Vegan Parisian Flan (French Custard Tart)
This vegan Parisian flan, also known as Flan Pâtissier, is anything but ordinary. A crisp pastry crust holds creamy vanilla custard that caramelizes beautifully on top as it bakes. Rich, buttery, and so decadent, I have no doubt this French-inspired dessert will wow your guests, vegan or not!
Ingredients
Crust
- 6.4 ounces (180 g) vegan butter diced and at room temperature
- 13.2 ounces (375 g) all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp (39 g) brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) water
- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
Vanilla Custard
- 7 tbsp (50 g) cornstarch
- 15.2 fl. oz (450 ml) unsweetened soy milk
- 6.7 fl. oz (200 ml) full-fat coconut milk
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated white sugar
- 3.2 ounces (90 g) vegan butter
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) vanilla extract
- seeds from one vanilla bean
Instructions
Crust
- Knead it. Add the diced butter, flour, sugar, salt, water, and vanilla extract to a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater. Knead the dough on low speed until it comes together. At first, it will look like coarse meal. Keep kneading until it forms a dough.
- Refrigerate it. Shape the dough into a ball and slightly flatten it. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until firmer.
- Flatten it. Using a rolling pin, flatten the dough between two sheets of parchment paper to a thickness of a bit less than 1/4 inch (5mm).
- Cut out the bottom of the crust. Use the pastry ring to cut out a round of dough. Remove the excess dough and leave the cut round inside the ring. This will form the bottom of your crust. Place the bottom of the crust and the pastry ring on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Cut out the sides. Gather the dough scraps and roll them into a long rectangle of at least 15×6 inches (38×15 cm) and just under 1/4 inch (5mm) thick. Then, slice two long strips measuring roughly 13×2 inches (33×5 cm). Working one strip at a time, fit it inside the ring and press it gently along the sides. Use your fingers to press the lower edge of the strip into the bottom to seal the seam. Repeat with the second strip.
- Prick the bottom. Then, use a fork to prick the bottom of the crust a few times.
- Freeze. Transfer the baking sheet with the crust to the freezer and freeze for at least 3 hours or overnight.
Vanilla Custard
- Make a slurry. Dissolve the cornstarch in about 1/2 cup (120ml) of the soy milk. Set aside.
- Combine all of the ingredients. To a saucepan, add the remaining soy milk, full-fat coconut milk, sugar, vegan butter, vanilla extract, and seeds from the fresh vanilla bean.
- Heat it. Heat the mixture over medium heat until the butter is melted.
- Thicken the custard. Next, pour in the cornstarch slurry and keep heating, whisking constantly, until the custard comes to a boil and thickens.
- Let it cool. Immediately transfer the custard to a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap, touching the surface of the custard. This will prevent it from drying. Allow it to cool for at least 45 minutes, or until it is just warm.
- Preheat the oven to
350 °F (175°C). - Pour into the crust. Once the custard has cooled, transfer it into the frozen crust, leaving about 1/2 inch (1 cm) of space at the top.
- Bake. Transfer the flan to the oven and bake for 50-55 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Carefully remove it from the oven and let it cool for at least 1 hour before removing the pastry ring.
- Refrigerate. Once the flan has reached room temperature, place it in the refrigerator and chill for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. The custard will firm up as it cools.
- You can store this flan in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
How to Prevent Overflow
One of the main issues when making flan is the cream overflowing the crust and making a mess in the oven. Fortunately, I have a few tips to prevent that:- Check your oven temperature: One of the main reasons the cream overflows is that your oven is too hot, which causes the vanilla custard to boil and rise too quickly. Ensure your oven is at the right temperature before baking your flan.
- Allow the custard to cool a bit: This one comes in second. Don’t pour the hot custard into the crust and bake immediately. It’s important to allow the custard to cool until it’s just warm before pouring it into the crust.
- Stay near the oven during the first 30 minutes: If you see the custard rising significantly during the first 30 minutes of baking, remove the flan from the oven for 3-5 minutes, lower the oven temperature, and return it to the oven.
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