Quiche Lorraine
The original quiche has no cheese in it, and once you taste this custard — barely set, heavy on cream, studded with smoky lardons — you will understand why. The blind-baked pastry shell is the difference between a quiche and a sad, wet tart.
Photograph credit: Quiche Lorraine - Julien Plumart 2025-05-12 by Andy Li · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
A custard sets when egg proteins coagulate around 80°C / 175°F; pushed past that they squeeze out water and the quiche weeps. Baking at a low 160°C / 320°F gives you a wide margin, and pulling the quiche while the centre still wobbles lets carry-over heat finish the job to a silky, sliceable set.
Questions About Quiche Lorraine
How long does Quiche Lorraine take to make?
25 minutes of preparation and 1 hour 5 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes of cooking, plus 1 hour 50 minutes of chilling, so allow 3 hours 20 minutes to 3 hours 30 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 6.
The Method for Quiche Lorraine
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Rub the butter into the flour and salt until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs with some pea-sized pieces left. Mix the yolk with the water and stir in, bringing it together with as little handling as possible.
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Flatten into a disc, wrap and chill for at least 1 hour.
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Roll out to 3 mm and line a 23 cm deep tart tin, leaving the excess overhanging. Prick the base and chill for 30 minutes.
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Line with baking paper and fill with beans. Bake at 190°C / 375°F for 20 minutes, remove the beans and bake 10 minutes more until the base is sandy and dry.
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Brush the hot shell with a little beaten egg and return to the oven for 2 minutes — this seals any cracks and waterproofs the pastry.
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Fry the lardons until crisp, drain and scatter over the base.
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Whisk the eggs, yolks, cream, milk, nutmeg, salt and pepper until smooth but not frothy. Strain through a sieve for a flawless custard.
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Set the tart tin on the oven shelf, pour in the custard to just below the rim, and bake at 160°C / 320°F for 35 to 40 minutes until set at the edge with a 5 cm wobble in the centre.
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Trim the overhanging pastry with a knife while warm, then cool for 20 minutes before slicing.
Related guides: Prep, cook and total time · Pan and tin size.
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Tips That Matter
- Fill the shell at the oven, not the worktop. Carrying a full quiche across the kitchen ends badly.
- Leaving the pastry overhanging prevents shrinkage; trim it after baking for razor-sharp edges.
- Serve warm rather than hot — the custard flavour is muted straight from the oven.
Changing the Recipe
- In a sauce, full-fat crème fraîche can usually take the place of the double cream; single cream is thinner and more likely to split if it boils, so keep it below a simmer.
Serve It With
A dry Alsatian Pinot Blanc or Chablis · A green salad with a sharp mustard dressing is traditional and sufficient · Follow with a fruit tart
Storage
Refrigerate 3 days. Reheat slices at 160°C / 320°F for 12 minutes to re-crisp the pastry. Freezes 2 months, whole or in slices.
What's in a Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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