Bouchon Flan Tart with Chocolate Ganache

So naturally after a healthy post I follow up with something on the other end of the scale. My mom got me Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery cookbook and having heard really great things about it I was excited to try something. I started off with the TKO cookies and the Nutter Butter’s but thought a more unique thing to share would be the Flan Tart! I slightly adapted it by omitting the apricots and adding a chocolate ganache to the top of it.

Flan Tart with Chocolate Ganache

Flan Tart with Chocolate Ganache

Look at that thing. I personally love flan, crème brûlée and all sorts of custard based desserts. This filling isn’t exactly flan per se as it does not include condensed milk which is typical of flan but more of a simple custard based simply on whole milk, eggs, vanilla and sugar. It has a pâte brisée crust and you can use Bouchon Bakery’s recipe or one that you are more familiar with, as long as it fits a 9 inch round pan.

Flan Tart with Chocolate Ganache

Flan Tart with Chocolate Ganache

The recipe’s in Bouchon Bakery are very exact and contain a lot of useful information. If you follow directions closely you will end up with a great product. One of the tips I really liked is to let muffin batter sit for a day as this soaks the flour and produces a more moist final product. Having made countless batches of dry-ish muffins despite vast amounts of oil or buttermilk this might be the clue I’ve been missing all these years! I plan on trying one of the muffin recipes and reporting back here to see how that goes 🙂

Flan Tart with Chocolate Ganache

One important thing to note is that they call for Bird’s Custard Powder for the recipe. Coincidentally had this as I had been to Cost Plus World Market and they had this in their section of international foods a while ago (custard powder is quite popular in the UK). If you don’t have it I looked at the ingredients and it is entirely cornstarch with flavoring and food coloring. So you can most likely sub cornstarch for it and maybe add some extra vanilla. Your final custard might be less yellow but taste should not be too highly affected.

INSTRUCTIONS:

FOR THE PATE BRISEE RECIPE SEE INSIDE THE BOOK HERE

FOR THE FLAN TART RECIPE SEE INSIDE THE BOOK HERE

FOR THE CHOCOLATE GANACHE:

INGREDIENTS:

– 8 oz dark chocolate, chopped
– 1/2 cup whole milk or cream

1. Melt the chocolate and milk together over a double boiler or by microwaving for 30 second increments with whisking in between.
2. Spread over the cooled flan tart.

Flan Tart with Chocolate Ganache

Flan Tart with Chocolate Ganache

Flan Tart with Chocolate Ganache

TIPS:
– As before, if you do not have Bird’s Custard Powder you can order it online, find it at Cost Plus World Market or substitute for cornstarch and extra vanilla flavoring.
– Incorporating coconut in this, whether by subbing in coconut milk or topping with toasted coconut would be quite good.
– Another option is omitting the chocolate ganache and topping with fresh berries.

Slice

Related articles

• Bouchon Chocolate Covered Eclairs with Dulce de Leche Coconut Filling (sundiegoeats.com)
• Dark Chocolate-Cherry Custard Cake (kitchensmitten.wordpress.com)
• Guiltless Chocolate Ganache (guiltlessascharged.wordpress.com)

Albertacos

Craving some tasty and well priced Mexican food? Need an enormous burrito to satisfy your craving while you’re in North County? Sun Diego Eats has got you covered! As a native and former resident of Vista, Albertacos has been a staple of my life for over 10 years. In fact, I still make semi-regular pilgramages up there just to chow down on some of their food. So what’s so great about this little taqueria? Read on and find out.

Breakfast Burrito

Albertacos is in the classic taco shop mold; bright red and yellow paint, a fuzzy drive-thru intercom and delicious Mexican food. Some of their more popular eats include rolled tacos (loaded with guacamole, sour cream and cheese), the California Burrito, Carne Asada fries, and of course the Breakfast Burrito. The Breakfast Burrito includes eggs, bacon, fries, cheese, and ham. To enhance your experience, add in Carne Asada and make it even more filling. It is well worth the extra 50 cents, especially since the burrito only costs ~$3.25 to begin with.

Breakfast Burrito and Carrots

What happens next is magic. The ingredients fuse together to create one of the best Breakfast Burritos I have ever experienced. The carne is juicy and flavorful, the eggs hot and fluffy, and the cheese is melted all over the place. In short, it is a super hearty burrito which will quickly convince you to order another for the road. Just look at that thing!

Breakfast Burrito Closeup

Of course, no Mexican burrito would be complete without hot sauce, but fear not, Albertacos delivers once again. Their red hot sauce is fiery, well balanced, and we encourage you to consume it in large quantities like we do. Recently, Albertacos has installed a salsa bar which includes a second red hot sauce as well as a green tomatillo hot sauce. The green is also quite good and it’s refreshing aspect contrasts well with the red. Lastly, don’t forget to order a couple sides of spicy carrots! They are done to perfection here. The carrots are tangy, spicy, and contain just the right amount of crispiness. It sounds simple, but spicy carrots are messed up at so many other Mexican places that I never take them for granted. So next time you’re in the area, make sure to make the stop in from the 78 and get the Mexican order of your choice. You won’t be disappointed.

Red Hot Sauce

Green Hot Sauce

CHECK:
Two Breakfast Burritos – $8.00
3 Sides of Carrots – $1.00 (They usually only charge for 2 bags at max)
Total – $9.00

Note: There are multiple Albertacos locations throughout San Diego, I believe near SDSU and also in San Marcos. We cannot vouch for these spots as we haven’t tried them and are unaware if they are owned by the same folks. The Albertacos we so strongly endorse is the one on Sycamore Ave in Vista.

Albertacos

601 Sycamore Ave, Vista, CA 92083
(760) 598-6047

Strawberry Vanilla Pound Cake with Almond Crumble

There are certain flavors that can really take a dish the extra mile and at the same time it’s hard to put your finger on what’s missing when it’s not there; nutmeg in cream sauces, a squeeze of lemon to brighten up roasted asparagus, and almond in vanilla-based baked goods. This pound cake is a simple pound cake recipe to which we add fresh strawberries, almond extract, a glaze and almond crumble. Nice to serve with ice cream for dessert or just lightly toasted for breakfast.

Strawberry Vanilla Pound Cake

RECIPE:

STRAWBERRY VANILLA POUND CAKE WITH ALMOND CRUMBLE

Pound Cake & Glaze:
1 cup softened unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
3/4 cup of confectioner’s sugar
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
3 large eggs
1 1/3 cups self-rising cake flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup of chopped strawberries tossed with 2 tablespoons of flour
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1/2 tsp of almond extract

Almond Crumble:
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons cold butter, diced
3/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup sugar

– Preheat the oven to 350C and grease a loaf pan.
– In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar, then add the lemon zest.
– Add the eggs one at a time with a tablespoon of the flour for each.
– Then gently mix in the rest of the flour.
– Add the lemon juice (saving 2 tbsp for glaze), vanilla, and finally almond extract.
– Mix in the chopped strawberries then add to the loaf pan.
– Pulse all the ingredients for the crumble in a food processor until you have a crumbly/granola consistency. Set aside.
– Sprinkle the loaf with caster sugar (about 2 tablespoons should do it) and then the crumble as it goes into the oven. Then bake for 1 hour or until a cake-tester comes out clean.
– Remove to a wire rack, and let cool in the tin before turning out.
– Whisk the confectioner’s sugar with 2 tbsp of lemon juice until the glaze is smooth. Add lemon juice/sugar as needed to adjust the consistency.
– Once its cooled swirl the glaze on top.

Based on Nigella’s Madeira Cake

The final product is a nice mix of rich pound cake with tartness from the strawberries, extra sweetness from the glaze and crunchy texture from the crumble. The almond perfumes the loaf and the strawberries get the tiniest bit jammy from being in the oven. Try it out 🙂

TIPS:

– You can sub out the strawberries for other berries, fresh or frozen.
– Be sure to toss the fruit in flour so they don’t sink to the bottom of the cake.
– You could also use dried strawberries if you don’t like how fresh/frozen fruit can bleed into the cake.
– Tastes even better the day after.