Posted by Leslie on January 31, 1999 at 21:48:41:
In Reply to: Re: flan vs. creme brulee definitions posted by Gumbo Ya Ya on January 31, 1999 at 19:03:34:
Dear Gumbo YaYa,
Creme de la creme is a French expression meaning best of the best. I think you are talking about Coeurs a la Creme. No?
Gerard is right about the flan bit, it is an stiff pastry cream re-baked in a pie shell. Sometimes a creme caramel is called Flan au Caramel.
I have never heard of an apple tart being called a flan in France but there are so many versions of the same thing around...that i could be wrong
A creme brulee is a custard cream with the caramel on top (caramelized), made only with yolks and a higher cream content than a creme caramel which is usually only made with milk.
Creme Brulee is also referred to as Creme Catalan, which is Spanish. All the "with it" chefs now use this name for creme brulee (probably to confuse the customers!)
What do you think?