Parisian flan

Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl.

Cut five ounces of cold butter into half inch cubes, toss in the flour, and smash the pieces flat between thumbs and fingers.

Turn onto the bench, make a well and add a third of a cup of ice-cold water.

With a bench or bowl scraper, lift the mixture into a pile and chop through it repeatedly to distribute the water and break up the butter; add a sprinkle more water to any dry floury bits.

Laminate: on a lightly floured surface pat or roll into a rough square about half an inch thick, square the sides, cut into quadrants and stack them.

Flatten the stack and pat and roll back into a circle; wrap tightly in plastic and roll over it once more.

Chill at least two hours and up to 48 hours; freeze for longer and thaw overnight in the fridge.

Beat the cold dough with the rolling pin, rotating, until about half an inch thick; roll out, flipping and rotating, to about 13 inches in diameter or an eighth of an inch thick. Chill 10 minutes if it softens; patch cracks with a piece of trimmed dough.

Fold the dough in half, slide the springform base under it, unfold into the ring, and press firmly up the sides and into the bottom.

Freeze the lined pan until hard.

Warm the three and a half cups of whole milk with the vanilla paste and half teaspoon of salt to a very low simmer.

Whisk the cup of sugar with six tablespoons of cornstarch; have the eight tablespoons of butter cut and a sieve set over a bowl.

As the milk nears a simmer, add the four yolks and two whole eggs to the sugar and starch and whisk 20 to 30 seconds until paler and thicker.

Temper: whisking, stream about two-thirds of the hot milk into the eggs, then whisk everything back into the saucepan.

Cook over medium, whisking constantly, until the foam subsides and it thickens like pudding, about four minutes; stop whisking to see big slow bubbles of a boil, then whisk 5 to 10 seconds more and take off the heat.

Whisk in the cold butter one piece at a time until smooth.

Strain hot through the sieve with a flexible spatula; press plastic directly onto the surface and chill, ideally overnight.

Set the frozen crust on a rimmed baking sheet and trim the edge level with the bowl scraper; patch thin spots with the trim.

Whisk the cold pastry cream smooth, scrape it into the crust, and level with an offset spatula.

Bake in a 350 oven 40 to 50 minutes; this one took about an hour, until the top was dark and burnished.

Cool completely on the stovetop, run a knife between crust and pan, unmold onto a plate, and chill uncovered several hours or overnight.

Slice cold with a serrated knife.