Flan pastry chef by Cyril Lignac:a generous and very creamy recipe ("Without eggs and with a good taste of vanilla!")

Pastry flan or flan tart is a traditional pastry very popular ! Whether as a snack or as a dessert, we enjoy the fondant of its mixture based on milk, eggs, sugar, starch and vanilla, and the crispness of its dough. A regressive and gourmet cake that children adore and that adults acclaim all over the world. The proof, it is available in Portugal with the pastéis de nata, in Italy with the pasticciotto, in England with the custard tart and even in Asia. For the record, the flan was born in England, in the Middle Ages, for royal tables. It was notably served during the coronation of Henri IV, according to the chronicle "Historically Yours" by Olivier Poels on Europe 1 .

What dough is used to make a pastry flan?

Making a good pastry flan is not as easy as it seems. Often when we make it at home our flan is completely flat or it is its consistency that is a little weird. According to pastry chef Cyril Lignac , at the microphone of RTL , “there are many ways to do it, you can use many types of pasta” . You can opt for a sweet shortcrust pastry , which will have the merit of being melting but also crumbly, or for a puff pastry . The latter is the chef's favorite because it brings more crunch to the dessert. In addition, Cyril Lignac also advises to "slightly sweeten the sides, so that the dough caramelizes" slightly.

Chef Cyril Lignac's tip for making a light pastry flan

Chef Cyril Lignac’s tip to obtain a soft pastry flan inside is to do not use eggs in his flan machine. With this technique, the dessert is ultra airy. It is prepared only with milk, which certainly makes it less creamy, but the flavors are intact.

Cyril Lignac-style pastry flan recipe

To make a delicious airy pastry flan you will need:

• 1 puff pastry
• 500 ml whole milk
• 1 Bourbon vanilla pod
• 150 ml full cream
• 150 g of sugar
• 90g cornflour or flan powder

Preparation steps:

1. Preheat your oven to 175°C (thermostat 4).
2. The day before, in a saucepan, heat the milk until it simmers, then add the scraped vanilla pod and its seeds. Let steep for several minutes. Reserve overnight in the refrigerator, the aromas will absorb.
3. Lightly caramelize your puff pastry in the oven, in a buttered mold, with a little sugar for 5 minutes.
4. Heat the vanilla-infused milk, adding the sugar and cornstarch. Stir constantly until you get a pastry cream without eggs.
5. Pour the flan mixture into the batter.
6. Bake everything in the oven at 175°C for 1h30.
7. Watch the cooking of your flan carefully, without opening the door of your oven to prevent your cake from deflating. When it comes out, the top should be a little amber and the pastry golden. Enjoy!

Also read:

Panna cotta by Cyril Lignac:a creamy and light recipe without gelatin ("It melts in your mouth!")

Cookies from Cyril Lignac:an ultra-gourmet and very simple recipe ("They are so good!")

Yogurt cake by Cyril Lignac:a super easy recipe for an extra soft result!