Golden Flan

Hi Bakers! 

Welcome back to my kitchen :) Flan is so underrated. I think most people have never had it or haven’t tried a good one. For me, flan should be a sweet caramel dream. The softest milky sweet custard bathed in a golden lake of caramel. It should be incredibly smooth and light and impossible to stop eating! Don’t you want to make some today? Keep in mind that the flan will need to be cooled before eating so make it a day ahead to accommodate this. There are a few steps to making flan that seem intimidating but are quite doable. Making the caramel, adding hot liquid to raw eggs without making a scramble, and knowing when the flan is done. I’ve got you covered on all three of these…so let’s get to baking. -Carolyn

Flan

Recipe inspired by my Mom’s recipe

Caramel**

3/4 cup granulated sugar

Custard

4 large eggs, beaten well

4 cups whole milk or 3 3/4 cups 2% milk + 1/4 cup cream

3/4-1 cup of granulated sugar ( I use the lesser amount if I heat my milk in the caramel pan)

1 teaspoon vanilla

pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 325F

Place a large roasting pan in the center rack of the oven. Fill with 1-1.5 inches of water. Make sure your pan is large enough to hold all your ramekins filled with flan. You will be baking them in a water bath so they get more even heat and don’t crack on the top.

Have ramekins on the counter ready for the caramel. In a small saucepan, heat 3/4 cup of sugar for the caramel. Use medium heat and don’t leave this alone on the stove! It can burn very quickly. The sugar will begin to melt at the edges and start to turn brown as it caramelizes. Gently shake the pan to move it around and melt it thoroughly You can lift the pan away from the burner if it is browning too fast…I have an electric stove and do this a lot. Resist the urge to stir! It results in a sugar candy-covered spoon :( When the caramel turns a deep well…caramel color remove it from the heat. Immediately pour into the bottom of the ramekins and try to divide the amount evenly! I am terrible at this but it doesn’t matter since it turns into syrup once it has cooled overnight.

In a medium-sized bowl, beat eggs until well mixed. Add salt and vanilla and beat a minute more.

Use the saucepan with caramel residue in it to heat up milk (or milk and cream). Stir frequently over medium heat so that the milk is heated up and just bubbling around the edges. This is what it means to scald the mike FYI. Remove milk from the stove and slowly pour a small amount of hot milk into the egg mixture while stirring. Mix quickly and add slowly so that the milk doesn’t cook the egg. Add all the milk and mix for another minute. Divide mixture into ramekins with caramel. Gently set into a hot water bath so dishes are not touching, Bake for about 45-55 minutes depending on the size of your ramekins and your oven. Test doneness by inserting a knife into the center and if no liquid milk is on the knife it is done. You should have some slightly thickened custard on the knife. Remove from the water bath and cool for one hour. Cover the flan and cool overnight in the refrigerator. You can eat them straight out of the dish which is less spectacular or unmold them. To unmold, run a small, sharp knife all the way around the edge of the ramekin to separate the custard from the dish. Cover custard with a plate with sides. invert the plate so the custard is upside down. gently remove the dish and garnish as desired. Enjoy this beauty!! YUM :)

** if you don’t want to deal with the caramel you can choose to make a flan without it or add a substitute. I used a few tablespoons of real maple syrup and even 2 T of dark brown sugar instead of caramel. The flan may be lighter than the caramel one, but will still have a good taste. You can garnish this with fruit and the lighter caramel will be less noticeable

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