TWD: Caramel Topped Flan

This weeks recipe is Caramel-Topped Flan picked by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. I can't remember if I've ever eaten flan. Of course I've seen it on restaurant menus but when I get dessert when I'm dining out, I usually go for something like cheesecake or whatever cake may happen to be available. I'm normally not a custard eater. Regardless of my dessert eating habits, I was excited to try and make flan at home. I had heard numerous horror stories and disasters of other people attempting to make the wiggly jiggly dessert at home so I was a bit nervous. However, quite a few of my fellow Dorie bakers said they had wonderful results so I plowed ahead.

Because of my track record of forgetting ingredients or having to rush to get one part done as another was needing to get started, I made sure everything was laid out and waiting for me at the right moment. As I have said in the past, its just me eating whatever I manage to end up with, I followed another baker and made a third of the caramel and half of the custard.

Of course, the flaw in my reasoning for making smaller portions was assuming that making a third of the caramel would be proportional to the photo in the book. Uh...yeah...not really. While there was some caramel and it coated the top, there wasn't anything close to the caramel drenched flan in the photo. They had to have doubled the recipe for the photo. I know I made a small batch but still...I don't think make half would have given me the same result. Maybe I should have made the whole amount for half the custard. Oh! To give it a little zing, I added some orange zest to the caramel...it was delicious!

Despite the lack of caramel, it was actually a very easy recipe to make. Since I had everything ready to go before I started the caramel, it came together quickly. I was scared the caramel would burn so I took it off as Dorie says, when I saw the first whiff of smoke. I think I took it off to early actually. It didn't get as dark as the picture either. Maybe that's my problem. Whenever there isn't a picture, I whine and moan wishing there was one. But when there is a picture, I compare my results to that and always find myself lacking. I don't think the knife I used to unmold the flan was thin enough either. There was a ring of custard left on the ramekin.

Despite my setbacks (and not so good looking photos), the flan was actually very tasty. The orange zest gave the caramel a nice, light citrus taste. The custard itself was very good and for the most part not very eggy. The bottom (top when baking) was slightly eggy.



I told my mom about making flan this weekend and I've been told (ordered rather) to make it for my family when I visit next weekend. So maybe making it a bigger batch will give me a better result. I'm also going to try the coconut version. Till next week!

Come back on April 1st for Gooey Chocolate Cakes picked by Leigh of Lemon Tartlett.



Caramel-Topped Flan

From Baking from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

For the Caramel
1/3 cup sugar
3 tbsp water
squirt of fresh lemon juice

For the Flan
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
1-1/4 cups whole milk
3 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a roasting pan or a 9-x-13-inch baking pan with a double thickness of paper towels. Fill a teakettle with water and put it on to boil; when the water boils, turn off the heat.

Put a metal 8-x-2-inch round cake pan-not a nonstick one-in the oven to heat while you prepare the caramel.

To Make the Caramel: Stir the sugar, water and lemon juice together in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan. Put the pan over medium-high heat and cook until the sugar becomes an amber-colored caramel, about 5 minutes-remove the pan from the heat at the first whiff of smoke.

Remove the cake pan from the oven and, working with oven mitts, pour the caramel into the pan and immediately tilt the pan to spread the caramel evenly over the bottom; set the pan aside.

To Make the Flan: Bring the cream and milk just to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a 2-quart glass measuring cup or in a bowl, whisk together the eggs, yolks and sugar. Whisk vigorously for a minute or two, and then stir in the vanilla. Still whisking, drizzle in about one quarter of the hot liquid-this will temper, or warm, the eggs so they won't curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remainder of the hot cream and milk. Using a large spoon, skim off the bubbles and foam that you worked up.

Put the caramel-lined cake pan in the roasting pan. Pour the custard into the cake pan and slide the setup into the oven. Very carefully pour enough hot water from the kettle into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the cake pan. (Don't worry if this sets the cake pan afloat.) Bake the flan for about 35 minutes, or until the top puffs a bit and is golden here and there. A knife inserted into the center of the flan should come out clean.

Remove the roasting pan from the oven, transfer the cake pan to a cooking rack and run a knife between the flan and the sides of the pan to loosen it. Let the flan cool to room temperature on the rack, then loosely cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

When ready to serve, once more, run a knife between the flan and the pan. Choose a rimmed serving platter, place the platter over the cake pan, quickly flip the platter and pan over and remove the cake pan-the flan will shimmy out and the caramel sauce will coat the custard.

Yield: 6 to 8 Servings