This Parisian Flan, aka "Flan Pâtissier" in French, is a classic French Dessert that is deliciously creamy. This French Baked Custard Tart is perfect for a dinner party dessert or afternoon tea.
[feast_advanced_jump_to]Why we love this recipe
This Parisian Flan is such a classic dessert you'll find in every French Pâtisseries - and it's a classic for a good reason: it's simply delicious!
It is one of those super comforting dessert that brings back so many childhood memories if you grew up there. I remember picking up a slice from the local bakery after school every other week - precious memories!
Combining a crispy, buttery Sweet Shortcrust Pastry ("Pâte Sucrée") and a thick baked Pastry Cream style filling, this custard tart is packed with Vanilla and has an incredibly creamy, luscious texture.
It is a great dessert for afternoon tea or to prepare for a dinner party dessert. It is best prepared in advance too!
Ingredients
This French Flan Tart combines two elements: a Shortcrust Pastry (I used a Pâte Sucrée here but it is sometimes also made with Puff Pastry) and a Vanilla Custard.
Scroll down to recipe card below for quantities.
Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
- Wet Ingredients: Unsalted Butter (soft, at room temperature) and an Egg (at room temperature as well)
- Dry Ingredients: Plain/AP Flour, Confectioner's Sugar (or Powdered Sugar), Almond Meal and a little bit of Salt.
Vanilla Custard Filling
- Eggs: medium size and at room temperature.
- Sugar: Caster Sugar or Fine White Granulated Sugar. Note that this recipe is not overly sweet - if you like sweeter dessert, feel free to increase the sugar quantity.
- Cornstarch (or Corn Flour): make sure it is sifted. It will work with Plain/AP Flour as well, but I find that Cornstarch give a lighter texture to the baked custard.
- Cream: Heavy/Thickened Cream
- Vanilla: I used Vanilla Paste, but it is even better if you can use a fresh Vanilla Bean. Vanilla Paste is the best alternative to expensive Vanilla Bean in my opinion. Alternatively, you can use Vanilla Essence/Extract but you will loose in flavour.
- Milk: use Full Cream (Wholemilk) for the best flavours. You can also use a flavoured plant-based milk like Coconut Milk or Almond Milk if you wanted to slightly change the flavours of the dessert!
Optional Additions
The Vanilla Flan is the most classic flavour of this dessert, but you can actually make a French Flan with lots of different flavours too like Chocolate, Berries or even Coffee!
How to make French Flan Tart
There are two main parts of this recipe: preparing the shortcrust pastry then the vanilla custard filling.
Sweet Shortcrust Pastry (Pâte Sucrée)
If you are making your own pastry, you will want to start there. The pastry itself can be made ahead and kept in the fridge unbaked or even frozen.
- Photo 1: place the soft butter and powdered sugar in the bowl of your mixer and cream it for about a minute (or until combined). No need to mix it for long here, we are not trying to add air into the pastry.
- Photo 2: add the Egg and Almond Meal and mix until combined.
- Photo 3: add the sifted Flour and Salt.
- Photo 4: mix on slow until just combined; try to not overwork the pastry as we are trying to avoid developing any gluten.
The dough will be very soft at this point, it's normal.
- Photo 5: divide the pastry in two equal parts. Place them between two sheets of baking paper each and roll them thinly with a rolling pin, about 2 to 3mm (1/16 to 1/8 inch). The pastry need to be quite thin or your won't have enough.
The first part of the pastry should be rolled wide enough to fill the bottom of the Pastry Ring. The second part should be shaped more into a long rectangle as we will cut out strips of pastry to create the edges of the crust.
I used a 25 cm wide x 5 cm high (10 inch wide x 2 inch high) Pastry Ring. You can use a Deep Dish tart or pie dish as well if preferred.
- Place them in the fridge to chill and rest for at least 1 hour - or up to 24 hours. They can also be frozen at this point if you want to prepare the pastry in advance.
- Photo 6: with the 25 cm / 10 inch Pastry Ring, cut out the first dough to create the bottom of the curst. I like to cut it directly onto the line baking tray I will use to bake the Parisian Flan.
- Photo 7: with the second dough, cut out long strips that are as high as your pastry ring. Try to cut them as long as possible.
- Photo 8: use the strips of dough to create the edges of the crust, slightly overlapping each strip and pressing on the seam to connect them. Gently press on the corner between the bottom and sides to make sure they are touching and avoid any leakage. Cut out any excess pastry with a small sharp knife.
- Place back in the fridge to chill and rest for at least 1 hour - or up to 24 hours. I like to freeze it for 15 minutes just before filling and baking it as well to insure it is really cold when it gets into the oven.
Once the pastry is ready and has chilled, it's time to prepare the cream filling.
Custard Filling
- Preheat your oven on 200’C/390’F.
- Photo 9: in a large heat-proof mixing bowl, whisk together the Eggs and Sugar until combined. No need to whisk it for long here - we are not trying to add air into the batter.
- Photo 10: mix in the Cornstarch, preferably sifted to avoid lumps.
- Photo 11: whisk in the Cream.
- Photo 12: add the Vanilla Paste.
Note that if you are using a fresh Vanilla Bean, you will want to add it to the Milk in step 13. First, cut the Vanilla Beans in half and scrap the seeds. Add both the pods and seeds to the Milk. Heat it up, then turn off the the heat, cover the pot and let it infuse for 20 minutes. Re-heat it up slightly before continuing with step 14.
- Photo 13: place the Milk in a large pot. Heat it up on low until it starts to simmer.
- Photo 14: pour the hot Milk over the Egg/Sugar/Cornstarch mix while continuously whisking to temper the Eggs.
- Photo 15: Whisk well until combined, then transfer it all back into the pot on the stove. Cook on low to medium low heat until the liquid starts to thicken, continuously whisking to avoid lumps.
- Photo 16: pour the custard filling inside the rested shortcrust pastry.
- Place it in the oven and drop the temperature to 180'C/350'F. Bake for about 50 minutes, or until the skin on top of the baked custard is golden brown. The custard should be still slightly moving when you move the tray - it will set when it chills.
- Remove the Parisian Flan from the oven and leave to cool down at room temperature for about 1 hour, then place in the fridge to chill for at least 3 hours - preferably overnight.
Recipe FAQs
The main difference is that the French version is baked inside a tart crust while the Spanish version is a pudding-like baked custard, usually baked in a water bath. The ingredients are pretty close, but the Spanish version usually does not have Cornstarch in it and is made with Milk only.
The French have a similar version of the Spanish Flan called "Crème Caramel" (sometimes also called just "Flan").
Yes, Flan Pâtissiers are often made with Puff Pastry too. I personally prefer a shortcrust pastry, especially because you are not blind-baking any of the pastry here and the bottom of the pastry might remain raw if using puff pastry.
Absolutely, you can use a store-bought shortcrust pastry if preferred (but you might need to use two depending on their sizes).
Yes, it's actually even better when made in advance! The Parisian Flan needs to rest for at least 3 hours in the fridge after you bake it, but it is recommended to leave in the fridge overnight.
The pastry itself can also be prepared in advance and kept in the fridge (either when just rolled or when lining the pastry ring) for 24 hours - or even be frozen.
Tips & Troubleshooting
- Don't skip the resting/chilling time for the pastry - the longer it rests, the best results you will get! This is to allow for the gluten to fully relax and the butter the be very cold, which will insure the shells don't shrink, move or collapse in the oven.
- Try not to over-whisk the custard batter to avoid adding too much air. Too much air bubbles will make the custard rise in the oven and potentially collapse once you take it out.
- If the custard gets lumpy after you cook it, try to whisk it vigorously to break out any lumps first. If that does not work, pour it through a sieve to remove any large lumps and/or use an immersion blender on its lowest speed to blend it and smooth it out.
- You can also flavour the custard filling with other ingredients (or even fruits) like Coffee (infuse it in the milk when heating up), Chocolate, Citrus Zest, Orange Blossom Water or even Alcohol!
Storing & Freezing
Once baked, this Parisian Flan should be kept in the fridge until ready to serve. For the best creamy texture, make sure to rest it in the fridge for as long as possible (overnight is the best).
It will last for up to 3 days in the fridge but I recommend eating it within 24 to 48 hours.
I don't recommend freezing this French Flan, but the pastry itself can be prepared in advance and frozen for a couple of months. It can be frozen either after being rolled between two sheets of baking paper or once it is line in the pastry ring (if you are going to be using it within a few days).
More French Tarts
- Strawberry Custard Tart
- Chocolate Ganache Tart
- Orange Cream Tart
- Rhubarb Custard Tart
- Peach Galette
- French Apple Tart
- Baked Chocolate Tart
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Recipe
Parisian Flan (Flan Pâtissier)
Ingredients
Sweet Shortcrust Pastry (Pâte Sucrée)
- 100 gr (6 1/2 tablesp.) Unsalted Butter very soft
- 40 gr (1/3 cup) Confectioner's Sugar or Powdered Sugar
- 1 Egg at room temperature
- 40 gr (1/4 cup + 1 tablesp.) Almond Meal
- 1 pinch Table Salt
- 200 gr (1 1/3 cup) Plain / AP Flour
Vanilla Custard
- 5 Eggs at room temperature
- 100 gr (1/2 cup) Caster Sugar or fine white granulated sugar
- 100 gr (3/4 cup + 1 tablesp.) Cornstarch sifted
- 250 ml (1 cup) Heavy / Thickened Cream
- 2 teasp. Vanilla Paste or two fresh vanilla bean pods
- 1000 ml (4 cups) Full Cream Milk (Wholemilk)
Instructions
Sweet Shortcrust Pastry (Pâte Sucrée)
- Place the soft butter and Confectioner's Sugar in the bowl of your mixer and cream it until just combined. Mix in the Egg and Almond Meal.100 gr (6 1/2 tablesp.) Unsalted Butter, 40 gr (1/3 cup) Confectioner's Sugar, 1 Egg, 40 gr (1/4 cup + 1 tablesp.) Almond Meal
- Add the Salt and Flour and mix on the lowest speed until just combined.1 pinch Table Salt, 200 gr (1 1/3 cup) Plain / AP Flour
- Divide the pastry in two equal parts. Place them each between two sheets of baking paper each and roll them thinly, about 2 to 3mm or 1/16 to 1/8 inch (see note 1). Place in the fridge to chill and rest for at least 1 hour.
- Prepare a large baking tray and line if with a sheet of baking paper or a baking mat. With the first rolled pastry, cut out the bottom of the crust with a 25 cm / 10 inch Pastry Ring (see note 2).
- With the second rolled pastry, cut out long strips that are as high as your pastry ring. Place the strips of pastry against the edges of the pastry ring to create the sides of the crust. Slightly overlap each strip and press on the seam to connect them. Gently press on the corner between the bottom and sides to make sure they are touching and avoid any leakage. Cut out any excess pastry with a small sharp knife.
- Place back in the fridge to chill and rest for at least 1 hour - or up to 24 hours.
Vanilla Custard
- Preheat your oven on 200’C/390’F.
- In a large heat-proof mixing bowl, whisk together the Eggs and Sugar until just combined. Whisk in the sifted Cornstarch, then the Cream and Vanilla (see note 3 if using fresh vanilla bean).5 Eggs, 100 gr (1/2 cup) Caster Sugar, 250 ml (1 cup) Heavy / Thickened Cream, 2 teasp. Vanilla Paste, 100 gr (3/4 cup + 1 tablesp.) Cornstarch
- Heat up the Milk on low to medium low heat until it simmers. Pour it over the Egg batter while continuously whisking to temper the eggs, whisk well until combined, then transfer it all back into the pot on the stove.1000 ml (4 cups) Full Cream Milk
- Cook on low to medium low heat until the liquid starts to thicken, continuously whisking to avoid lumps (see note 4). Pour it into the Sweet Shortcrust Pastry.
- Place it in the oven and drop the temperature to 180'C/350'F. Bake for about 50 minutes, or until the skin created on top of the baked custard is golden brown (see note 5).
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool down at room temperature for about 1 hour, then place in the fridge to chill for at least 3 hours - preferably overnight.
Video
Notes
- Both pieces of pastry need to be quite thin or your won't have enough. The first part of the pastry should be rolled wide enough to fill the bottom of the pastry ring that is 25 cm wide by 5 cm high (10 x 2 inch). The second part should be shaped more into a long rectangle as we will cut out strips of pastry to create the edges of the crust.
- I usually place the pastry on top of the lined baking tray then cut it out with the pastry ring directly on it so I don't have to move the pastry again. If you don't have a pastry ring, you can use a deep pie or tart pan.
- If you are using fresh Vanilla Bean pods, you will want to add it to the Milk during the next step. Cut the Vanilla Beans in half and scrap the seeds. Add both the pods and seeds to the Milk, heat it up, then turn off the the heat, cover the pot and let it infuse for 20 minutes.
- If the custard gets lumpy after you cook it, try to whisk it vigorously to break out any lumps first. If that does not work, pour it through a sieve to remove any large lumps and/or use an immersion blender on its lowest speed to blend it and smooth it out.
- The custard should be still slightly moving when you move the tray - it will fully set when it chills.
