Light Flan Pâtissier

📝 Ingredients

• 1 L semi-skimmed milk
• 4 eggs
• 120 g caster sugar
• 90 g cornflour
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 pinch of salt
• 10 g unsalted butter (for the tin)

🍴 Utensils

• Round cake tin (22 to 24 cm)
• Large saucepan
• Mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Spatula

📖 Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Generously butter a 22 to 24 cm round cake tin with high sides (at least 5 cm), or a baking dish of the same size. Avoid loose-bottomed tins: the custard could leak out during baking.
2. Pour 800 ml of the milk into the saucepan with the vanilla and salt, and heat over a medium heat until small bubbles appear around the edges. Keep the remaining 200 ml well chilled: you'll use it to blend the cornflour.
3. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs and sugar in the mixing bowl for 1 minute, until the mixture turns slightly pale. Add the cornflour, then the 200 ml of cold milk, and whisk until there are no lumps left.
4. Pour the hot milk in a thin stream over the egg mixture, whisking constantly so the eggs don't cook all at once. Then pour everything back into the saucepan and return it to the heat.
5. Cook over a medium-low heat, whisking constantly and scraping the bottom and sides well, for 3 to 5 minutes, until the custard thickens noticeably and the first bubbles burst on the surface. Whisk for another 30 seconds: it should have the consistency of a thick crème pâtissière.
6. Immediately pour the custard into the tin and smooth the top with the spatula. Bake for 40 minutes: the top should be well browned, with dark spots — that's normal. If it colours too quickly, cover it with a sheet of foil after 25 minutes.
7. Leave the flan to cool for 1 hour at room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 6 hours, ideally overnight. It's this resting time that firms it up: if you cut it while still warm, it will collapse.
8. Cut the flan into 8 portions directly in the tin using a large knife dipped in hot water and wiped between each cut, for nice clean slices.