This is not your mother’s quiche -- but it’s a great one to fix for mom on Mother’s Day!

We’ve made quiche for years in many flavors and many forms, but we’d somehow never managed to perfect a Classic Quiche Loraine in the French tradition. I realized the error of our ways in one of those ah-ha moments.

Here’s what happened:

A friend brought a quiche from a French bakery to a potluck at my house. Judging from its statuesque physique and its slightly crinkly top, this was no ordinary quiche. Indeed not.

The inside was velvety and rather pure -- a little bacon, cheese, cream and eggs -- not mucked up by every tired vegetable from the fridge (which makes a great quiche and is my usual fall-back recipe, click here). But while the mixed-veg quiche makes a delicious brunch or lunch, the French Classic Quiche that was now inhabiting my plate demanded a whole different level of worshipful attention.

This quiche is close cousins with dessert custard, and brings forth that same sort of mouth-feel, only in quiche form it’s savory, not sweet. But my slice of it was so rich and creamy, you’d want to skip dessert altogether.

Of course this tale ends in the test kitchen, and the recipe pictured here is delicious -- slightly more involved than your typical quiche because of the spring-form pan -- but not at all difficult.

And need we remind you -- dear mom is totally worth it!