Fantastic Flan Pie Recipes

FLAN PATISSIER (FRENCH CUSTARD PIE)

Steps:

• For the pastry, combine flour, butter, potato starch, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and process until it has the consistency of sand.
• Combine milk and egg yolk in a small bowl. Add to the flour mixture and mix by hand until the mixture is evenly moistened. Do not overwork the pastry. Wrap pastry dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Grease and flour a 9-inch springform pan.
• For the filling, combine milk, 1/2 of the sugar and split and scraped vanilla bean in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat once milk boils.
• While the milk is heating, whisk eggs and remaining sugar in a large bowl until well combined. Stir in cream and cornstarch, and whisk until well blended.
• Whisk egg mixture into the cooled milk, stirring constantly.
• Return everything back into the saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat, whisking constantly to prevent eggs from setting. As soon as custard begins to thicken, remove from heat and whisk constantly for a few minutes while it cools.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Remove pastry from the refrigerator. Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface into a circle large enough to cover the bottom and sides of the springform pan. Line a springform pan and sides with the pastry and pierce several times with a fork. Store in the refrigerator until filling is cooled down enough.
• Briefly beat cooled pastry cream with an electric mixer to smooth it out. Pour into the pastry shell and even out the surface with a spatula.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Increase temperature to 470 degrees F (240 degrees C) for an additional 10 minutes to brown the surface, making sure the custard does not burn. To speed up browning the top you can also place on a rack closer to the top.
• Remove pie from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate cooled custard pie for 4 hours before serving.
• To unmold, run the blade of a knife along the inside of the mold, to loosen the flan. Then carefully remove the ring off from the springform pan.

FLAN-TASTIC FLAN (IN A PAN!)

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350
• 2. Blend together: sweetened condensed milk, whole milk, eggs, vanilla and salt in blender until frothy on top. May have to do it in two batches. If so, mix half of everything in one batch and the remaining half in the second batch so you get a uniform mixture. Set aside.
• 3. Place DRY sugar in heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, stir sugar constantly until it melts and turns golden brown. This takes awhile and the sugar will get all lumpy before it melts. Just keep stirring and do NOT add water. When it reaches a light-medium golden color...pull it off the stove (if you brown the sugar too much it will turn bitter and you'll have to chuck it and start over, so be careful.)
• 4. IMMEDIATELY pour the caramelized sugar into an UNGREASED 7 1/2 x 12 inch glass baking dish* to coat bottom of dish evenly. You have to work quickly as this sets up really fast. Let sugar-coated baking dish cool on counter to room temperature. As the sugar cools, it will crack. Don't worry, it's not your dish cracking...just the sugar.
• 5. Pour egg/milk mixture into dish over cooled sugar. Place filled dish in 1-inch water bath**. Cover with tented aluminum foil and crimp edges around dish. Be careful that foil does not touch top of flan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours or until knife comes clean when inserted. Remove foil and continue baking, uncovered, for 10-15 additional minutes until top of flan is lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool to room temp. Cover with tented foil (can use toothpicks to hold foil off top of flan) and refrigerate until cold (overnight is best).
• 6. * May use individual ramekins if preferred. May also use a 9x13 pan but you will need to increase the recipe by about 1/2.
• 7. **to make water bath (aka "Bain Marie"), use disposable aluminum roasting pan (or a regular roasting pan) that is at least a couple of inches larger around than the baking dish. Fill with hot water about 1 inch or so up the side of baking dish. You will periodically need to refill water bath to maintain adequate level during baking process.