Make a big deal of it!

Anne Debbasch | 4/20/22

They're back with a vengeance! Yes, but there's flan and there's flan... Gone are the industrial cream powders stuffed with colorants and additives, and the resulting flans, elastic, doughy and tasteless. Quality ingredients are back in force: fresh eggs, whole milk, cream and vanilla, on a homemade shortcrust or sometimes flaky pastry made with quality butter. Whether you're looking for a traditional version or a more "flantasmatic" one, here's our selection of the best boutique flans around!

Erwan Blanche and Sébastien Bruno, Utopie, Paris

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At Utopie, Erwan Blanche and Sébastien Bruno let loose on weekends with their creations. We love their fruity version of flan, a coconut-flavored pastry made from croissant dough - a puff pastry on sourdough - and covered with a mango compote after baking. "It's a flan with a very rounded taste thanks to the coconut, and full of pep thanks to the fruit compote."We're off to discover this rock'n'roll artisan bakery. On weekdays, you can munch on the traditional baker's flan, and on some weekends, you can try the more offbeat flans: chocolate-praline, black fruit, mirabelle plum-vanilla...

20, rue Jean-Pierre-Timbaud, 75011 Paris.

www.boul angerieutopie.com

Seo Yongsang, Mille & Un, in Paris

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Opened three years ago by Seo Yongsang, this Franco-Korean bakery-patisserie-teahouse is already attracting custard fans with its hand-crafted realization based on liquid cream, whole milk, eggs and Bourbon vanilla on a crisp, caramelized puff pastry. Incredibly creamy, it already has its own flan club!

32, rue Saint-Placide, 75006 Paris.

Christophe Michalak, Kopain, Paris

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A detour to Kopain, Christophe Michalak's bakery, for a bite of dark rum flan. "I wanted a rustic flan, very creamy, with no pastry around the edges. The mold is lined with baking paper, then the mixture is poured onto a disk of Basque cake for crispness. I like to eat it very chilled, at 5°C, which gives it a very special sensation that I love."We rush out to try this flan, which can be interpreted with oriental pistachio, chestnut or even chocolate... depending on the season. Bluffing!

60, rue du Faubourg-Poissonnière, 75010 Paris.

www.boul angeriekopain.com

Stéphane Glacier in Bois-Colombes

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Meilleur ouvrier de France, Stéphane Glacier dreamed up his first flans a dozen years ago, including the now signature Tahitensis vanilla flan from Papua. "I wanted a device that would hold together so that the flan could be eaten by hand. So it's firm, but also creamy, because I enrich it with egg yolks."The flans are baked every day at 3:30 a.m. to guarantee their freshness, in a deck oven, which is essential for a perfect contrast of textures.

39, rue du Général-Leclerc 92270 Bois-Colombes.

www.step haneglacier.com

Yann Menguy, La Goutte d'Or, Paris

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A flan with sweet, incredibly milky notes, melting and creamy, made on a base of unsweetened, well-caramelized puff pastry. "Thepastry is baked white to obtain a beautiful color; the cream is then added while still hot for the second baking. For the batter, I use brown sugar and vanilla to emphasize the milky taste I'm looking for."This flan should be eaten at room temperature to retain the crispness of the puff pastry and the milky notes of the flan. "Flantastic!

183, rue Marcadet, 75018 Paris.

Sébastien Bouillet, Pâtisserie Bouillet, Lyon

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@Philipe Vaures Santa Maria

The special thing about Sébastien Bouillet's flan: it's egg-free! "I imagined a flan rich in cream and vanilla, which I make on shortcrust pastry. The secret: I pour the hot mixture onto the frozen raw dough, then bake it for a long time - around 1h45 - at 150°C, which influences the final texture."We love the melt-in-the-mouth, compote-like texture of this very creamy flan.

15, place de la Croix-Rousse, 69004 Lyon.

www.choc olatier-bouillet.com

Clément Higgins, Bricoleurs de Douceurs, Marseille

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@Ilya Kagan

A flan that could almost be described as farmhouse. The chef and founder, Clément Higgins, doesn't hesitate to prepare it on weekends using raw milk from Gilles Baille, a breeder and cheesemaker in Trets."2/3 milk and 1/3 cream, whole eggshells and vanilla sugar; I don't add water as in the traditional recipe, because I'm looking for a flan with a really creamy texture and less firmness."Here, it's best enjoyed chilled. Don't wait to try it!

202, chemin du Vallon-de-l'Oriol, 13007 Marseille.

www.bric oleursdedouceurs.fr

Alban Guilmet, Pâtisserie Alban Guilmet, Caen

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@AGuilmet

The indulgence of an eggless flan made with local dairy products to give this dessert the uniqueness of a terroir taste. "Flan is my favorite cake. I like it dense and creamy at the same time. I like to serve it on buttery puff pastry to give it an even more gourmet touch. The pastry plays a particular role in the texture, of course, but also in the taste of the flan."We can't wait to discover this flan, a tribute to good farm produce.

6, rue Saint-Jean, 14000 Caen.

www.alba nguilmet.fr

To leaf out...

Flans gourmands, Stéphane Glacier, Collection " Tradition et gourmandises ", 2019, 64 pages, €17.50. 18 classic or reinterpreted recipes: chocolate, coconut, lactose-free, gluten-free and even egg-free!
Mes Flans pâtissiers, Ju Chamalo, Éditions de La Martinière, 2022, 160 pages, €19.90. 50 flan recipes, from traditional vanilla flan to fruity flan, including a few collaborations, a book for flan lovers.
Le Petit Manuel du flan, Mélanie Dupuis, éditions Marabout, 2022, 144 pages, €15.90. 40 recipes for understanding, learning and mastering flan.