serves
6-8
prep
50 minutes
cook
1:30 hour
difficulty
Mid
serves
6-8
people
preparation
50
minutes
cooking
1:30
hour
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 250 ml (1 cup) thickened (heavy) cream
- 250 ml (1 cup) milk
- ½ tsp salt
- pinch of ground black pepper
- 2 cups grated cheese (I used Comté and Raclette)
- finely chopped chives, to garnish
Flaky pastry
- 60 ml (¼ cup) warm (45ºC) water
- 7 g active dry yeast
- 55 g (¼ cup) caster (granulated) sugar, plus 1 tsp extra
- 120 ml milk, at room temperature
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp salt
- 300 g (2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 230 g cold butter, cut into 2 cm pieces
Chilling time 2 hours 10 minutes
Instructions
To make the pastry, combine the warm water, yeast and extra 1 teaspoon sugar in a bowl. Stand for 5 minutes or until the yeast is foamy. (If the yeast doesn't foam, it's probably old and it's best to start over. Better safe than sorry!) Add the milk, egg, salt and remaining 55 g (¼ cup) sugar. Whisk until combined, then set aside. Place the flour and butter in a large bowl and cut the butter into the flour until coarse crumbs form, but there are still a few pieces of butter in there (you can use a pastry cutter, but I find that hands work best). Add the wet ingredients, then, using a wooden spoon, stir until combine mixture just comes together.
Turn the pastry out onto a well-floured surface. Using your hands, shape into a square. Using a floured rolling pin, roll out to a 23 cm x 33 cm rectangle. Fold the dough into thirds, like you're folding a letter to put into an envelope, then roll the dough out again and fold into envelope thirds. Roll the dough out a third time, then fold into thirds again. Finally, roll out into a 23 cm x 33 cm rectangle and fold into thirds, but instead of rolling it out again, cut the dough in half, wrap each square in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or as long as overnight.
Preheat the oven to 220ºC. Roll out 1 piece of dough on a well-floured surface, then gently place in a 23–25 cm pie dish, trimming and crimping the edges to fit (save the remaining piece of dough for another time and freeze until needed, or do yourself a favour and make 2 quiches). Gently poke the base of the pastry shell a few times with a knife or fork, then line with baking paper and pastry weights or dried beans. Freeze for 10 minutes to firm it up. Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges are golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Reduce the oven to 180ºC.
To make the filling, using a blender or stick blender, blend the eggs, cream, milk, salt, pepper and one-third of the cheese. Sprinkle one-third of the cheese over the base of the pie crust, then pour the egg mixture over the top. Sprinkle the top with the remaining one-third of the cheese. Make a protective rim around the pastry edges with foil, so that the edges don't burn, and bake for 1 hour–1 hour 20 minutes or until the centre has just a little jiggle and the top is golden brown. Cool slightly in the pan.
Sprinkle over the chives, then slice and serve.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
