Flan aux œufs

Jacques Laffitte’s selected egg flan sets a vanilla-and-rum custard over a layer of caramel. The chilled dessert is inverted onto a serving plate so that the caramel can flow around it.

Sugar and water cook together until the caramel develops colour. It is poured into the flan mould and left to cool while milk is heated with a split vanilla pod and its scraped seeds.

Whole eggs and a separate portion of sugar are whisked until pale. The boiling vanilla milk is poured into that mixture while whisking, and the selected white rum is stirred in before the custard fills the caramel-lined mould.

The mould bakes in a hot water bath, then cools at room temperature before refrigeration. Once the flan is cold and firm, a knife loosens its sides before it is turned onto a plate.

The mould is lifted away to leave the caramel-topped flan ready to eat. Laffitte also allows the unmoulded dessert to remain chilled until serving, preserving the cold finish of this selected version.