French Chocolate Flan

This French Chocolate Flan is a baked chocolate custard tart that is popular in Paris, France. Creamy, smooth, and full of chocolate flavor, it's a decadent dessert for chocolate lovers!

I first discovered 'Flan Patissier au Chocolat' in a sunny little cafe in Paris while visiting my sister. My first thought was 'What?! You can get CHOCOLATE FLAN?!' We ordered one up and it did not disappoint. The silky, creamy, smooth dessert has such a luxurious mouthfeel and is intensely chocolatey.

Ever since that trip, I have been daydreaming about that delicious baked chocolate custard and I just had to develop my own chocolate flan recipe and make it at home. That trip also inspired this post about how to make Almond Croissants (French bakery style).

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• How to Prepare the Chocolate Custard
• How to Make the Chocolate Pastry Base
• How to Make the Chocolate Flan
• What is Chocolate Flan?
• Equipment
• Storage
• FAQ
• More French Dessert Recipes
• Recipe

How to Prepare the Chocolate Custard

The chocolate custard for this Parisian flan starts off like any other custard (pastry cream) recipe.

1. Add 2 eggs and 3 egg yolks to a large bowl with the sugar. Whisk vigorously until the mixture is light and slightly foamy (about 30 seconds).
2. Add the cornflour and salt and whisk everything together until it is smooth and there are no more lumps of cornflour. Set aside.
3. In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and cream on medium heat.
4. Once the milk starts to heat up and you can see steam rising from it, drizzle a little of it into the egg mixture and whisk. Then add more gradually, whisking as you go.
   
   Don't rush this step, we are trying to temper the eggs, which means bringing the temperature up very slowly so they can incorporate into the warm mixture without the eggs scrambling.

5. Once all the milk is incorporated into the eggs, add the whole mixture back into the saucepan and turn the stovetop down to medium-low heat. Whisk CONSTANTLY as your custard thickens.
6. You'll feel the custard starting to thicken after a minute or two. You'll know it is ready when you can coat the back of a spoon and run your finger through it, and it will leave a trail on the spoon.

7. Now for the chocolate part! Once the custard has reached this stage, remove it from the heat and add in your chocolate, and whisk until totally incorporated and smooth.
8. Transfer to a separate bowl to cool, cover with plastic wrap (touching the surface of the chocolate custard). Let cool for 1-2 hours or at least until lukewarm in temperature.

How to Make the Chocolate Pastry Base

The chocolate pastry base is ridiculously easy to make and comes together super fast. If you want to you can make this before your custard, but I just find it easier to make while the custard is cooling as I have time to kill anyway.

1. Add the flour, icing sugar, cocoa powder, and salt to a bowl and mix together.
2. Melt the butter in the microwave for 30 seconds and then add to the dry ingredients along with the vanilla.
3. Mix everything together until it forms a dough. Knead gently with your hands a couple of times and then flatten it out onto your lined cookie sheet. You can use your hands or a rolling pin to shape it into a flat circle, slightly larger than your pastry ring.
4. Bake for 10 minutes or until the pastry loses the glossy sheen, then remove from the oven and immediately press the pastry ring into the pastry, like a giant cookie cutter. Leave it there while the pastry cools.
   
   Doing it this way will ensure that your pastry base fits the ring perfectly and doesn't shrink in the oven.
5. Once the pastry cools, you can break off the excess around the outside of the ring. We don't need it for the recipe but don't throw it out, it makes a great crunchy snack or a crumbly topping for ice cream or yogurt!
6. Leave the pastry ring on the pastry, we will be pouring our chocolate mixture on top of it once it has cooled. 

Note: If you don't have a pastry ring, see the Equipment section below for instructions on how to make this with a loose-bottomed cake pan instead.

How to Make the Chocolate Flan

1. Once your chocolate flan mixture has cooled, grease your pastry ring very lightly with butter or flavorless cooking spray.
2. Pour the chocolate custard into the cake ring and bake in a preheated oven for 50-60 minutes.
3. When the flan is baked, it should be slightly wobbly in the middle. You can check if it's ready by inserting a cake tester or skewer 1 inch from the edge of the flan, it should come out clean.
   
   You can't test the middle as it would still be gooey. The flan will continue to bake after it comes out of the oven, so if the middle were set already then you would end up with an overbaked, rubbery flan.
4. Let the flan sit on the countertop until the sides of the cake pan feel completely cool, then cover and transfer to the refrigerator to chill.
   
   If your baking sheet doesn't fit in your fridge (like mine didn't) you can gently use the baking paper under your flan to carefully lift the flan onto a smaller plate that will fit.
5. Chill overnight. Do not try to unmold or slice your chocolate flan before it has had time to chill. It will still be too soft and gooey to support itself in the middle and you will end up with a big chocolatey mess.
6. Unmold the chocolate flan by gently lifting the pastry ring off. If it is stuck or you are having some trouble, you can run a sharp knife around the inside of the cake pan to release it. Alternatively, you can gently heat the outside of the pastry ring to loosen it slightly.
7. A classic flan patissier has a thin layer of apricot jam painted on top to give it a nice shine. I didn't have apricot jam so I just used strawberry jam. You really don't get the flavor of the jam, it's purely for aesthetics, so you can use whatever kind of jam you have or just skip this extra step entirely if you like.
   
   Melt the jam in the microwave or a small saucepan and then brush it on top of the flan with a pastry brush.

What is Chocolate Flan?

When you think of flan, you are probably picturing a custard dessert baked with dulce de leche in the bottom of the bundt pan, so when it turns out it is swimming in a sea of hot caramel sauce. This is a traditional flan, and it's delicious.

But we are looking at a Parisian Flan, which is more like a chocolate custard tart. The full official name for this French dessert is 'Flan Patissier au Chocolat' which translates to 'custard pastry with chocolate'.

It is basically a custard with dark chocolate melted into it, poured onto a pastry base, and then baked and left to chill overnight to make a wonderful luxurious dessert.

The best way I can think to describe it is that it's like my Baked Chocolate Cheesecake, but without the tang of cream cheese and with more of a creamy flavor.

It's also similar to Creme Brulee, but it's a chocolate version and doesn't have the crunchy top. It's difficult to describe exactly so you'll just have to try it for yourself!

Storage

Because it is a baked custard, you want to store your chocolate flan in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

However, chocolate flan is best served at room temperature as it will unlock all the chocolate flavor, so I recommend removing it from the fridge about one hour before serving for maximum flavor.

FAQ

Recipe