This spectacular dessert is a recipe handed down from my Cuban mother-in-law. The secret is to get the caramel sauce just right which isn’t hard, if you have patience. I have to confess that the picture is taken on miniature tea set china because once the kids saw Abuelita’s flan coming out of the refrigerator, this was all that was left to photograph! (Abuelita means “little grandmother,” by the way, which is both a term of endearment in Spanish and literal in this case. My mother-in-law was maybe 4’9” at her tallest and has been shrinking ever since.)
Prep: 15-20 minutes Cook 1 hr @ 375° Refrigerate until cold.
Serves 6
To make the caramel sauce
Put 3 cups of sugar in a heavy pot on medium high heat. Wait 2 minutes then stir and stir and stir. Don’t stop! The sugar will get dry, then clumpy then start to brown in spots, melt and finally become a beautiful light brown sauce. When all the sugar melts, pour into a medium-sized Pyrex bowl. I’ve found this to be the best mold for the flan. THE MELTED SUGAR IS EXTREMELY HOT! DON’T TASTE IT, TOUCH IT, OR LET IT DRIP ON YOU!!! (Sadly, I tell you this from a scorched tongue experience.) Carefully tilt the bowl to coat the bottom third of the bowl with the caramel. Let it harden while you make the flan.
Flan
- 4 eggs
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk (fat-free tastes JUST as good – really, you can’t tell at all)
- 1 cup milk (I use 1%)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Mix ingredients with an electric mixer until foamy. That’s todo (everything).
Place the bowl in a baño Maria (Maria’s bath, in Spanish, or double broiler, in English) which is a fancy way of saying “stick it in a pan filled with water so the bottom doesn’t cook to fast.” It should cover at least half of the bowl with water. Cover the top loosely with tin foil.
Uncover the flan after 40 minutes to check your flan. If the middle is set, it’s done. If the top is cooked but the middle isn’t, recover.
Place in the refrigerate until cold.
To unmold, run a knife around the outside edges, place a plate on the top and flip it over. It should plop gracefully onto the plate. Scrape as much of that caramel goodness off as you can. It’s normal that it doesn’t all liquidize and that’s ok. To clean it, I fill the bottom with water and microwave it for 10 minutes – it’s faster and easier than scrubbing it off.
It’s wonderful alone but a few fresh strawberries are a delicious contrast to the super sweetness of the flan.
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