Flan also known as Caramel Custard in India is an easy dessert. Caramel
Custard has fewer ingredients and is light. Mexican Flan on the other hand is
rich, yet refreshing.
History: Quoted from here
"Like many desserts (including our beloved cheesecake), flan’s
existence began during the Roman Empire. The Romans were the first to
domesticate chickens and they found themselves in the middle of an egg surplus.
So they used techniques they learned from the Greeks to develop
new egg-based recipes. These recipes, as you can imagine, resulted in loads of
dishes and desserts, including flan.
Back then, most versions of the dessert were savory rather than
sweet and included flavors like eel sprinkled with pepper. But a few early,
recorded recipes contained the only sweetener of the day: honey. And as the
Romans conquered basically all of Europe, their customs, beliefs, and recipes
went with them. The sweet variety of flan gripped the newly vanquished lands
and when the Empire fell in 476 CE, flan survived.
Of all the peoples introduced to this dessert, the Spanish were
particularly taken with it (and were the first to top it with a sweet caramel
sauce). Like the Romans before them, the Spaniards brought flan to new lands,
when in 1518, the famous conquistador Hernán Cortés landed in the Yucatan
Peninsula of Mexico.
The
Mexicans took flan to a whole new level. They created coffee, chocolate, and
even coconut flavors and the recipes became popular not only in Mexico, but the
rest of Latin America."
You
will need:
Recipe
adapted from here
1
cup Sugar
1
cup Milk
1
can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
3
eggs
3
egg yolks
1
tbsp Vanilla extract
1
tbsp Corn starch
1
cup Heavy cream
Place
sugar in a heavy pan over medium high heat and cook stirring constantly until
the sugar melts and begins to darken. You want a golden amber color, anything
darker it will taste bitter. Remove from heat and pour into a flan mold or
smaller ramekins. I used ramekins. Let cool.
Preheat
oven to 350F.
Whisk
together milk, condensed milk, eggs, egg yolks, vanilla and cornstarch until
combined. Then add the cream and whisk for a minute, until the mixture is
smooth. Pour this mixture over the cooled caramel syrup.
Place
the ramekins in a deep pan. Pour boiling water into the pan, the water should
reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Place in oven carefully and bake
for 30-35 minutes until the centre is set but still jiggly. If using a flan
mold bake longer.
Allow
the flan to cool completely and then chill for 3-4 hours. Using a sharp knife,
run it around the sides of the ramekin to release the flan. Invert it onto a
plate and serve chilled.
The
smooth texture of the flan is simply fantastic. The eggs give it good structure
and the cream makes it silky smooth. It has the right amount of sweetness and
the caramel compliments it beautifully.
BAKES FROM AROUND THE WORLD:
The flan looks beautiful!! You have hit bullseye with this one :)
ReplyDeleteThe flan looks fantastic. Love all the caramel around it. No one at home likes caramel and so I stay away from it.
ReplyDeletewhat a lovely looking flan , nicely done
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely dessert this is! The flan looks awesome and that is a great choice for the alphabet.
ReplyDeleteCreamy and delicious Flan. Looks perfectly baked.
ReplyDeleteCaramel is a delicious flavor ..and this flan looks just too good with a wonderful creamy texture.
ReplyDeleteWow, feel like taking a dive in this ultimate flan, cant take my eyes from this beautiful dessert.
ReplyDeleteI love caramel custard and the first time I got to hear the flan was from my mexican colleague who was visiting us. She kept mentioning about Flan and how delicious it is, I had to look up what it was..on knowing it, I made for her our caramel custard..:)..yours look so sinful!
ReplyDeleteAlways wanted to bake this,but somehow was a bit hesitant!! You are tempting me beyond words.. Please pass me some!!
ReplyDeleteThat's one decadent and rich treat... I need to try flan.. Haven't tried making it at home.
ReplyDeleteThe flan looks so rich and decadent.
ReplyDeleteFlan looks beautiful. Exactly like our caramel custard... And the ingredients are also almost similar..
ReplyDelete