It’s summer berry season: Try our fruit flan recipe

Chef Patricia Rock and Chef Vita Giglio have years of experience making mouthwatering desserts as pastry chefs in well-known hotels. They’ve shared their fruit flan recipe for those who want to bake a dessert with summer berries. Watch the pros in this video and then try it yourself.

This is just one example of the traditional and contemporary baking methods Chef Rock and Chef Giglio teach. Learn more about our Baking and Pastry Arts program. It’s not too late to enrol and start this September.

Yields: enough for four 8” flan moulds

Ingredients

• 454g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 227g granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2.5g baking powder
• 227g bread flour
• 454g pastry flour
• 2.5g vanilla extract

Preparation method

1. In a mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, on medium speed with a paddle attachment.
2. Scrape down sides of bowl and add eggs one at a time until they are incorporated. Scrape down sides of bowl again.
3. Sift the flours and baking powder, and add to the butter/sugar/egg mixture until well mixed.
4. On a floured surface, roll the dough into a log. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to rest for one hour.

Yields: enough for four 8” flan moulds

Ingredients

• 750 mL Homo milk
• 1000 mL 35% cream
• 396g sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, scrapped
• 10g vanilla extract
• 8 eggs
• 250 mL Homo milk
• 150g cornstarch

Preparation method

1. Using a sauce pan, boil milk, cream, sugar, vanilla bean and vanilla extract.
2. Bring to a full boil.
3. Whisk corn starch with 250 mL milk and eggs and strain.
4. Add half the boiled milk/cream mixture to the egg mixture to temper.
5. Pour back into saucepan for a second boil, stirring constantly with a whisk till it thickens.
6. For additional flavours, add flavours after pastry cream has thickened (e.g. chocolate, Nutella, fruit puree).
7. Pour onto a plastic lined tray, and cover pastry cream with the plastic to prevent a crust from forming. Put into fridge to cool.

Yields: four 8” flan moulds

Ingredients

• Pastry cream – see recipe above
• Sweet dough – see recipe above
• 2 pints strawberries*
• 4 kiwis*
• 2 pints blueberries*
• 1 can peaches*
• 1 can mandarins*
• Apricot glaze – as needed
• 100g coating chocolate

*any fruits may be used in place of those listed

Preparation method

1. On a floured surface, roll out sweet dough and line four, 8-inch flan pans and dock the bottoms. Pre-bake shells until golden brown at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove baked shells from flan moulds.
2. Melt chocolate over a water bath and paint the bottom of the cool shells. Let set.
3. Place pastry cream on the bottom of the shell and spread out evenly with an off-set pallet knife.
4. Arrange a variety of fruits in an artistic design covering all cream.
5. Glaze fruit with heated apricot glaze ensuring the fruits are covered with glaze.
6. Place flans in boxes.