Mexican Flan
Flan. Sweet, delicious, and creamy.
Honestly my mother never made this dessert while I was growing up. My husband was the person who inspired me to make this dish because he loves it so much.
My husband told me a story of his childhood that made me melt. He was at a birthday party and they had flan as dessert. He was given a piece and when he was done with it he went up to ask for seconds and he was told that there was not enough. After that his mother taught herself to make flan so that he could have as much as he wanted.
Knowing this story and knowing how much my husband loves flan I have found a recipe that gives me the perfect flan each and every time.
Ingredients
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 cinnamon stick
4 eggs
1 can condensed milk
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Step 1: In a small sauce pan add the regular milk and cinnamon stick and bring to a simmer. Do not actually bring to a boil. You just want the cinnamon flavor to release into the milk. Allow to fully cool off before adding to the rest of the ingredients.
*If using vanilla bean vs vanilla extract add it now so that is warms up with the cinnamon.
Step 2: In a blender add your eggs first.
* When baking you want to crack your eggs separate in case you get a bad egg it won't ruin the whole recipe.
Step 3: To the eggs add the condensed milk, evaporated milk, and vanilla. Also, add the simmered milk without the cinnamon stick and blend it all together.
*No need to over blend. Over blending will create more foam which you do not need in your flan. I usually take some out with a spoon before I pour it into the ramekins.
Place the sugar in a small nonstick saucepan and put on medium high heat.
* There are two crucial parts to this step:
1) Keep your eyes on the sugar the whole time! (Mine took about 6 minutes.) It is crazy but within 15 seconds your caramel can turn from delicious light brown to burnt dark brown. You do not want your caramel to burn because then it will give your flan a bitter taste.
2) Do not use a spoon to mix the caramel around. Doing this will crystallize your caramel. Instead, swirl the pan around.
* It is important to use a small sauce pan not only to make it easier to swirl but also to evenly distribute the heat.
Step 7: Place your ramekins into a larger pan and fill the outer pan with hot water. The water should be at a low boil. Make sure the water level reaches the level of your flan. (This process is called Bano Maria)
Step 8: Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.
Step 9: Let your ramekins cool off completely. Once they have cooled off place them in the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours. It is best to leave them over night.
*To serve the flan run a knife around the edge. Flip the ramekin onto a flat plate and lift gently. Enjoy!
Honestly my mother never made this dessert while I was growing up. My husband was the person who inspired me to make this dish because he loves it so much.
My husband told me a story of his childhood that made me melt. He was at a birthday party and they had flan as dessert. He was given a piece and when he was done with it he went up to ask for seconds and he was told that there was not enough. After that his mother taught herself to make flan so that he could have as much as he wanted.
Knowing this story and knowing how much my husband loves flan I have found a recipe that gives me the perfect flan each and every time.
Ingredients
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 cinnamon stick
4 eggs
1 can condensed milk
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Step 1: In a small sauce pan add the regular milk and cinnamon stick and bring to a simmer. Do not actually bring to a boil. You just want the cinnamon flavor to release into the milk. Allow to fully cool off before adding to the rest of the ingredients.
*If using vanilla bean vs vanilla extract add it now so that is warms up with the cinnamon.
Step 2: In a blender add your eggs first.
* When baking you want to crack your eggs separate in case you get a bad egg it won't ruin the whole recipe.
*No need to over blend. Over blending will create more foam which you do not need in your flan. I usually take some out with a spoon before I pour it into the ramekins.
Step 4: You are now ready to make the caramel 😊
Place the sugar in a small nonstick saucepan and put on medium high heat.
* There are two crucial parts to this step:
1) Keep your eyes on the sugar the whole time! (Mine took about 6 minutes.) It is crazy but within 15 seconds your caramel can turn from delicious light brown to burnt dark brown. You do not want your caramel to burn because then it will give your flan a bitter taste.
2) Do not use a spoon to mix the caramel around. Doing this will crystallize your caramel. Instead, swirl the pan around.
* It is important to use a small sauce pan not only to make it easier to swirl but also to evenly distribute the heat.
(This is at 3 minutes and you can see that the sugar has begun to caramelize around the edges.)
(This is at 4 minutes and already you have 1/2 sugar and 1/2 caramel. Keep swirling.)
(This is 5 minutes and I have turned off my heat. Notice how there are a few clumps of sugar left. This is ok. As you continue to swirl for the next minute the sugar will dissolve.
Step 5: Once your caramel is done pour immediately to the ramekins. It is ok if it does not completely cover the base of the container. As the flan bakes the caramel will distribute evenly at the bottom and when you pour out your flan, it will have that beautiful caramel waterfall effect.
Step 6: Pour the blender mixture over the caramel.
Step 7: Place your ramekins into a larger pan and fill the outer pan with hot water. The water should be at a low boil. Make sure the water level reaches the level of your flan. (This process is called Bano Maria)
Step 8: Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.
Step 9: Let your ramekins cool off completely. Once they have cooled off place them in the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours. It is best to leave them over night.
*To serve the flan run a knife around the edge. Flip the ramekin onto a flat plate and lift gently. Enjoy!
Comments
Post a Comment