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Jane Crocker

6 days ago

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#FlanFriday We begin our journey at possibly the greatest diversion from your pedestrian expectations. The Flan Pâtissie, or Flan Parisien. Baptized not in the cool water of her bain-marie, but by flame. The ratio of the French custard is such that the cream may bake without curdling or splitting under direct heat. Most commonly mistaken for the Basque Cheesecake, she bears a dark, caramelized topmost layer. What may surprise the amateurs among you is that the Flan Parisien is set inside a crust, whereas the Basque Cheesecake IS NOT. More to the median experience is the traditional Crème Caramel, with her thin, glossy, plate-filling liquid sugar coating. Certain regional variations may err lighter or richer depending on the type of milk used in production, but all in all, she simmers in a warm water bath for a considerable spell as is required of her delicate nature. It is worth noting that the Flan Parisien, while providing more textural variety with its flaky crust, lacks the liquid caramel coating of the traditional Crème entirely, which I find utterly depressing. The answer to both these deficiencies arrives in the Chocoflan- or the Pastel Impossible, as known in some circles. BOTH the batter of the dense, spongy bottom chocolate cake layer AND the custard are inlaid simultaneously without care into the pan. During baking, the gradient of custard to cake arranges itself beautifully top-to-bottom. Its singular shortfall is that the caramel (which I encourage you to add) must be baked separately, OR substituted for a thicker, altered formula. Dulce de leche is a common replacement topping, and a welcome one at that. Although this intrepid baker has NO qualms with a dark cocoa sponge absorbing spoonfuls of toasty liquid caramel. Happy Flan Friday, and Happy Baking to you!