“Is making a Cheese flan difficult?”
“Why?” , I was suspicious when Mr. Swiss asks, what was he planning? I must admit he has become perfect in baking an apple flan, so perfect that I was eating them at least 2-3 times a week. Not that I do not like apple flan, I love them, but they were becoming a habit and I was perhaps no longer giving them the appreciation they deserved. Indeed, he was quite disappointed on our last shopping trip when I happened to mention that he should perhaps not buy apples and pastry to make a further apple flan.
“You don’t like them?”
“Of course I do, they are super, but together with my diabetes and other problems, I have decided to cut down on my sugar intake.”
Of course this was true, although I always made exceptions, even if they did become a rule now and again. Mr. Swiss thinks only of me and helps where possible, and so the idea of a cheese flan (Käsekuchen in our local Swiss German) was born. It is a Swiss thing and generally eaten as an evening meal accompanied with a plate of soup and served fresh and warm from the oven.
My reaction was perhaps not so immediately positive, as this was a step forwards from the general apple flan which annyone could bake, although Mr. Swiss had brought this to perfection, to something a little more advanced. However the great gourmet cooks amongst us are always searching for new opportunitis to develop their skills.
“You have to get pastry.” I said.”
“The normal, or flaky?” You see he was on the way to becoming a professional realising that there were two sorts you could buy, ready rolled out, packed in plastic in the supermarket.
I told him that the normal would be fine, thinking of the crumbly mess that flaky pastry could cause. We now progressed to the cheese, but he was always attentive when I baked this particular dish and knew that our usual was gruyère cheese. I told him he would have to grate it to fine pieces and place it on the pastry. He already knew that he assured me, after all he was a professional apple flan baker. I added that he should mix a handful of flour into the cheese. It was then he had a questioning expression on his face, but I think he got the hang of it. We then progressed to the liquid addition to the cheese. This was not so difficult, as it was almost the same as the apple flan, eggs and milk/cream but without sugar and just added pepper to give it a push.
We now had a problem as you bake the apple flan wihout adding the liquid for 15-20 minutes to make sure the pasty gets nice and crispy. However, this cannot be done with the cheese flan, you have to do it all at once. I think he got the idea so tomorrow evening will be the première. He added I would be at home in any case, so he could always ask me. He was convinced that a home made cheese flan would be better than the frozen ones you buy in the supermarket. “Of course” I said. Who am I to deter the ambitions of a master cook.
Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss 
Are we talking Chäswähe here? Quiche?
I love baking tarts, sweet, savoury, veggies & fruit, pizzas and what-have-you. My best trick to get a crusty bottom (not me, the tart!!! Pat, Pat!) is putting a fine layer of oat flakes in between the baking pan with the parchment paper AND the underside of the pastry AND another soup spoon of them sprinkled on top of the pastry, before adding your ‘whatever’…. You can’t taste the oats (Haferflöckli) but they allow the pastry to become knusprig & nicely brown. Since I do it that way, we can eat our tarts without fork & spoon but can hold it in our hand and bite off it….. If that sounds wrong, leave it – it helped me tremendously. And I really hate a soggy tart. Also, the French don’t make a ‘Guss’ at all, I make a small one with just one egg, a little fromage blanc (or Quark or Sauermilch or Greek joghurt) and very little milk, no starch (Maizena), little sugar (I use Stevia) – for savoury of course not – my ‘Wähe’ got better and better…. Bon appétit – you seem to have caught quite the ideal man – who is not only worried about you when you go out alone but who can cook too! 🙂
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Thanks for the tip, but I like it quick and simple. We call them “Chueche” in Solothurner land, Wähe is more the East Swiss expression I believe. At least that was what they called it in my 2 years living in Zürich. I know the so-called “blind” baking of pastriy. I would put a layer of paper on the tart and fill it with beans or something heavy. Then bake the pastry and afterwards remove it and add the ingredients. I like the Guss made with cream and eggs and a little Maizena of course. Am not so into quark or joghurt, as it does not agree with my lactose household. I am not sure if he caught me or I caught him, but it has lasted 48 years so far.
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I wasn’t talking about blind baking; I am far too lazy for that…. 🙂 No, you put the ‘Haferflöckli’ and then pile in the rest of your baking goods. That’s it! I got off te Maizena after I forgot it once and everything held together just fine 🙂 If you have intolerances, of course, you mustn’t change your ‘bewährte Rezeptur’
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I am no longer sure what my intolerances are and so am careful of what I eat. I have also forgotten Maizena now and again, and it really does not make a big difference.
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I ‘only’ found that I don’t really need Maizena; if you make only a very little of the ‘sauce’ it can quietly hold together the fruit or savory filling but won’t fill the pastry to the border…. I don’t like the Swiss ‘Wähe’ any more, too much ‘Guss’! Take care
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It’s a bitch to have diabetes.
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Have had it for thirty years, so has become a way of life, although I should make it more a way of life. I don’t have to inject, just tablets. I do enough injecting with my medicine every second day for my MS and they are not pens, but the real thing.
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Quiche…that sounds good. Gruyere is the classic cheese but once I used Emmenthaler and it was really delicious! Very hard to get here in the back of beyond, though… Also green onions and sometimes bacon. I like it because it’s three or four nights dinner. My grandma used to make it and called it “tomato pie” — with sliced tomatoes and cheddar cheese.
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There are many variations. We also do it with spinach, or mushrooms. I don’t mind emmental but prefer to eat it pure and not in a quiche.
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Me too. I discovered how good it was in quiche when I wanted quiche but didn’t want to go to the store… 🙂
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Pingback: Daily Prompt: Crispy time — Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss – Site Title
I remember once really admiring a friend’s fantastic pastry crust, only to discover she bought it already made in the refrigerator at the grocery store. I never felt guilty about using pre-made crust again!
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The pie crust I get in the store is raw, not baked. I have to form it myself for what I want to use it.
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