According to Food.com which mentions this recipe, Madame Quiche sells small quiches on every Saturday at the Louviers market at France. Her quiches are so good that these recipes at Epicurious, Tastebook and Food.com are trying to make very near replica of her quiches. Have they?
Have you tasted the real Madame Quiche's quiche before? I didn't! ... but after seeing heaps of "4/4 reviews" and "95% make it again" at Epicurious, I strongly believe that Madame Quiche's quiche au fromage must be really really exceptionally good!
To taste the success of baking this quiche, I have to bear in mind of these key steps that were mentioned:
1) Do not over-mix the pastry dough!
The combined pastry dough should have traces of marbling patterns or streaky colours and this will make the pastry extra flaky and delicious!
2) The butter pastry must rest!
After combining the butter and flour into a dough, the pastry must rest in the fridge for at least one hour and mine rested for a whole night!
3) Freezing the pastry before baking is a must!!!
Really true! Cold pastry that goes into a hot oven will be extra flaky and delicious.
4) Before pouring the filling to bake, the pastry has to be pre-baked well enough!
Otherwise, the pastry won't be crispy at its bottom.
5) Use regular milk with 4% fat!
Unlike the French Baker's quiche and Cowboy Quiche (Pioneer Woman) that I have baked before, this quiche has a higher proportion of milk. Thus, the use of lower fat milk will significantly affect the quality of this quiche.
6) Use good quality Swiss cheese!
This cheese quiche is a pure cheese quiche... No bacons! No onions! No herbs! Just cheese! So obviously, good cheese makes good cheese quiche. And obviously, we shouldn't be stingy with the quality of the cheese we used to bake this quiche.
7) Do NOT use loose bottom pan!
Due to its high milk and eggs proportion, this filling mixture is more watery than most typical creamy quiche mixture and using a loose bottom pan (without the bottom counter pressure) may likely to cause the watery filling to seep through the pastry.
Now, are you ready to bake this really exceptionally good quiche?
After baking these, I feel that the quiche is not just exceptionally good. It is exceptionally AWESOME!!! It is one of the best quiches that I have tasted and I will tell you why...
This is the Madame Quiche's Quiche au Fromage that I have baked.
Important: Do NOT use loose bottom pan to bake this quiche!
For a nice decorative look, this is how I crimped the edges of the pastry.
Important: Freezing the pastry before baking is a must!!!
Important: The pastry has to be pre-baked well enough! Otherwise, the pastry won't be crispy at its bottom.
After baking the pastry, set it aside to cool slightly.
Meanwhile... in a medium sized bowl, I have these 6 eggs.
... and whisk in these ingredients.
This is one of favorite cheese.
Instead of grating the cheese, I have cut it into small cubes.
After baking...
Wow! This quiche is exceptionally AWESOME!!!
... because 1) the pastry is so buttery and flaky 2) it is constantly oozing with yummy gruyère cheese 3) and its custard filling is so different being so light and spongy!!!
Wish that you see the lightness of this custard filling in my photo. It is so tender like tofu!
This quiche is so good that I would highly recommend to bake it for Christmas.
This is one of the recipes that will surely impress!
Here's the recipe that is mostly adapted from Epicurious at here and here and also at Tastebook
For the pastry:
1 1/2 cups (225g) all-purpose flourlarge pinch of salt
8 tbsp (120g) unsalted butter, chilled and cut in small pieces
5-6 tbsp chilled water
For the filling:
6 large eggs2/3 cup heavy cream or crème fraîche (I used 200ml crème fraîche)
1 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
8 ounces (250g) gruyère, emmenthal, or any Swiss-type cheese, grated or cut into small cubes
(I used 195g gruyère cut into small cubes)
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg - optional (I didn't use it)
To make the pastry:
Place flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor or a large mixing bowl and process or stir to mix. Cut the butter in chunks and add it to the flour. Process it, using pulses or using your fingertips to rub it until the butter is incorporated into the flour and the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal.With the food processor running or using your fingertips to mix, add the water and process briefly, using pulses or mix by hand, just until the pastry beings to hold together in large clumps. Turn the pastry out onto a floured work surface and gather it into a ball. Wrap the dough in a cling wrap and refrigerate for 1 hrs or longer, preferably overnight.
To bake the pastry:
Roll out the pastry to fit a 10-1/2 inch (26 cm) glass or metal pie plate (please do not use loose bottom pan). Crimp the edges with your fingers (see my picture above), poke the bottom with a fork (optional, if you are freezing the pastry long enough, you can skip this step) and place the pastry in the freezer for 30 mins or longer.Preheat the oven to 425°F / 215°C. Line the pastry with aluminum foil and pastry weights and bake in the bottom third of the oven until the pastry is golden at the edges, about 15 mins. Remove from the oven and remove the aluminum foil and pastry weights. Return the pastry to the oven to bake until the bottom is golden, an additional 10 mins or until the bottom of the pastry is golden (not brown) and well baked. Remove from the oven and reserve. Allow the pastry to cool slightly for about 10-15 mins.
Reduce the oven temperature setting to 350°F / 180°C.
To prepare the filling:
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together eggs, cream and milk until thoroughly combined. Season with the salt and pepper. Arrange half of the cheese in the pre-baked pastry, spreading out the cheese evenly over the bottom of the pastry. Pour the egg mixture into the pastry and top with the remaining cheese.Sprinkle the top with nutmeg (I didn't do this) and bake in the center of the oven at 350°F / 180°C until the filling is golden and puffed, and is completely baked through, about 40-50 mins. To test for doneness, shake the quiche - if it is solid without a pool of uncooked filling in the center, it is done. If the pastry brown too quickly, cover the pastry edges with aluminum foil and continue to bake until the filling is done. Remove the quiche from the oven. Remove any foil from the pastry (if there is any) and serve immediately.
You can use this recipe to make bacon and cheese quiche and also onion and cheese quiche as mentioned in the original recipe but I like this quiche to be purely cheesy!
Happy BakingPlease support me and like me at Facebook...
This post is linked at Cook and Celebrate: Christmas 2015 hosted by Yen from GoodyFoodies, Diana from The Domestic Goddess Wannabe and Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids at here.
-------Don't forget to submit your details to WIN:Tovolo Gingerbread Boys / Girls Cutters set from Tovolo, Australia (Donaldson)
One set per winner. Open to ALL readers. Submission ends on 17 Dec 2015.
To win, please enter your details:
Tovolo Christmas Gingerbread Boy / Girl Cookie Cutter Giveaway
Tovolo Gingerbread Boys Cookie Cutters
Tovolo Gingerbread Girls Cookie Cutters
