Quiche Lorraine
A great quiche comes down to two things: a crisp, properly blind-baked case and a custard that leaves the oven while the centre still trembles. Get those right and the filling turns silky rather than rubbery, with every bit of smoky bacon shining through. Serve it warm with a sharp green salad and you need nothing else.
- Prep
- 35 min
- Cook
- 55 min
- Rest
- 1 h 40 min
- Total
- 3 h 10 min
- Servings
- 8
- Level
- Medium
- Per serving
- 470 kcal
Ingredients
For the pastry
For the filling
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What to use instead
Emmental or any nutty aged hard cheese can stand in for gruyère, and smoked pork belly or pancetta works instead of bacon.
Makes: 1 quiche (24 cm), 8 slices
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
Oven
190 °C · top and bottom heat, no fan
With a fan: 170 °C
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Step 1: Make the pastry
Mix the flour and salt, add the cold butter and rub it in with your fingertips until you have coarse crumbs with a few pea-sized flecks of butter left. Add the yolk and 3 tablespoons of ice water and quickly press the dough together, adding the extra spoonful only if it stays crumbly. Flatten into a disc, wrap and chill for 1 hour.
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Step 2: Line the tin
Roll the pastry on a floured surface into a 30 cm circle about 3 mm thick. Ease it into a 24 cm tart tin with a removable base, press it well into the corners and leave the excess hanging over the rim. Prick the base with a fork and chill for 20 minutes while the oven heats to 190 °C (375 °F).
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Step 3: Blind bake
Line the pastry with parchment, fill with dried beans or rice and bake for 15 minutes. Lift out the paper and weights and bake for another 8–10 minutes, until the base looks dry and pale gold. Trim the overhang flush with a sharp knife and lower the oven to 170 °C (340 °F).
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Step 4: Render the bacon
Put the bacon in a cold, dry frying pan and cook over medium heat for 6–8 minutes, until the fat has rendered and the edges are golden. Drain on paper towels.
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Step 5: Whisk the custard
In a jug, whisk the eggs with the cream and milk, then add the nutmeg, pepper and just a pinch of salt, since the bacon and cheese are already salty. Whisk until smooth but not frothy.
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Step 6: Fill the case
Scatter the bacon and cheese evenly over the base, set the tin on a baking sheet and slide it into the oven. Pour in the custard right there, almost to the rim, so you never have to carry a brimming tin.
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Step 7: Bake until just set
Bake for 30–35 minutes. It’s done when the edges are set, the top is patched with gold and the centre wobbles slightly, like jelly, when you nudge the tin.
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Step 8: Rest before slicing
Leave the quiche in the tin for 15–20 minutes; the custard finishes setting as it cools, giving you clean slices. Then lift it off the base and cut.
Tips & variations
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Variation
The oldest versions of quiche Lorraine have no cheese at all, just bacon, eggs and cream. Try it that way once: the flavour is cleaner and more delicate.
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Tip
If the pastry slumps down the sides during blind baking, it wasn’t cold enough. Never skip the 20-minute chill after lining the tin.
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Swap
Emmental or any nutty aged hard cheese can stand in for gruyère, and smoked pork belly or pancetta works instead of bacon.
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Storage
Refrigerate for up to 3 days. Reheat slices at 160 °C for 10–12 minutes; the microwave turns the pastry soft.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 8 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 470 kcal | 3,760 kcal |
| Protein | 15 g | 120 g |
| Fat | 37 g | 296 g |
| Carbohydrates | 20 g | 160 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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