Sieve the flour and add it to the food processor with the butter, egg, and cheese. I recommend whisking all the eggs together and just using a quarter for the pastry as per the recipe. Whizz together for a few seconds until pastry is formed.
115 g Plain Flour, 70 g Butter, 0.5 Egg, 60 g Mature cheddar cheese
Wrap the pastry in a beeswax wrap or clingfilm to keep out the air and prevent it from drying out. Place it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
For the Pastry. Manual Method
Sieve the flour into a bowl and rub in the butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
115 g Plain Flour, 70 g Butter
I recommend whisking all the eggs together and just using a quarter for the pastry as per the recipe. Gradually add the egg and bring the mixture together until it forms a dough. Add a little water if you need to. Knead in the grated cheese. Wrap the pastry in a beeswax wrap or clingfilm to keep out the air and prevent it from drying out. Place it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
0.5 Egg, 60 g Mature cheddar cheese
Assembling the Cheese Flan
Preheat the oven to 230°C/450°F/gas 8. Dust a surface with a little flour and roll out the pastry to ½cm thickness in a roughly circular shape..
Roll the pastry loosely around a rolling pin and unroll it to cover a 23cm /9 inch flan dish.
Lightly press the pastry into the tin or tray.
Use a rolling pin and roll over the edges of the flan dish to trim the excess pastry. Put this to one side. (use the excess pastry to make cheese biscuits)
Sprinkle the grated cheese over the pastry in an even layer.
115 g Mature cheddar cheese
Whisk the eggs and mix with the milk.
280 ml milk, 1.5 eggs
Pour the eggs and milk over the cheese.
Place the flan on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 12 minutes until the filling is just beginning to set. You will notice a slight skin forming on the top.
Turn the heat down to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6 and cook for a further 15 - 20 minutes until the filling sets.
Leave to cool and serve.
Notes
Ingredient Notes
Plain flour - or All Purpose Flour
Eggs - the recipe uses two altogether, half an egg in the pastry and 1 ½ in the filling.
Butter - I use salted but you can also use unsalted
Cheese - a mature cheddar is best for a rich flavour. It works best if you grate the cheese yourself rather than buying packet grated or shredded cheese. This is because pre-grated cheeses have a special coating on them to stop it clumping together in the packet. This also means that it doesn't melt as well. A mature cheddar rather than a mild cheddar will give the best flavour.
Milk - I recommend full-fat or semi-skimmed.
Storage
Cheese Flan can be stored in the fridge for 3 - 4 days and should be placed in the refrigerator within two hours of cooling.It freezes well and can be frozen for 3-4 months.
How to Reheat
The best way to reheat cheese flan is to cover it with foil so the top doesn't brown further and reheat it in the oven at 160 / 325°F for about 15 minutes. This will ensure it is heated consistently all the way through.