Vanilla Flan Recipe

Preparation of the shortcrust pastry: Place 125 g of flour, 1 g of salt, and 65 g of powdered sugar in the bowl of the stand mixer, fitted with the dough hook or paddle attachment. Add 60 g of soft butter cut into pieces. After a while, the mixture will resemble sand. Add the egg and continue to work until a ball begins to form. As soon as the dough ball forms, stop working it, otherwise it will become too firm and shrink during baking.

Place the dough ball on plastic wrap, flatten it slightly. Wrap it and refrigerate. It is always better to make the dough the day before using it.

Preparation of the flan mixture In a saucepan, combine 450 g of semi-skimmed milk and 130 g of whole cream. Add 4 vanilla pods, split and scraped. If you do not have vanilla pods, you can use vanilla powder (about ½ teaspoon). Cover the saucepan with plastic wrap. Gently bring the mixture in the saucepan to a boil, keeping the plastic wrap on. When the mixture begins to boil, remove from heat and let infuse for 1 hour.

In a mixing bowl, combine 120 g of granulated sugar and 45 g of cornstarch. Add 120 g of whole eggs and 80 g of egg yolks. Whisk until the mixture lightens in color. Bring the vanilla milk back to a boil after removing the film covering the pot. Strain the milk and pour the boiling milk all at once over the sugar/egg mixture, whisking until the preparation thickens slightly. Then return the mixture to the pot and continue to thicken it over medium heat while stirring constantly. Blend with an immersion blender. Pour into a mixing bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let cool in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Assembly Roll out the dough to a thickness of 5 mm. Line a greased and floured round mold that is 16 to 18 cm in diameter and 4 cm high. Return the mold with the dough to the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Then, whip the cream to soften it, pour the mixture onto the dough base, and trim the excess dough to 3 mm above the cream. Let the filling set in the freezer for 2 hours.

Cooking Preheat the oven to 175°C. Bake the flan for 40 to 45 minutes (adjust according to your oven). Check the doneness by inserting the tip of a knife, which should come out clean. To make it shinier, you can sprinkle icing sugar on top halfway through baking and brush it lightly with a wet brush. Let it cool to room temperature. Enjoyed warm, it will maintain the maximum creaminess in the mouth. However, it will also be excellent at room temperature or cold.