The pastry chef at the Hôtel de Crillon does not let the cream cool before baking the flan.
Matthieu Carlin, pastry chef at the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris, offers five tips for a flan that seems simple but is difficult to master.
It's such a popular dessert that it seems out of place on a luxury menu, but Matthieu Carlin, pastry chef at the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris, has made it the star dessert of the establishment.
In an interview on France Inter radio, the chef spoke of his passion for this cake, which is both simple and complex. "Eggs, whole milk, cream, sugar, and Tahitian vanilla, all cooked in an ultra-crispy puff pastry because I find it more indulgent," he explained.
The first rule is to cook the pastry separately. “It’s like a quiche Lorraine; you can’t bake the pastry with the filling inside because it won’t cook. The pastry must be baked separately, whether it’s puff pastry or shortcrust pastry.” The second is to waterproof it: “You must waterproof the pastry with a little egg yolk or a beaten egg so that it doesn’t get soggy during baking.”
The third rule is not to let the cream cool. The custard for the flan is cooked first on the stovetop and then in the oven. Once it's ready on the stovetop, it's immediately poured over the pastry and put in the oven, without waiting for it to cool.
The fourth rule is to be careful with the cooking. "When baking, it shouldn't be browned too much, because otherwise a thick crust will form on the surface that will turn black, and then it will have a bitter taste, and that's not what we want. So it needs to be cooked over low heat and for a little longer."
The fifth rule is to serve it cold and fresh. It's not a good idea to prepare flan three days in advance. Although it keeps well, it's incomparable when fresh. It also doesn't freeze well: neither the flan nor the pastry cream withstands freezing, as they become grainy or release water upon thawing, completely altering the structure of the dessert.
