Mexican Flan and Assorted Flan Recipes

[kitchenelf]

1 3/4 cups whipping cream
1 cup milk (do not use low-fat or nonfat)
Pinch of salt
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water


3 large eggs
2 large yolks
7 tablespoons sugar


Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Combine cream, milk and salt in heavy medium saucepan. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into cream mixture; add bean. Bring to simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat and let steep 30 minutes. Meanwhile, combine 1 cup sugar and 1/3 cup water in another heavy medium saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and cook without stirring until syrup turns deep amber, brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan occasionally, about 10 minutes. Quickly pour caramel into six 3/4-cup ramekins or custard cups. Using oven mitts as aid, immediately tilt each ramekin to coat sides. Set ramekins into 13x9x2-inch baking pan.

Whisk eggs, egg yolks and 7 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl just until blended. Gradually and gently whisk cream mixture into egg mixture without creating lots of foam. Pour custard through small sieve into prepared ramekins, dividing evenly (mixture will fill ramekins). Pour enough hot water into baking pan to come halfway up sides of ramekins.

Bake until centers of flans are gently set, about 40 minutes. Transfer flans to rack and cool. Chill until cold, about 2 hours. Cover and chill overnight. (Can be made 2 days ahead.)

To serve, run small sharp knife around flan to loosen. Turn over onto plate. Shake gently to release flan. Carefully lift off ramekin allowing caramel syrup to run over flan. Repeat with remaining flans and serve.

Serves 6.

[mish]

YUM YUM YUM! Looks "flan-tastic." Thank you for posting the recipe. Somewhere I recall seeing a recipe for chocolate flan. Decisions, decisions. Solution: Make both . The yin and yang? of it all.

[mish]

Here comes da chocolate

Haven't tried it yet, but see whatcha think, elf.

Mexican Chocolate Flan

by Teresa Johnson

Cool, smooth and not too sweet, this custard dessert is even more elegant with grated orange zest sprinkled on top.

4 ounces Mexican chocolate or
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate plus ¼ tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 1/3 cups sugar, divided
1 cup milk
2 cups heavy cream or whipping cream
3 egg yolks
2 eggs
1 tablespoon orange-flavored liqueur (optional)
Hot water

In top of double boiler, melt Mexican chocolate. Cool slightly.

In 3-quart pot, combine 1/3 cup sugar, milk and heavy cream. Warm over medium heat. Stir in chocolate. (Add cinnamon now if using unsweetened chocolate.) Stir until sugar is melted and chocolate is evenly distributed. When warm, remove from heat.

In bowl, combine egg yolks and eggs. Gently add to milk mixture, whisking continuously. Add liqueur.

In skillet over medium heat, melt remaining 1 cup sugar to make caramel. As sugar begins to liquefy, keep it moving. Stir so all sugar crystals melt. Cook until sugar is melted and amber colored. Remove from heat. Immediately pour among 6 ramekins, turning them to cover bottom and sides.

Divide milk mixture evenly among ramekins. Place ramekins into baking dish. Add hot water halfway up sides of ramekins. Bake for 30 minutes, or until set. Cool to room temperature. Cover each ramekin with plastic wrap. Chill for 3 hours.

To serve, run knife around edge of ramekin. Invert plate on top of ramekin and flip. (Caramel will flow over and down side of flan. Serves 6

[Alix]

I don't know about kitchenelf, but I am copying this one mish.

[mish]

Originally Posted by Alix

I don't know about kitchenelf, but I am copying this one mish.

This looks soooo good to me too, Alix. For me the orange liquer is Not optional. It's a gotta have it.

[Alix]

Grand Marnier right? Don't want to mess that up.

[mish]

Good question, Alix. I don't know. Maybe someone will have the "orange" answer? btw, grand marnier always works for me

[kitchenelf]

GREAT recipe mish!!! Yes, I am copying it too!

mmmmm..... Grand Marnier is orange but so is Triple Sec. So I would imagine for the amount it calls for if you had one or the other either would work. Grand Marnier "feels" like it would be more the right one though if that makes any sense! lol

[Alix]

Yep it does. Should it scare me that I understood that?

[Andy M.]

Originally Posted by Alix

Grand Marnier right? Don't want to mess that up.

Right! or Cointreau or Triple Sec, or Curacao.

[kitchenelf]

Originally Posted by Alix

Yep it does. Should it scare me that I understood that?

yes - very scared

[nytxn]

I absolutely LOVE Flan.

I'm going to store this one in memory. :D

[kitchenelf]

lucky duck - nothing stores in my memory!!!

[mish]

wOW...THANKS TO THE GOOD FOLKS HERE FOR THE RESPONSES. I really really like both recipes. Such a pleasure coming here & getting lots of good "feed" back. How Grand

[Alix]

[mish]

Originally Posted by Andy M.

Right! or Cointreau or Triple Sec, or Curacao.

Andy, ooh, or contreau (sp?), not au contrere (sp?) right? These luscious flans and grand marnier are making me giddee.

[PA Baker]

I've copied and pasted both--they sound so good! Here's another I had in my files:

Vanilla and Lime Flan


Caramel:
½ c sugar
3 Tbsp water


Base:
2 c condensed milk
2 c whole milk
3 limes zested
1 vanilla bean
6 eggs


Preheat the oven to 360F.


To make the caramel, heat together the water and sugar gently, over medium flame, until it is golden brown, about 10 minutes, ensuring the mixture does not burn.


Meanwhile, pour the condensed milk and whole milk into a pan. Add the lime zest. Slice the vanilla pod in half and carefully scrape out the vanilla seeds and add these to the milk mixture. Simmer the milk slowly for 15 minutes to let the flavors combine.


Once the caramel is ready, pour into a cake pan and swirl it around to evenly coat the bottom of the pan. Set aside.


In a bowl, crack the eggs and beat together. Slowly pour a little of the warm milk mixture into the eggs. This will temper the eggs. Once the warm milk has raised the temperature of the eggs, pour in the rest of the milk and stir to combine. Pour all of the mixture into the cake pan over the caramel. Cook the cake pan in a water bath by placing the pan inside a larger pan that is filled halfway with water. Place in the oven and cook for 45 minutes-1 hour.

Once ready, allow to cool and place inside a refrigerator overnight. The flan is then ready to be flipped over gently and served.

[PA Baker]

And another! These are fun since you can have a variety of "toppings" within one recipe:

1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup half-and- half
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar

An assortment of jams, preserves, or dessert sauces such as:
Blueberry jam
Apricot preserves
Butterscotch ice cream topping
Hot fudge ice cream topping
6 eggs

Additional Equipment:
Roasting pan large enough to accommodate 8 custard cups with at least 1-inch to spare around
8 custard cups
Glass or stainless steel bowl with a spout
Fine mesh strainer
Small nonreactive saucepan
A kettle boiling water
Whisk

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

In the saucepan, combine the milk, half-and-half, vanilla, and sugar. Bring to a bare simmer over medium-low heat.

Next, place 1 to 2 tablespoons of each topping into each of the custard cups. The topping should come a few millimeters up the side of the custard cup.

Separate 3 of the eggs using the slotted spoon. Reserve the whites. (Note: Freeze the whites in ice trays. After the whites are frozen, place the frozen cubes into zip-top freezer bags. The frozen whites can be frozen up to a year.)

Place a mixing bowl on a rubber pad or a wet towel to prevent the bowl from spinning out of control. In a mixing bowl, combine the remaining whole eggs and the yolks. Whip the eggs with a whisk until slightly thickened and lightened in color. While whisking the eggs, drizzle in about a quarter of the hot milk. Now whisk the tempered eggs back into the saucepan with the remaining milk mixture.

Place a fine mesh strainer over a glass or stainless steel bowl with a spout. Pour the egg mixture through the strainer in order to catch any curdled egg bits or particles that may be in the mixture.

Place the custard cups into the roasting pan. Evenly distribute the custard into the custard cups, going short on the first pass. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and pour boiling water into the pan just under the level of the custard.

Cook the flans for about 40 minutes, or until they wobble slightly when the pan is wiggled, about 40 minutes. You can also insert a paring knife midway between the edge and the center. If it comes out clean, the flans are done. Using tongs, remove the cups from the pan to a towel-lined sheet pan. Allow the water in the roasting pan to cool before discarding. Cool, cover and chill.

[mish]

pA, these look so delish-ous! Very different. I'll have to start flaning very soon. Thank you as always, for your outstanding recipes. btw, hot fudge, blueberries, butterscotch, apricots!....speachlessly happy here.

[clasens]

I found out from a mexican restaurant in Chicago that the secret to their flan is evaporated milk. I have tried many recipes and found this to be the best. On top of that it's alot less fattening than heavy cream. Give it a try, I know you will be pleasantly surprised!