Equipment
Ingredients
Shortcrust Pastry
- 200 g all-purpose flour
- 100 g unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 2 g salt
- 45 ml ice water
Filling
- 15 g unsalted butter
- 3 yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 200 ml heavy cream
- 100 ml whole milk
- 120 g gruyere cheese, grated
- 4 g salt
- 1 g black pepper, freshly cracked
- ½ g ground nutmeg
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 408 kcal
- Protein
- 12 g
- Carbohydrates
- 26 g
- Fat
- 29 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sugar
- 4 g
- Sodium
- 450 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 17 g
- Trans Fat
- 0 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 8 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 2 g
- Cholesterol
- 170 mg
- Potassium
- 201 mg
- Calcium
- 217 mg
- Iron
- 0.9 mg
- Magnesium
- 23 mg
- Phosphorus
- 212 mg
- Zinc
- 1.3 mg
- Vitamin A
- 288 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 4 mg
- Vitamin D
- 1.1 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 0.9 mg
- Vitamin K
- 3 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.1 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.6 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.09 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.26 mg
- Niacin
- 0.5 mg
- Folate
- 33 mcg
- Water
- 111 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Combine all-purpose flour and salt in a large mixing bowl.
Add the cold cubed butter to the flour and rub the mixture between your fingers until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
Stir in the ice water gradually until the dough just begins to clump together.
Form the dough into a flat disc, wrap tightly, and refrigerate for 1 hour to rest.
Melt butter in a skillet over medium-low heat and cook the sliced onions until soft, deeply browned, and sweet.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.
Roll the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface to a 3mm thickness and carefully transfer it into a 9-inch tart pan, pressing gently into the corners.
Prick the base of the pastry shell all over with a fork to prevent it from bubbling up during baking.
Line the pastry with parchment paper, fill to the top with baking weights, and bake for 15 minutes.
Remove the parchment and weights, then return the crust to the oven for 5 minutes until the base is lightly golden and dry. Reduce oven temperature to 175°C/350°F.
Whisk the eggs, heavy cream, whole milk, salt, black pepper, and ground nutmeg in a bowl until smooth and homogeneous.
Scatter the caramelized onions and grated Gruyere cheese evenly across the bottom of the warm, pre-baked pastry shell.
Pour the liquid egg custard slowly over the cheese and onions until it reaches just below the crust edge.
Bake the quiche at 175°C/350°F for 35 to 40 minutes until the edges are puffed and the center has a slight wobble.
Remove from the oven and let stand on a wire rack to cool slightly, allowing the custard to finish setting before slicing.
Chef's Notes
- Blind baking is completely non-negotiable for quiche. It ensures a crisp pastry shell that is structurally sound enough to hold a liquid custard without turning to mush.
- For the deepest flavor, take your time caramelizing the onions. Cooking them slowly over medium-low heat brings out their natural sugars without introducing bitter burnt notes.
- The secret to a silky, luxurious quiche is the dairy ratio. Using a blend of heavy cream and whole milk creates a rich texture that avoids feeling overwhelmingly heavy on the palate.
- Allowing the dough to rest in the refrigerator relaxes the gluten. This is a critical step to prevent the crust from aggressively shrinking down the sides of the tart pan while baking.
Storage
Refrigerator: 4 days — Wrap tightly in foil or plastic wrap to prevent the crust from absorbing moisture.
Freezer: 2 months — Freeze fully baked quiche well-wrapped. Best reheated directly from frozen.
Reheating: Reheat in a 150C/300F oven for 15-20 minutes to re-crisp the crust.
Troubleshooting
Soggy bottom crust
Cause: Insufficient blind baking or liquid custard soaked into raw dough
Fix: Cannot be fully reversed, but reheating slices directly on a hot pizza stone or low oven rack can help crisp the bottom.
Prevention: Ensure the pastry base is fully baked and opaque before adding any liquid ingredients. Sealing the warm base with a thin layer of egg white can also prevent moisture absorption.
Custard split or became watery
Cause: Oven temperature was too high, causing the egg proteins to curdle and squeeze out water
Fix: Cannot be fixed
Prevention: Bake slowly at a moderate 175C temperature and remove from the oven while the center still has a slight wobble.
Cultural Context
While Quiche Lorraine is perhaps the most famous iteration globally, cheese and onion quiche remains a cornerstone of French provincial baking. The origins of the dish trace back to the medieval kingdom of Lotharingia, where savory open tarts were baked in residual heat from communal wood-fired ovens. Today, it stands as a versatile staple of French patisseries and home kitchens alike, celebrated for its rich custard and rustic simplicity.
