Tourteau Fromager (Poitou Goat Cheese Cake)

Instructions

1. For the pastry, mix the 180 g all-purpose flour and fine salt, then rub in the cold unsalted butter until crumbly. Beat the egg yolk with the cold water, add it and gather into a firm dough without kneading. Flatten into a disc, wrap and chill 1 hour.
2. Roll the pastry very thin, about 1/16 to 1/8 inch (2 to 3 mm), and line the buttered pan up to the rim, leaving the edge untrimmed. Chill 20 minutes. Meanwhile set a rack in the lower third and heat the oven to 500°F (260°C), or as hot as it goes.
3. For the filling, beat the fresh goat cheese with 90 g of the granulated sugar until smooth. Whisk in the whole milk, then the egg yolks one at a time, then the 40 g all-purpose flour and the cognac, until there are no lumps.
4. In a clean bowl, whip the egg whites to soft peaks, then beat in the remaining 40 g granulated sugar a little at a time until you have a soft, glossy meringue.
5. Whisk a quarter of the meringue into the cheese mixture to loosen it, then fold in the rest gently with a spatula so the mixture stays airy. Trim the pastry level with the rim and pour in the filling; tap the pan once to settle it.
6. Bake at 500°F (260°C) for 15 to 18 minutes, until the filling has puffed into a dome and the top is deeply blackened. Lower the oven to 350°F (175°C) and bake 20 to 25 minutes more, until a skewer in the center comes out clean and the center reads 160°F (71°C).
7. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out carefully and set upright on a rack to cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours. The dome settles a little as it cools but stays rounded.