ISO flan tips

[CherryRed]

I'm not sure where to post this, so mods feel free to move it if you have to!

My mother's birthday is this weekend and one of her favorite desserts is flan. I've decided to make it for her on Sunday. The cooking site I'm always on has several flan recipes listed, so I picked the higest rated one and I'm fairly confident I can make it come out right. It looks pretty similar to the flan served at her favorite Mexican restaurant.

Here is the recipe on its original site. Do any of you have any experience making flan? Does my recipe look ok? Anything I should change or take into consideration while preparing this?

Side note to kitchenelf - I've been eyeing your avatar ever since I joined this site. If only I get results that look like that!

 

[Dina]

CherryRed,
I've been making flan for years. The recipe looks good; it's the basic one. You will do just fine with it. I have a tres leches flan that could work just as well. It's very creamy because of the evaporated and condensed milk. Let me know if you'd like the recipe. Happy birthday to your mom.

 

[college_cook]

To keep your caramel from sticking to the pan, get yourself a silpat. The recipe says to just spoon it on top if it sticks... and I disagree with that. I think a big part of flan is the way it looks.

Otherwise it's a good recipe. Flan really isn't all that hard, really just a creme caramel. Just make sure not to overcook it.

 

[CherryRed]

Is there a trick for figuring out when it's cooked enough? I'm always paranoid but I'd really rather not ruin it by leaving it in too long.

 

[keltin]

Odd, but I’ve never heard of this dessert before. Sounds good. The weird thing is, in the gaming world, a Flan is a monster that you don’t want to mess with! I was taken aback when the title to this thread!

 

[CherryRed]

LOL!!! Well, I guess if you're trying to lose weight you could look at flan like that. . . haha.

 

[Dina]

CherryRed,
I bake (double broil by putting water in a larger oven-safe container, half way full and placing your flan mold in it) my flan in the oven for 1 hour if it's about 8 servings. If you're making a larger flan or doubling up on the recipe, do an extra half hour to 45 minutes. Check that the center is not watery and leave it on the counter to cool for at least 2 hours. In that lapse of time, the flan will continue to cook and set at the right consistency. Good luck and let me know how it turns out.

 

[kitchenelf]

CherryRed - I moved this to the basic dessert main forum since it's not really a cobbler or a crisp.

keltin - my avatar is flan.

I've just used a very basic recipe and just followed the directions. When the knife pulls out clean it's set. Let cool in refrigerator once you can handle the ramekins. I also have done one large flan and it too came out just fine.

 

[Dina]

Right. Forgot to mention to put in refrigerator once it has cooled at room temperature. If placed in the fridge when it's hot it will become watery.

 

[tdejarnette]

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f32/carmelizing-sugar-31252-2.html

Here's one of my hints from another thread. There have been a lot of flan threads! I make it often and everybody loves it. This is the recipe that tastes most like the one from our favorite Mexican restaurant:

Ingredients:
4 eggs
4 egg yolks
3/4 c. sugar
14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
2 c. whole milk
2 T. vanilla extract
additional 1/2 c. sugar

Directions:
325 degree oven
Cook 1/2 c. sugar over medium flame until dissolved and light brown. QUICKLY pour into 9" round pan & swirl to coat bottom (don't worry if it doesn't cover all of it-it will melt & spread as it cooks) BE CAREFUL not to drip any hot sugar on you!
Beat eggs & yolks together.add 3/4 c. sugar beat another minute or so
and milks and vanilla beat until frothy
Pour over caramel
Place in a dish with water halfway up outside of pan
Bake 1-1 1/2 hours until knife in center comes out clean
Cool, refrigerate at least 4 hours
To serve, run a knife along edge & invert onto a large plate