Ingredients
For the Crust
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 cup + 3 tablespoons of frozen, cubes of butter
- 3 tablespoons sour cream
- ½ cup ice water
For the Egg Custard
- 8 eggs
- ¾ cup 35% cream
- ¾ cup whole milk, divided
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 200g black forest ham, diced
- 1 cup frozen broccoli, thawed and finely chopped
- 100g cheddar cheese, grated
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper.
Directions
Be sure that the butter is frozen before making the pastry dough.
- For the crust. Add the flour, salt and granulated sugar to a food processor. Blend on low for 10 seconds. Add the frozen butter and process on low for about 30 seconds. Until the butter is worked into the dry ingredients and the texture resembles panko breadcrumbs. The dough will be very crumbly.
- Whisk the sour cream into the ice water. Stream the sour cream mixture into the food processor while it’s running on low, until the dough is moistened and holds together if you squeeze it between your fingers.
- Transfer the dough out onto a clean work surface. Press the dough together into one round flat piece. This might take a bit, while you press the drier bits into the dough and you turn it over a couple times and press it together. But you don’t want to knead it or fuss with it too much. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Remove the dough from the fridge. Dust the work surface with flour. Unwrap the dough and place it on the work surface. Use a rolling pin to gently pound the dough out, turning the dough over as needed, into a 1- inch thick round. Then you can begin to roll the dough out into a 15 to 16-inch circle that’s roughly ⅛-inch thick.
- Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and transfer it to a 9-inch round spring form pan. Gently move the pastry into the pan evenly and completely, without stretching the dough. Ensuring you have an overhang of about 1 ½-inches around the entire perimeter of the pan. Refrigerate the dough for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Remove the spring form pan from the fridge. Trim the overhang of excess dough.
- Crumple up a piece of parchment paper and fit it into the pie dough. Add about 1kg pie weights or beans to the parchment paper. Place the springform pan on a baking sheet to catch any butter that leaks. Place on the middle rack and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove the par-baked crust from the oven. Carefully remove the pie weights or beans. Dock the bottom of the pie crust with a fork. Return the crust, still on the baking sheet, to the oven and continue to bake for 15 minutes.
- In the meantime, add the eggs to a mixing bowl and whisk well. Whisk in the heavy cream and ½ cup of the whole milk.
- In a smaller bowl, stir together the cornstarch and the remaining ¼ cup of whole milk into a slurry. Pour it into the egg mixture and stir to combine. Stir in the ham, broccoli and cheddar cheese, salt and pepper.
- Remove the crust from the oven. Turn the temperature down to 325°F
- Carefully, pour the egg mixture into the crust. Place it back on the middle rack and cook for 90 minutes. Remove and let cool for a minimum of 1 hour up to 2.
- To serve immediately, cut into wedges and serve.
To Freeze: Allow the quiche to cool completely - about 2-3 hours. To freeze whole, leave the quiche in the spring form pan. Wrap the entire pan with plastic wrap, followed by aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat, in the pan at 350°F for about 1 hour or until the quiche is heated through. Slice into wedges and serve.
Alternatively you can slice the cooled quiche into wedges. Wrap each wedge in plastic wrap followed by aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat each piece in a 350°F oven for 15-20 minutes until warmed through.