Flans and custards of all kinds hold a high rank in French baking, and this Parisian Vanilla Custard Pie (more commonly known as a “Flan Parisien”) is no exception. This hefty pie features a sturdy, sandy blackened crust hiding a rich and creamy vanilla custard under a thick blackened skin. You’ll find it sold in most French bakeries, and basically every bakery in Paris, as it is inarguably a Parisian favorite.
Like many rustic French flans, this Parisian Vanilla Custard Pie bears a black-spotted top that can give the impression of being burned, but actually isn’t. This typical brulé top is achieved by baking the flan at high temperatures to get a thick skin atop it, with delectable notes of caramel. This skin’s texture magically contrasts with the smooth vanilla custard filling underneath.
It is a simple, rustic, yet totally indulgent treat. This homely and comforting flan may remind you of Portuguese egg tarts or South-African milk tarts. But, this treat is much heftier and the darkened skin gives it unique flavors.
It is perfect to prepare as a dessert when you have guests, as you can prepare it ahead of time (the day before, or at least 5 hours prior). It is also a great afternoon snack, to be eaten with your hands – as the Parisians do!
Cooking notes :
- This recipe is made for a 8-inch (20.32cm) circular springform pan. You can also use a 9-inch pan (22.86cm) but the flan will have less height.
- This Parisian Vanilla Custard Pie is most often made with a “pate sablée” (sturdy, sandy crust) although you might find it sometimes made with a “pate feuilletée” (puff pastry). I prefer it made with a homemade sandy crust, flavored with lemon zest – to which I am giving you the recipe here. This is a big crust recipe, as you need a lot of crust to cover the bottom and edges of the pan. Alternatively, you can use store-bought crust (pie crust or puff pastry) but you might need two of them to cover the whole pan (and some leftover).
- The pie has to rest in the fridge for 3 hours prior to baking – so plan accordingly.
- The pie can be enjoyed at room temperature: the custard will be creamy. Or you can leave it overnight in the fridge and enjoy it the next day: the custard will be firmer.
Mix the ingredients together using your hands (rub between your palms) until you get a crumbly, sandy texture and pea-size bits of butter are still visible.
Add the large egg, and combine until the dough comes together into a ball. Wrap in plastic film and chill until needed.
Whisk in the heavy cream.
Add a small amount of the hot milk (while whisking) into the egg mixture to temper it. Then, immediately whisk the remaining hot milk into the egg mixture, until fully combined.
Transfer the mixture back into the sauce pan, over medium heat, and whisk continuously until the cream thickens (to a thick pancake batter-like consistency). Remove from the heat and set aside.
Smooth the top out with a spatula.
Place the pie in the fridge for 3 hours.
If you try this Parisian Vanilla Custard Pie let me know! Leave a comment or share a photo using #pardonyourfrench on Instagram. Bon Appétit!
Recipe developed by myself, inspired by Elle à Table, Tasting Paris (book by Clotilde Dusoulier), 750g and Marmiton.
20 comments
It is in the oven…
Enjoy!
Haven’t tasted it yet as I have left it in the fridge overnight but judging by the look and smell it promises to be amazing. Had trouble with the crust, it was too soft to be able to peel off the baking paper to put in the pan – tried putting it back in the fridge but it was still a struggle. Any tips for next time?
Thanks so much for the recipe 🙂
Hi Dorothee! This dough is quite delicate and can get sticky if too warm. Chilling it can help! Otherwise, if it tears a bit, don’t stress it. You can patch it together and press to seal. I do that very often – and you can definitively tell on the photo 🙂
Hi, what can I do with the leftover crust? I feel like I can do something with it, there’s still much of it left.
Hi Amariah. There is definitely some leftover pie crust for this recipe. You can refrigerate the leftover pie crust for up to 3 days (well wrapped in a plastic film) and use it later to make another tart? This is a pretty versatile crust that’d go well with any filling/fruit. You can also freeze it in a freezer bag, and freeze for up to 3 months. Happy baking!
Hello 🙂 How important is it to chill it in the fridge for 3 hours before cooking it? If I only did 2 hours, would it have a big impact on the tart? Thanks so much!
Hi Claire. Chilling the pie for 3 hours helps creating the signature “skin” at the top of the flan when baking. You could chill it for 2 hours, the skin just won’t be as prominent. Happy baking!
Just discovered your fantastic site. I ate less than an hour go but your recipes and photos just make me feel hungry again
Shall make something from it tomorrow but so many delights to choose from
Welcome to the site! Happy to see your first impressions were good. There is a wonderful variety of dishes to make from my home and I hope you’ll enjoy them. Please leave feedback if you do!
The flavor of this Vanilla Custard Pie is sooo good. The buttery crust encloses a just firm vanilla custard like it’s embracing it. I made it in a springform pan and frankly was not optimistic that it would release well. However, it came free easily and the crust held up well. The custard center looked too soft when I took it out, but firmed up as described. What a great ending to a meal.
I will say it was a bear to make. Even though I read the recipe and notes several times, I had a lot of problems with the crust. When I mixed the butter, flour, sugar, … with the one egg it was just – dry. Like, buttery flour laying around in a bowl dry. So, I thought maybe ‘large eggs in France are bigger than here in ‘Merica. So, I added another American egg. Not a whole lot better but the mixture did kind of hold together and formed a ball when I pressed on it. I was tempted to add some milk or cream but held off. And, to begin with it took a looong time hand mixing the butter, flour and sugar. (Can’t a stand mixer do this!?) Then, after rolling it out it didn’t release from the parchment well at all and I basically scraped off portions left behind to form a lot of the crust sides. From the recipe notes, this may be normal. Also, and this may be all on me, as I was cooking the custard center it seemed like one minute I’m heating and whisking and the next – OMG, it’s thickening too much!!. So, my center was a little firm starting baking and didn’t form a flat skim film. My bad. Still, this “pie”, “flan” whatever was exquisite in vanilla flavor and I have been told by my darling wife that it WILL be made again! Next time I’ll watch the custard and hope the crust comes together with less drama. Thank you for this.
Troubleshooting a crust is always difficult to do, so let me try without knowing a few things… Most importantly (and the first thing I always ask) is did you weight the ingredients? This is usually the main culprit, as when you just use “2 cups of flour” it could weigh 20, 30, 40, 50gr more than is actually needed. A scale is so important in baking – less so with cooking.
The dough is quite fragile at times and hard to scrape off the parchment, I know. You can see in my photos I also have to patch at times as well.
Amazing flavor and a truly beautiful color. One of the best desserts yet, and there have been many!
PS. ALL of your recipes are excellent!! Thank you!
Thank you so much, Ricky! I really appreciate the support and I’m specifically glad you enjoyed this recipe. This is really one of the classics that my husband asks for the most. So simple and so good!
Can you use gluten free flour for the crust?
Hello Nolema! I will honest with you and tell you that I have never used a gluten flour for this recipe/this crust. But, if you have experience using a gluten free flour that has worked well in the past, then I would say there should be little/no problem with making the switch. Just make sure the crust dough isn’t too wet or too dry.
I know many people “swear” by King Arthur Gluten Free flour, but there are many good brands out there. Would love to hear back if you do try it out!
I made this pie today and have to say that the instruction is the best I ever have seen for any recipe. I belive this will be a true masterpiece when it comes out of the oven. So I am really looking forward to trying it.I see from another comment that someone else had trouble with the dough. I did have my dough in fridge for at least an hour and it was a solid ball when I took it out to roll but still it stuck to the parchment after rolling. Nothing drastic, mind you-it just took patience and a bit of patchwork but it went into baking pan pretty nicely. I believe it has to do with butter difference more than anything else.
I truly appreciate the kind words, Carol. It means a lot, as I truly try to make my recipes as user-friendly as possible. I’m so glad you enjoyed the process and I’m sure you’ll love the end result!
As an aside, pastry dough can be tricky for everyone. Sometimes it’s just sticky no matter what you do… But it sounds like you adapted well!
So, I’ve made this a couple of times in the last year, and it was our Christmas dessert. Each time it is incredible! I’m having less difficulty with the crust, yes, I am weighing ingredients. I found that if I lift the parchment paper off the crust after every 5 rolls or so, it comes off much easier. (This may be Baking 101, if so, my apologies.) I also turn the crust over with the lower parchment into the pie tin. (Ditto). I still have a bobble sometimes with a small part of the side, but it’s much easier to repair than several tears. I tried draping the crust over the rolling pin, it doesn’t work well. The crust tends to tear in half by its own weight. We put the wrapped left over crust in the refrigerator and made an small but excellent rustic apple tart for New Years. I also get the custard off the heat and into the pie tin as soon as there is discernible stiffening of the mixture. Thank you again, Audrey.
Great tips for anyone else who may have some difficulty with crusts. And to be honest, I think that’s basically everyone, including me. There’s just so many factors that go into a crust, including the type of flour, humidity of the flour, temperature/humidity in the house, type of butter… More often than not we have to do a little extra to make sure the crust does what we want. It’s always helpful to have tips and suggestions like this, for when that happens.
Glad you enjoyed it and nice call on using the leftover crust for a nice apple tart. Classic!