Flan Recipe

What is Flan?  It is a baked caramel custard with a layer of soft caramel on top, as opposed to creme Brule, which is a custard with a hard caramel top.
My favorite flan (custard) is my grandmother's recipe.  There are different variations, but her recipe is the best in my opinion.  It is so rich, so creamy and so sweet.    

Photo by Kelli Stanko

It is a real treat!  

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 12 oz. Nestle Carnation Evaporated Milk
• 14 oz. Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup sugar
• pinch of salt
• block of cream cheese

Preparation:

Preheat oven 350 degrees.

1. Melt the sugar in pan or small pot over medium heat, you may opt to add a little bit of water to the sugar before melting, it is optional, I personally do not. When melted, lower the heat so that the sugar does not burn.  If it burns it will become bitter. Once the sugar is melted completely, pour it over the pan that the flan mix will go into quickly, then cover with foil.

2. In a bowl, mix eggs, vanilla, salt and all the milk.  Strain the mix, then pour carefully to avoid disturbing the caramel mold candy.  Cover tightly with foil.  Place mold carefully in a casserole dish with water, it will prevent the caramel candy from burning and it's called water bath, bake for one hour covered or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
* You may also use the old fashion way, by cooking it over the stove like my grandma.  For this process use a large pot with a bit of water and place mold in the pot tightly covered.  Do not allow water to splash into custard!!

3. Let it cool to room temperature, then loosen the edge of the flan from mold, place on a tray and turn over mold. Refrigerate before serving.

So, you don' t feel like doing all that hard work but still want flan?  Try these.

Goya Flan, 4-Ounce Units (Pack of 36)

Jell-O Pudding, Flan, 3-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 18)

It's not as rich as the recipe, but still tasty and easy to make, just follow the instructions on the box.