Ingredients
Equipment
Method
Pâte à Foncer - Pastry Crust
- In the bowl of a mixer, add the flour and butter. Mix until you have a sand-like consistency.
- Add the liquids and mix briefly, until things just start to come together.
- Dump the continents of the mixing bowl out onto the countertop and push the ingredients away from you and against the counter top, using the palm of your hand. Repeat 3-4 times or until the mixture is homogeneous and there are no large clumps of butter left.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and let chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- After the dough has chilled, roll it out into a circle. Place your tart circle (or pan) on top of the dough and trim, leaving about two fingers width of extra dough.
- If your dough has warmed up too much, place on a baking sheet and transfer back to the fridge for 10 minutes before moving onto the next step.
- Place the dough on top of the tart circle (or pan) and work the dough into the corners. With the rolling pin, roll over the top of the pan to remove the excess dough.
- Smooth out the sides once more with your thumbs and use a pairing knife to cut off the excess dough. Dock the bottom of the tart shell and transfer to the freezer for 20 minutes.
Chocolate Pastry Cream
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F)
- In a large sauce pan, add the milk, the chocolate and half of the sugar. Bring to a low simmer.
- In a large bowl, add the egg yolks and remaining sugar. Mix until the eggs lighten in color.
- Add the crème à poudre (or corn starch) and mix again until combined.
- Bring the milk mixture to a boil. Slowly add the milk to the egg mixture, whisking nonstop so the eggs don't cook.
- Transfer the mixture back to the sauce pan and put on medium heat. Stir constantly until it thickens considerable.
- After it thickens, continue to cook for an additional 2 minutes to ensure it is completely sterilized.
- Pass through a fine meshed strainer into a bowl. Discard any chunks that are caught.
Assembly & Baking
- Remove tart shell from the freezer.
- Pour the hot pastry cream into the shell, smoothing out the top with an offset spatula or a spoon.
- Bake for 45 minutes. The top will be puffed up and the mixture will still look like liquid. This is fine.
- Transfer to a cooling rack and leave the tart ring on for 30 minutes.
- Remove the tart circle and brush the top of the flan with a sugar syrup.
- Decorate as desired. If you're not serving right away, store in the fridge.