French Chocolate Flan

One of the products on which almost every Frenchman grows is the Flan, it is actually a kind of custard made from milk or milk and cream, egg yolks, sugar and thickening substances (flour, cornflour) baked without or with dough. If it comes with crispy dough on the bottom and sides, then it is called Flan Patisseier.

Originally the flan’s taste is natural, only with a little bit of vanilla. Like many classics, the flan also gets more modern interpretations like caramel flan, pistachio, coffee and of course chocolate flan. By the way, the flan appears in different countries in different forms – Pastel de nate in Portugal, the English custard tart and more.

One of my favorite flans is this chocolate flan which is a kind of moist chocolate cake, wonderful for chocolate lovers.

French Chocolate Flan
ring mold 20 cm in diameter, 4-5 cm high

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Ingredients

Cocoa pastry dough:
160 g all-purpose flour, sifted
20 g roasted hazelnut meal
110 g butter, cubed
30 g sugar 
pinch of salt
20 g cocoa powder, sifted
35 g milk
1 egg yolk

Chocolate Custard filling:
500 g milk
150 g heavy whipping cream
120 g egg yolks (6 M egg yolks aropx)
130 g sugar
20 g all-purpose flour, sifted
20 g cornflour, sifted
160 g dark chocolate 70%, chopped

Cocoa powder for decoration

Preparation

1. Chocolate pastry dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, hazelnut meal, butter, sugar, salt, and cocoa. Add milk and egg yolk, mix until the ingredients come together into a ball of dough.
2. Remove from the mixer bowl and knead briefly on your work surface until well combined.
3. Lightly sprinkle the top and bottom of the ball of dough with flour (be sure to flour both sides!), put it between two sheets of parchment paper, and lightly flatten it into a disk (don’t roll it out completely). Transfer the dough, with the paper, to the refrigerator and chill for 2 hours.
4. Remove from the fridge, and roll out the dough to a thickness of 3 mm. Line the ring with the dough, making sure that the sides are fully filled in and straight so that they don’t collapse during baking. Using a knife, gently trim the overhanging edges. Freeze the dough-lined ring for about half an hour.
5. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius.
6. Chocolate Custard filling: In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and cream until simmering.
7. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together until they turn a creamy color. Add the flour and cornflour and mix.
8. When the milk and cream reach boiling point, pour 1/3 of the hot liquid over the egg mix. Do this a little bit at a time while mixing, so that you do not cook the eggs.
9. Return the mixture to the saucepan, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly so the eggs don’t scorch on the bottom.
10. When the mixture comes to a boil and thickens, remove from the heat, add chocolate and stir till combined to a smooth chocolate batter.
11. Remove the dough-lined ring from the freezer, Place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Pour the filling over the dough, flatten and place in the oven.
12. Bake for about 45-50 minutes, until the filling is firm to the touch.
13. Remove from the oven, cool to room temperature and refrigerate overnight.
14. Remove from the refrigerator, sprinkle with cocoa powder and slice generously. It is recommended to remove from the refrigerator about 15 minutes before serving.

Bon-Appétit
Sharon