Eggs à la Religieuse

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Deep 8-inch (20-cm) removable-bottom tart tin
• •Rolling pin
• •Parchment and baking weights
• •Small wide saucepan
• •Slotted spoon
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Heatproof measuring jug
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Rimmed baking sheet

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the pâte à foncer

   Make the pâte à foncer (lining pastry): combine the flour, 2 teaspoons sugar, and salt, then rub in the cold butter until the mixture holds small, flattened flakes. Stir in the egg yolk and 2 tablespoons ice water. Squeeze a handful; if it holds, stop. If it crumbles, add the remaining water a teaspoon at a time. Press the dough together without kneading, reserve a walnut-sized piece for repairs, flatten the rest into a disc, wrap, and chill for 45 minutes. Too much water or handling makes the shell tough.

2. 2

   Blind-bake it pale

   Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Butter a deep 8-inch (20-cm) removable-bottom tart tin with sides at least 1½ inches (4 cm) high. Roll the pastry about ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick, line the tin, and press it firmly into the corners without stretching. Trim the rim, chill for 15 minutes, then line with parchment and fill completely with baking weights. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, remove the weights, and bake for another 5 to 7 minutes. The shell should look dry and firm but remain ivory rather than browned. If a crack appears, press on a thin smear of the reserved raw dough and bake for 2 more minutes. Ça se rattrape.

3. 3

   Dry the Pralin lining

   Lower the oven to 300°F (150°C). Spread the Pralin (No. 2352) in a thin, even layer across the base and lower sides of the warm flawn. Return it to the oven for 7 to 9 minutes, just until the surface loses its tack and feels set. Do not let it darken beyond pale gold. This dried layer is not decoration; it gives almond flavour and shields the pastry from the milk custard. Cool the shell for 10 minutes.

4. 4

   Poach the eggs softly

   Put the milk and 57 g sugar in a small, wide saucepan and bring them just to a boil, stirring along the bottom until the sugar dissolves. Lower the heat immediately so the milk barely trembles. Crack one egg into a cup, slip it into the milk, and spoon milk over the top until the white barely holds around the still-loose yolk, about 2 minutes. Lift it with a slotted spoon and drain it over the pan, then repeat with the remaining eggs. If the sugared milk catches, pour the unscorched portion into a clean pan at once without scraping the bottom. Trim any ragged white after draining rather than cooking the yolk harder to neaten it.

5. 5

   Set eggs and pineapple

   Pass the poaching milk through a fine sieve into a heatproof jug and let it cool for 5 minutes. Blot the poached eggs and pineapple thoroughly; water carried into the flawn loosens the custard and softens the shell. Arrange one egg in each quarter of the flawn. Place a cock's-comb piece of pineapple between each pair, notching the curved edge with two or three small V cuts if needed to preserve the source preparation.

6. 6

   Bind the poaching milk

   Whisk the measured 2½ eggs with the 3 yolks only until blended, without beating in air. Pour in a small ladleful of the warm poaching milk while whisking, then add the rest gradually. The milk must be hot but no longer boiling, or it will scramble the eggs. If a few cooked flecks form, strain the mixture immediately into a cool jug; the custard will still set cleanly. Pass the finished mixture through the sieve once more. The source's instruction to thicken the milk means binding it with these eggs for the oven, not cooking it into a sauce on the stove.

7. 7

   Bake the custard gently

   Set the flawn on a rimmed baking sheet and place it on the oven rack before pouring, so a full shell need not travel across the kitchen. Pour the custard slowly around the eggs until they are almost covered. Bake at 300°F (150°C) for 25 to 32 minutes, until the outer custard is set, the centre still trembles softly, and the surface has taken only the faintest biscuit-gold colour. A thermometer inserted into the custard between the eggs should read 162 to 165°F (72 to 74°C). If the top colours before the centre sets, cover it loosely with parchment. Do not use the broiler; fierce top heat firms the yolks before the custard is ready.

8. 8

   Rest and serve

   Rest the flawn in its tin for 25 minutes. The custard will finish setting from its own warmth while the yolks remain soft. Unmould carefully and cut it into four generous wedges, following the position of the eggs so each guest receives one. Serve barely warm or at room temperature, when the almond layer, pineapple, custard, and tender yolk can all be tasted distinctly. À table!

Chef Tips

• •The scaled custard keeps the source ratio closely: about 2½ whole eggs and 3 yolks for 2 cups of poaching milk. Measuring 125 g of beaten whole egg is more accurate than guessing at half an egg, and accuracy matters in a custard this deep.
• •Use the freshest eggs you can find. Their whites sit tightly around the yolks in the milk, while older whites feather outward and require more trimming. Pasteurized shell eggs are the sensible choice when soft yolks require extra care at your table.
• •Good canned pineapple in juice is entirely proper here. The classical pantry understood preserved fruit. Drain and blot it well, because excess syrup or juice thins the custard and turns the pastry damp.
• •The second bake is the dish. Remove the flawn while the centre still moves as one soft mass, not as liquid ripples. If you wait for complete firmness in the oven, the custard becomes grainy and the yolks lose their tenderness.

Advance Preparation

• •The pastry dough can be mixed and chilled a day ahead. Let it soften only until it rolls without cracking.
• •The flawn shell can be blind-baked, lined with Pralin (No. 2352), dried, cooled, and kept airtight at room temperature for up to one day. This removes nearly all the pastry work from the dinner-party schedule.
• •Prepare the Pralin (No. 2352) in advance according to its own entry and bring the measured finished component to spreading consistency before lining the shell.
• •For the softest yolks, poach, assemble, and bake on the day of serving. The finished flawn may rest for up to 2 hours before it reaches the table; refrigeration firms both custard and yolks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 320g)