Everyone in France nurses a little fondness for the Parisian flan, or flan pâtissier. This simple custard tart can be found in every French boulangerie and patisserie, with a pastry cream texture that ranges from rubbery to velvety smooth. In French restaurants, chefs are now taking the flan up a notch by experimenting with dark sugars and exotic vanilla flavors. For home cooking, I’ve aimed to keep this Parisian custard tart recipe as simple and delicious as possible without sacrificing taste and texture. We’ll use a fresh vanilla bean, whole milk, cream and short crust for a deliciously creamy flan with a buttery, flaky crust.

Parisian custard tart recipe – Serves 4

1 premade puff pastry sheet
15.2 fl oz (450 ml) whole milk
5 fl oz (150 ml) heavy cream
1 fresh vanilla pod, split in half lengthwise with the seeds scraped
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
4.5 oz (130 g) sugar
1.8 oz (50 g) cornstarch
2 tbsp (30 g) salted butter
1 tbsp (15 ml) pure maple syrup, to glaze (optional)

In a large saucepan, combine the milk and cream and place over medium heat. Add the vanilla pod and bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring from time to time.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the egg, egg yolk and sugar until the mixture becomes a pale-yellow color, then gently blend in the cornstarch.

As soon as the milk mixture starts to simmer, turn off the heat and discard the vanilla pod. Strain half of the milk mixture through a sieve into the egg mixture and whisk to combine before pouring in the rest. Give the custard a gentle stir, taking care not to whisk too hard, to prevent it becoming too foamy.

Pour the custard into the same saucepan used to heat the milk and place over medium heat. Whisk constantly, but gently, for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the custard thickens and starts to boil. When it does, adjust the heat to low and continue to cook for 2 minutes, then turn off the heat and incorporate the butter.

Remove the cake pan from the freezer and scrape the warm pastry cream into the pastry casing, smoothing evenly with a spatula. Place the cake pan on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until the surface of the flan is golden with large brown patches. Remove from the oven and allow the flan to cool at room temperature before placing it in the fridge for at least 3 hours, ideally overnight. The flan must be completely cold before it’s unmolded. Brush the top of the flan with some maple syrup (if using) to provide some shine before serving.

Note

Double the ingredients for a 10-inch (25-cm)–diameter springform cake pan.

Mise en place

Grease the inside of an 8-inch (20-cm)-diameter round springform cake pan, dust lightly with flour and then line it with the pastry so that it covers the bottom and the sides. Keep the cake pan in the freezer until the pastry is rock solid. Preheat the oven to 340°F (170°C).

Reprinted with permission from French Cooking Academy by Stephane Nguyen with Kate Blenkiron. Page Street Publishing Co. 2023. 

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This very easy to make dessert really is the crème de la crème of French cuisine. It takes its name from the town of Fontainebleau, home to a famous chateau. Legend has it that the dessert was invented in the 18^th century when a horse-drawn carriage from Fontainebleau to Paris was carrying fresh milk. Allegedly the rocking movement as the horse travelled the cobbled streets beat the milk, and formed a layer of light cream cheese. The story stops there. When and why someone then added cream and sugar, which is how you make Chantilly cream, a recipe from another legendary town that’s home to a castle (I think I spy a theme here), is not known. I first had Fontainebleau in a cheese shop in Clermont-Ferrand, and it blew my mind. Utterly irresistible!

Light, airy and fresh, this creamy concoction is delicious with fresh fruit, pies, drizzled with honey. You’ll find it ready made in several dairy shops in Fontainebleau, less commonly in elsewhere but sometimes in smart cheese shops. Or make your own – it’s basically equal amounts of cream cheese and whipping cream and a sprinkling of sugar.

How to make Fontainebleau

Traditionally it’s made with faisselle, a type of soft cream cheese made from raw milk, which is sold in good cheese shops in France. It’s used both for savory food – mixed with chives for instance and seasoned, or served with sugar and honey.

But you can also use fromage frais, or fromage blanc (drained if necessary).

Ingredients

250g (8 oz) heavy cream/whipping cream (30% fat)
250g (8 oz) faiselle (fromage frais or fromage blanc)
50g (1.8 oz) icing sugar (powdered sugar)

Whip the cream and as it starts to set, add the sugar, then fold into the cheese.

It’s that easy! And it’s super delicious.

Try it with fresh strawberries or raspberries. Add to crepes (pancakes) or whack a dollop on top of  fresh fruit, drizzled with honey, of enjoy with a slice of tarte tatin or pumpkin pie.

Recipe for pancakes

Recipe for tarte tatin

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Now, I have to come clean and admit that a brioche ice cream sandwich is probably, ok it is, an Italian invention, but since brioche is a French favourite, I think it’s only right, and fair to include a recipe for a croque glacé as it’s called in French, on a website about France!

It’s a really simple idea, you sandwich a splodge of ice cream between two pieces of brioche – either a bun or slices from a loaf. I use bakery-bought brioche, and shop-bought ice cream if I don’t have time to make my own and so this tasty little dessert takes just minutes to assemble. It’s such an easy thing to make, dessert in no time if someone turns up unexpected, you don’t have time to make cake, or you just fancy a quick and easy dessert! And you can tart it up as you like – some suggestions below

If you want to make your own brioche here’s a link to a recipe by famous Paris baker Éric Kayser for a Plaited Brioche Loaf

Ingredients per person

Brioche bun, or two slices of brioche bread

Ice cream – flavour of your choice

Method

Sandwich the ice cream with the brioche. That’s it!

You can also add some of your favourite things to the ice cream. How about  fresh fruit –  fresh strawberries, or strawberry and raspberry confit – delicious with vanilla ice cream! I sometimes spread the brioche with something sweet – jam, chocolate spread, salted caramel sauce. It’s such a versatile recipe when you start to think about the possibilities. In no time it goes from a simply ice cream sandwich to something much more fun!

Enjoy!

More easy French brioche dessert recipes

Pain perdu – AKA eggy bread or French Toast, a decadent version with brown sugar!

Brioche berry and white chocolate pudding

Sugar tart – utterly irresistible!

Brioche bread pudding also called Pudding Royale, recipe by Lenôtre boulangerie of Paris

Janine Marsh is the author of  several internationally best-selling books about France. Her latest book How to be French – a celebration of the French lifestyle and art de vivre, is out now – a look at the French way of life. Find all books on her website janinemarsh.com

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Fresh raspberries, dark chocolate and raspberry ganache, crispy golden pastry – combined to make an irresistible little tart. This chocolate raspberry tart recipe is easier to make with shop bought pastry but we’ve included a recipe for pastry for bakers who like to go the whole hog in the kitchen! The ganache mix of raspberry and chocolate is utterly delicious and this cake really delivers on the wow factor – both in looks and taste!

Although chef advises to use a copper pan for the raspberries as is traditional, you can use any non-reactive saucepan, such as non-stick lined or seasoned stainless steel – aluminium can affect the taste of cooked fruit.

SERVES 8

Preparation: 45 minutes
Resting: 20 minutes
Cooking: 40 minutes
Chilling: 2–3 hours

INGREDIENTS 

Creamed sweet short pastry
1 stick (125 g) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
1 egg
2 ¾ cups (250 g) cake flour
1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt

Ganache cream
½ lb. (225 g) raspberries, divided
¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
2 oz. (50 g) glucose
1 ⅔ cups (400 ml) whipping cream, min. 30% fat
7 tablespoons (100 g) unsalted butter
Scant ⅓ cup (70 ml) raspberry brandy or eau-de-vie
1 ¾ lb. (750 g) dark chocolate, 64% cacao, chopped

Special equipment: a copper saucepan

METHOD

Prepare the creamed sweet short pastry.

Place the butter, sugar, and egg in the bowl of a food processor and cream together until smooth. Sift the flour and add it with the salt to process for 1–2 minutes further, until smooth. Remove from the bowl. Press down the dough with the palm of your hand, pushing it away from you, until the ingredients are thoroughly blended. Chill, covered, for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

Roll out the dough very thinly (about ⅛ in./3 mm) to form a disk. Use your rolling pin to transfer it from the working surface to the baking pan or circle: drape it round the pin and then unroll it over the tart mold. Make decorative patterns around the edge. Prick the dough with a fork, line it with parchment paper, and fill with baking beans. Blind-bake for 20–25 minutes and allow to cool.

In a copper saucepan, cook 3 ½ oz. (100 g) of the raspberries with the sugar and glucose. Bring to a boil and leave to simmer for a few minutes. Add the cream and butter and bring to a boil again.

Remove from the heat and incorporate the raspberry brandy or eau-de-vie and the chopped chocolate. Mix until thoroughly blended. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and pour the ganache into the cooled tart shell. Leave in the refrigerator until set, about 2–3 hours. Garnish with the remaining raspberries and serve.

Extract from the fabulous The Complete Book of French Cooking by Hubert Delorme and Vincent Boué (Flammarion, 2023).

More delicious French tarts

Classic French lemon tart – guaranteed to make you smile!

Sweet, decadent and delicious Sugar tart – a speciality of northern France

Apple tart like maman used to make it by Michelin star chef Daniel Galmiche

And now for something savoury – Tarte flambée, or flammekueche as it’s called in the north of France where this delicious tart originates from!

Onion tart, easy to make, great for sharing and very, very moreish!

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Little sponge madeleines are an absolute classic in France. Perfect for a snack, with tea or coffee and easy to jazz up – dipped in chocolate or salted caramel!

No one knows who first invented madeleines but one of the most popular legends is that a baker called Madeleine at the court of King Stanislaw Leszczynsky, exiled King of Poland and Duke of Lorraine – they were living in Nancy at the time – made the cakes for the Duke’s wife. Or maybe they were invented by a cook in the kitchens of Prince Talleyrand. Or perhaps they came to France from Spain where they were given to pilgrims. Whatever the story – they’re very French now!

How to make Madeleines

3 medium sized eggs
90 g (⅓ cup) caster (superfine) sugar
155 g (1¼ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
100 g (3½ oz) unsalted butter
Zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F/Gas 6).

Brush a tray of madeleine moulds with melted butter and coat with flour, then tap the tray to remove the excess flour. This recipe makes about 15 medium sized madeleines.

Whisk the eggs and sugar together until thick and pale – the whisk should leaves a trail when you lift it up. Then gently fold in the flour to keep as much air in as possible. Mel the butter and mix that in together with the lemon and orange zest.

Spoon the mixture into the moulds – don’t fill to the top as they will rise. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until very lightly golden. They should feel springy to touch. Remove from the moulds and leave them to cool on a wire rack.

More delicious French cake recipes

Easy recipe for chocolate fondant cake

Gingerbread cake by Lenotre of Paris

Irresistible brioche bread pudding

Custardy Flan Patissier – a French favourite

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This easy peasy lemon squeasy recipe for classic French lemon tart – tarte au citron in French – is easy to make but packs a massive wow factor. It’s delicious on its own or with ice cream or cream. And if you buy pastry instead of making it, is ready to eat from scratch in less than an hour! This is how my neighbour Claudette, the best cook in the village makes it, and I like to dust it with icing sugar for extra sweetness but if you like your tarts tart – leave it out!

Ingredients for a lemon tart for 4

1 quantity sweet pastry (recipe here but shop bought pastry saves time!)
4 eggs
2 egg yolks
250 g (1 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
185 ml (¾ cup) double (thick/heavy) cream
250 ml (1 cup) lemon juice
Finely grated zest of 3 lemons
Icing (confectioners) sugar to dust

Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F/Gas 5).

Roll out the pastry to line a 23 cm (9 inch) round tart tin (the loose bottom ones make this easy to remove). Chill the tin in the fridge for about 20 minutes.

Whisk the eggs, egg yolks and sugar together and add the cream, whisking all the time, then stir in the lemon juice and zest.

Line the pastry shell with greaseproof paper (scrunch it up), and baking beads (or dried beans or rice). Blind bake the pastry tor 10 minutes. Remove the paper and beads and bake for another 3-5 minutes, or until the pastry looks just cooked but still very pale.

Remove from the oven and reduce the temperature to 150°C (300°F/Gas 2).

Put the tin on a baking tray and carefully pour the lemon filling into the pastry case.

Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes, or until the filling has set.

Leave to cool completely before dusting with icing sugar (optional) and serving.

More delicious French tart recipes

Alsatian mirabelle plum tart

Sugar tart – naughty but nice!

Tart Alsacienne, apple tart with brandy

Sweet and irresistible Frangipane tart

Beer tart – yes you did read that right! A speciality of northern France

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Wherever you go in France, the patisseries and boulangeries feature jewel like fruit tarts. Encased in sweet pastry, sometimes bathed in a creamy thick custard or on a bed of frangipane as in this recipe.

1 packet of sweet pastry for tarts
1 quantity frangipane (recipe below)
400 g (14 oz) mixed berries
3 tablespoons apricot or other fruit jam (jelly)

Ingredients for Frangipane

250 g (9 oz) unsalted butter, softened
250 g (2 cups) icing (confectioners’) sugar
230 g (2¼ cups) ground almonds
40 g (/3 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
5 eggs, lightly beaten
Makes 800 g (1 lb 12 oz)\

Make the frangipane: Beat the butter until very soft. Add the icing sugar, ground almonds and flour and beat well. Add the egg gradually, beating until fully incorporated. Transfer to a clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap and retrigerate for up to 24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4).

Roll out the pastry (recipe here if you want to make it at home) to a thickness of 2 mm (⅛ inch) and use to line ten 8 cm (3 inch) wide tartlet tins. You can make one big tart, but it works better if they are small tarts.

Use a piping bag to pipe the frangipane into the tart cases. Then bake on a baking tray for 10-12 minutes, or until golden.

Allow the tarts to cool slightly on a wire rack and place berries on top. Try to avoid using soggy berries as it will make the frangipane soggy.

Melt the jam with 1 teaspoon water, remove any lumps and brush over the berries to make the tarts shine!

More delicious French cake recipes

xx

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How to make French style sweet pastry – called pâte sucrée in French – ideal for cakes and tarts. It’s a type of shortcrust pastry, but sweeter, softer and richer than a normal shortcrust pastry.

340 g (2¾ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
Pinch of salt
150 g (5½ oz) unsalted butter
90 g (¾ cup) icing (confectioners’) sugar
2 eggs, beaten
Makes 700 g (1 lb 9 oz)

Cream the butter and sugar together with a mixer, just lightly, yoi don’t want to much air in it. Add the beaten eggs, one at a time.

Add in the flour and salt and mix on a low speed until the flour is mixed in.

Remove from the mixer and bring together with your hands and then knead a few times to make a smooth dough. Roll into a ball, wrap tightly in plastic wrap (clingfilm) and put in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and use to line a tart tin.

Slide onto a baking tray and rest in the fridge for 10 minutes.

Recipes that use sweet pastry

Classic French lemon tart

Fruit tarts

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This recipe for crème brûlée is a new take on the classic French dessert by adding essence of bitter almond. This gives an extra level of flavour but you can leave it out and follow the recipe to make a tradition dessert.

SERVES 8

Preparation: 20 minutes

Chilling: 1 hour

Cooking: 55 minutes

INGREDIENTS

10 egg yolks
Generous 1 cup (225 g) granulated sugar
2 cups (500 ml) milk
2 cups (500 ml) whipping cream, min. 35% fat
1 vanilla bean
A few drops of bitter almond extract
A little brown sugar, for caramelizing

METHOD

In a round-bottomed mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar together energetically until the mixture thickens and becomes pale. Pour in the milk and whipping cream. Whisk together and add the seeds from the vanilla bean. Flavor with the bitter almond extract.

Cover with plastic wrap and chill for about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 200°F (100°C).

Strain the liquid through a chinois and pour it into eight small crème brûlée dishes or ramekins. Bake for 45–50 minutes. Test for doneness: the tip of a knife should come out clean.

Allow the crèmes to cool. Just before serving them, set your oven to broil. Sprinkle the top of each one with brown sugar. Caramelize them briefly in the oven, or use a caramelizing iron, and serve.

Book jacket photo

Extracted from The Complete Book of French Cooking by Hubert Delorme and Vincent Boué (Flammarion, 2023).

Photo credit: © Clay McLachlan

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Did you know that the great British Christmas pudding has a French connection? The fruit traditionally used in Christmas pudding came from Apt in Provence. And, the pudding as we know it was reinvented more than 100 years ago by a French chef working for the British Royal Family! You can read more about the fascinating French connection on British Christmas Pudding here!

And here’s how to make a traditional British pudding with a French influence?

To make a 1kg pudding for 8 people

125g raisins
125g currants
95g sultanas
75g mixed peel
125g suet or vegetarian suet
125g breadcrumbs
45g flour
6g mixed spice
1 whole egg
45g demerara sugar
140ml beer
20ml dark rum
20ml brandy

First, mix all the dry ingredients and stir together. Then stir in the beaten egg and liquid ingredients.

Grease your pudding basin and press the mix into the basin. Cover the basin with a circle of parchment paper, muslin or foil (aluminum) paper so that the pudding bowl is sealed.

Put the basin in a large saucepan and fill with enough water to cover ¾ of the basin and cover the pan with foil.

Steam for 6 hours – making sure to check regularly to keep the water topped up to the ¾ mark.

Allow the pudding to cool, cover the top with fresh parchment paper or foil and store and wrap the whole basin in 2-3 layers of clingfilm  in cool, dark place (or the fridge) until Christmas.

On Christmas Day, reheat the pudding. Remove the plastic wrapping, cover the top with foil and boil for one hour, or remove all the wrapping and hear in a microwave oven for  10 minutes in a microwave.

Before serving, pour a couple of tablespoons of warmed brandy over the top, set fire to it. Let the flames burn out, which burns off the alcohol and serve with cream, ice cream, brandy butter or crème anglaise (custard!).

More fabulous French desserts for Christmas

Snow eggs – meringue islands floating in a sea of crème Anglais (custard)
Recipe for French gingerbread men!
Chocolate büche de Noêl
How to make Eiffel Tower biscuits – perfect for hanging on a Christmas tree

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