Flan parisien

Method

Make the shortcrust pastry by rubbing cold diced butter into flour and salt until breadcrumb texture, then add sugar, egg yolk and cold water, bringing together gently without overworking; wrap and chill for minimum 30 minutes. Roll out pastry to 3mm thickness and line a 26cm tart tin, prick the base and chill for 15 minutes whilst preheating oven to 200C fan. Blind bake for 12 minutes with baking beans, remove beans and bake a further 3 minutes until light golden, then set aside. For the custard, split the vanilla pod lengthwise and scrape seeds into cold milk, heating gently to 70C; whisk egg yolks with caster sugar until pale and thick, then sift in cornflour and plain flour, whisking to combine. Temper the yolks by slowly whisking in the warm milk, then return entire mixture to the saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk until it thickens and reaches 82C (about 4-5 minutes); remove from heat, add butter and whisk until smooth. Pour hot custard into the pastry case and bake at 200C fan for 18-20 minutes until the surface is set but the centre still trembles slightly when moved; the custard will continue to set as it cools. Cool completely at room temperature, then refrigerate for minimum 4 hours. Dust generously with icing sugar just before serving, optionally torching lightly with a kitchen blowtorch for caramelised surface.