More About Ancel
Ancel is the Alsatian brand behind many of the dessert mixes found in French kitchen cupboards: flan sachets, crème pâtissière, soft moelleux cakes and no-bake desserts, plus the crunchy Alsace bretzels served at apéritif time. Epicerie Corner stocks a selection of Ancel preparations and pretzel snacks, delivered across the UK.
What Is Ancel?
Ancel takes its name from Adolphe Ancel, a Strasbourg businessman who in 1919 signed an agreement with the German baking company Dr. Oetker to make and sell its products in France. The business began with baking staples such as raising agent (levure chimique) and gelatine, then grew into a long list of dessert preparations that generations of French families have used for weekday puddings and birthday cakes.
In 1973 the brand added Alsace sticks and bretzels, a nod to the pretzel-baking tradition of its home region. In 2007 Ancel's French company became Dr. Oetker France, which is why many packs carry both names, but the Ancel name is still used on its French dessert and snack lines.
The idea behind an Ancel mix is simple: the dry ingredients are already measured and blended, and you add a few fresh ones, usually milk and sometimes eggs or butter, as shown on the pack. For anyone in the UK trying to recreate a French dessert from childhood, that removes a lot of guesswork.
Ancel Desserts and Mixes in Our Range
Flans and entremets
The flan entremets sachets make smooth, set milk desserts in vanilla, chocolate and caramel. The Ancel Chocolate Entremets Flan comes as four sachets, each mixed with 500 ml of milk to make four portions. For the thicker, sliceable flan pâtissier sold in French bakeries, the Ancel Egg Custard mix makes two batches of ten portions.
Crème pâtissière
Two pastry creams are available. Ancel Crème Pâtissière Express is whisked into hot milk (one sachet per 500 ml) and is designed for filling choux buns, éclairs, millefeuilles and fruit tarts. The No-Bake Pastry Cream is made up without cooking; follow the pack for quantities.
Cakes, mousses and no-bake desserts
- Moelleux cakes: chocolate, plain (nature), a marbled sponge and a choco-caramel version with a caramel centre.
- Chocolate fondant, a brookie (half brownie, half cookie) and chocolate chip cookies.
- Chocolate mousse and a no-bake raspberry bavarois, a raspberry mousse on a biscuit base that serves six.
Alsace bretzels
The savoury side of the brand: the Ancel Pretzels Bag of large, crisp maxi bretzels, and a 300 g mix of sticks and bretzels.
How to Choose an Ancel Mix
- Time and equipment: the bavarois, mousse and flan sachets need no oven, only time in the fridge to set. The moelleux, fondant, brookie and cookies need baking.
- What you need to add: check the back of the pack before you shop. Most desserts need milk; cake mixes usually ask for eggs and butter or oil.
- Number of people: a four-sachet box of entremets gives four separate desserts, while the egg custard mix is better suited to a family gathering or a big tray.
- Purpose: choose a crème pâtissière when you are assembling something else, such as a strawberry tart or homemade éclairs, and a flan or moelleux when the mix is the dessert.
- Allergens: many Ancel mixes contain wheat, and most packs list possible traces of milk, egg, nuts or gluten. Each product page lists the ingredients.
Tips for Preparing Ancel Desserts
For the Crème Pâtissière Express, bring the milk to the boil, take the pan off the heat, whisk in the sachet for about a minute, then let it cool, stirring now and then so that a skin does not form. The pack advises at least two hours in the fridge before use. Spread it into a baked tart case and top with fresh strawberries for a classic tarte aux fraises, or pipe it into choux pastry.
Flan and entremets desserts need patience: they set as they cool, so make them a few hours ahead or the evening before. Turn them out onto a plate, or serve them in individual ramekins. For moelleux cakes, take them out of the oven when the centre is still soft; the soft, slightly gooey middle is the whole point of a moelleux. Follow the timings on the box, as ovens vary. If you bake from scratch as well, our baking ingredients collection has flour, sugar and other basics.
Ancel Bretzels for the French Apéritif
In France, the apéro before dinner usually means a drink with something small and salty, and Alsace bretzels are a familiar sight on the table. Ancel's are made with wheat flour, sunflower oil and barley malt extract and baked until crisp and golden. Serve them in a bowl alongside olives, cubes of cheese or slices of saucisson, or take a bag to a picnic. The 300 g sticks-and-bretzels mix gives a little variety of shapes in one pack. For more ideas, browse our snacking and aperitifs range.
Ancel FAQs
Is Ancel the same as Dr. Oetker?
They are closely linked. Ancel began in 1919 as the company that produced and distributed Dr. Oetker products in France, and in 2007 the French business became Dr. Oetker France. Many Ancel packs now carry both names, but the recipes on sale in France are still sold under the Ancel brand, which is why French shoppers know it by that name.
What is a flan entremets?
An entremets is a French term for a sweet dessert course. Ancel's flan entremets is a powdered mix that you heat with milk and leave to set into a smooth, gently wobbly dessert, similar to a set custard or blancmange. It is different from a flan pâtissier, which is thicker, contains egg and is usually baked in pastry.
Do I need eggs to make Ancel desserts?
It depends on the mix. The flan entremets sachets and the Crème Pâtissière Express only need milk. The cake mixes such as moelleux, fondant and brookie usually ask you to add eggs and butter or oil. Always check the preparation section on the pack before you start, as quantities differ between products.
Are Ancel mixes gluten-free?
Most are not. The cake, cookie, bretzel and bavarois mixes contain wheat flour, and the flan sachets list possible traces of gluten. If you need to avoid gluten, read the ingredients and allergen information on each product page or pack before buying.