slight jiggle, and the top will develop a characteristic golden-brown color — that means it's done!
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