Comfort desserts – Tarte au flan and Fondant au chocolat

Tarte au flan scented with vanilla and cardamom

It’s been another while. I’ve been busy between my internship at the kitchen and falling in love with the city again. I’ve been going to a lot of concerts, and galleries – I went to see Phoenix at the MSG (Madison Square Garden), and it was awesome. Exploring the city is making me slowly fall in love with it again. On the work front, after almost two months of internship at the pastry kitchen, I can now say that I am getting a little more comfortable in it. In the first month, I lost like 10 lbs for just working there, without any special work out or diet plans. Depending on the workload, we can be there anywhere from 11 hours to 15 hours, working on our feet, moving around with heavy pots, and whisking like a mad (wo)man if recipe calls for it. We get about half hour break for the family dinner at the cafeteria around 6. The work was not only mentally demanding, but physically demanding. But the amazing adaptive beings we are, I got used to the life of a patissiere, as if I have been a chef  for a while. In the end though, no matter how demanding the work may be, it gives me pleasure knowing that I do it because of the love and passion I have for the industry.

Since I know I haven’t made anything at home (and have been slacking), I decided to utilize my off days to bake something at home, something easy and comforting. I don’t know why, but I started thinking about the piece of flan tart I had at Poîlane bakery in Paris. My friend Emmanuel bought me a piece when we met in Paris, and it ended up changing my life. I rarely crave for certain specific food, but I get the craziest cravings for this flan tart. I guess I will only get it the next time I’m in Paris. But since I was thinking about it, I wanted to at least give it a shot at making it.

I used the recipe for pâte sucrée for the pie shell. 250g flour, 125g butter, 25g sugar, 5g salt, and one egg. I know, why is it in grams? It’s because I used the European recipe. I recently bought a scale measuring cup made by Taylor, who makes those candy thermometers that we have all seen. It’s easy to use, and accurate enough for a home use. Put all the dry ingredient in a working bowl (preferably a metal bowl, so the temperature stays low), and cut in the cubed butter into the dry. It’s easier if the butter is not too cold and hard, but also not too warm and melty. Once it’s moderately combined, add an egg and work with hands just until they come together as a ball. Wrap it and put it in the fridge for 30 mins. Then roll the chilled dough between two sheets of parchment paper. That way not only your roller doesn’t get buttery, but it’s easier to transfer it to the pie pan as well. Once you have a thin sheet rolled out, place it on top of the pie pan GENTLY, and make sure the dough comfortably sticks to the surface of the pan. Poke the bottom with a fork, and blind bake it at 370F for about 10 mins, just until they sightly baked. If you bake until really golden, it would look more burnt when the pie is finished at last.

Once the shell is ready, work on the custard. I love the combination of milk and cardamom, so I decided to use it here. I took 500mL of whole milk and infused with one vanilla bean (split and scraped), and 5 crushed green cardamom, over a medium heat. While the milk is being infused, beat 2 eggs in a working bowl with 100g of sugar. Once it’s pale yellow and fluffy, add in 50g of flour. Then add in the warm infused milk into the batter. Remember to filter through the sieve to make sure no cardamom or vanilla bean go into the batter. Once you have everything incorporated, whisk to make sure it’s a uniformly thickened. Pour in the batter into the pre-baked shell, and baked at 370F for about 30-45 mins. Mine needed 45 mins, but it depends on the oven obviously.

The result wasn’t the flan I had from Poîlane, but it was completely light and comforting flavor success. It wasn’t too eggy, it was delicately perfumed with vanilla and cardamom, and the best part was the pie shell. It was so flaky, and just a tad buttery. I used the French butter, and I guess that worked wonders. I offered it to my family friend who is 80 yrs old, and she told me it was 100 out of 100. Old people don’t like overly sweet desserts, so it is a good thing that I passed the old family friend test. Phew.

I wish I took a picture of the pieces, but they were gone way too fast, even before I had a chance to pull out my camera. I guess there is always the next time!

Fondant au chocolat with a hint of orange

Moving on to the other side of the comfort spectrum, I wanted to make these rich and chocolatey  fondant au chocolat pieces. I found my mini cupcake pan in the box that I left at my friend’s place, so I thought I would put it to use. Making this rich but comforting dessert is very easy in fact. Since chocolate is the main ingredient, it’s important to choose good quality chocolate. We use Valrhona at work, but I couldn’t find it, so I used Scharffen Berger instead. Since I didn’t find dark enough chocolate, I mixed the 62% and the 82%. Anyways, I went ahead with the process by melting 125g of butter on a low heat, and melting 200g of chocolate on a double boiler. Once the butter melts, add a few drops of orange oil or orange extract, then mix in 125g of sugar. Those few drops of orange are going to brighten the heaviness of the dark chocolate – it’s the secret weapon. Then add the melted chocolate, and emulsify well. Next, add in the eggs, one by one, until they’re well incorporated. Lastly, fold in 40g of flour and a pinch of sea salt, et voilà! Cake batter ready for some oven action. Fill a spoonful into each cupcake mold and place it in the oven at 450F for about 4-5 mins. Once they’re out, make sure to cool them at least for 4 hrs. You can taste it when it’s warm too though – it’s gooey and warm, and just plain satisfying.

Pretty in the vintage shell dish

I placed the cooled cake pieces on the vintage Lenox shell dish I found at a thrift store, and garnished with some chocolate dust and one pretty raspberry. The cake was moist, rich, and interesting with the back note of orange. My friend who tried the dessert told me right away – “There is something in here besides the chocolate, Hmm, I’m not completely sure what it is but I like it.” Well, mission accomplished.

For me though, the best part of making these comfort desserts was sharing with my friends and seeing them being happy. And I can tell you, especially the rich chocolate cake pops will instantly comfort any dessert loving friend of yours. The flan tart is for friends who like a treat that is not too heavy or sugary. Different kind of comfort, but all happiness in the end. So why the hell not try them in your kitchen? ;)