Flan aux Cerises
M. Melvy
Garnissez le moule à flan avec de la pâte brisée, abaissée à un demi-centimètre. Saupoudrez d'une bonne couche de sucre en poudre. Retirez les noyaux de vos cerises, et rangez celles-ci sur le flan. Mettez au four une demi-heure, laissez refroidir, et si vous possédez de la confiture de cerises, mettez en une couche légère sur les cerises.
A rustic open cherry tart — here flan means a French pastry-lined tart, not a custard — from contributor M. Melvy.
- “Pâte brisée”A basic shortcrust; roll it thin, to a scant ¼ inch (the demi-centimètre), and line a tart pan.
- Sugar under the fruitA good layer of sugar sprinkled on the pastry sweetens the cherries and helps catch their juices.
- Pit the cherriesRemove the stones and pack the cherries cut-side down over the sugar; about 1–1½ lb fills a standard tart.
- Real oven heatBake at a moderate-to-hot 375–400°F for about 30 minutes, until the crust is set and golden.
- The jam glazeOnce cooled, spread a thin layer of cherry jam over the fruit for shine and extra flavor — a simple, traditional finish.
In French, flan long meant an open tart baked in a shallow ring — the sense used here — and only later did the word come to mean the wobbly caramel custard many now expect. A summer tart of pitted cherries on sweetened shortcrust is French home baking at its plainest and best, a close cousin to the batter-baked clafoutis of the Limousin. Its place in a Creole cookbook is a reminder that New Orleans dessert-making stayed tethered to provincial French tradition, cherries and all.
From page 111 of the 1904 edition.
Original pages from the book
