This dessert is known the world over by many different names such as milk cheese, milk flan or flan, but the most popular reference for this is crème caramel. Depending on where you are in the world, the recipe will differ slightly. For example, Europeans tend to use whole eggs for a more wobbly pannacotta-like texture, whereas the South Americans tend to use just the yolks for a richer and denser texture. You can adjust the recipe any way you want for whatever texture pleases your palate. I prefer just yolks for a rich and decadent custard that you will not soon forget. There are many different variations of baked custards, but this one traditionally has a layer of soft caramel that is baked into the dessert, to give it a glistening caramel top when it is inverted. I have met many people who have cooked this on the stove top, like a pudding cake, but I have always baked it in the oven. You must always use a water bath to maintain the humidity of the oven, so that the custard does not over bake and separate. Many people serve it with fruit or whipped cream, but I think it is fine just the way it is. It is a great dessert to make for entertaining, because it can be made ahead of time and you just invert it onto your platter when you are ready to serve. If you have extra caramel sauce, you can toss it with some sliced fruit to serve on the side. The caramel flavor enhances the natural flavor of the fruit.
This was my dad’s favorite dessert, so I dedicate this post to him…
Crème Caramel (Flan) (makes 1-10” flan, make sure to use the 3″ high pan for this)
2 cans sweetened condensed milk
2 cans evaporated milk
16 large yolks
4t vanilla
Caramel
2 cups sugar
½ cup water
1 Tablespoon corn syrup (prevents crystallization)
1 Tablespoon water (**added last to caramel)
First you need to prepare your baking dish. Rinse with water and dry with a paper towel. Make sure it is clean and DO NOT GREASE. Then add the sugar, ½ cup water and corn syrup to a small pot. Stir to mix well before you put it on the heat. Put on the heat and cook until it is a dark amber color…don’t let it cook too long or it will quickly burn. The amber color, like the color of dark maple syrup, imparts the best flavor for the custard.
Pour the caramel into and un-sprayed baking dish of choice and swirl all over the bottom and the sides of the pan or dish. I find that the round corning ware soufflé dishes work best and are the easiest to handle with the hot syrup, since they don’t get very hot to the touch. Swirling the caramel on the sides will make the custard easier to remove later and you will not have to run a knife along the sides. The custard will naturally release from the edges. If using metal cake pans, be careful not to burn yourself and use small hand towels to be able to hold the pans as you swirl the caramel along the edges. Once the caramel has been added allow it to cool slightly and then prepare your custard by combining the yolks with evaporated milk, vanilla and condensed milk. Whisk all of these very well together and pour into the prepared dish.
Place this in a water bath and bake covered loosely wit foil for 1 to 1- 1/2 hours at 350° F. You know that it is ready when you gently nudge the pan and the custard has set like a firm jello-it should wiggle slightly but not look like it is uncooked in the center. If it is, cook it a little longer in 15 minute increments. When it is ready, remove from the oven and carefully remove the flan from the water bath onto a small sheet pan and let cool, then refrigerate for at least 6 hours or preferably overnight. When ready to serve, simply invert this onto a deep platter that will catch the syrup that has been created from the baking process. Use a sharp knife to cut the custard into slices and use a cake or pie spatula to place each slice onto the plate. Once cooled the slices are easy to handle. Each 10” dessert will serve up to 16 people.
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