My dad is almost impossible to shop for, so over the years we have pared down the list of things to buy for birthday and Father's Day to easy things--subscriptions to conservative publications supplemented by homemade treats.
I make a screamingly good pound type cake called a Westerner cake that is his all-time favorite sweet treat. But I had just made him one of those for his birthday in May. So I was casting about for something else to make. Then I hit upon it! Flan! He LOVES flan.
So, off to the internet to search out flan recipes. I copied out several, but decided in the interest of "fool-proof-ness" (since this was my first attempt) I would use a version that sounded the easiest. I found the recipe on the Nestle baking website.
I made one mistake in the baking process. I didn't add HOT water to make the water bath, so the baking time took WAY longer to bake--because the oven had to heat up all that water first. I won't make that mistake next time.
Anyway, it was EASY, EASY, EASY. Very elegant. And absolutely delicious!
Here's the recipe:
=======================
Vanilla Flan
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 can (12 fl. oz.) evaporated milk
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Heat sugar in small, heavy-duty saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for 3-4 minutes or until dissolved and caramel colored. [MamaT note: I may have been conservative in my heat--it took lots longer than this to caramelize my sugar.] Quickly pour onto bottom of deep-dish 9-inch pie plate; swirl around bottom and sides to coat.
Combine evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk, eggs and vanilla extract in medium bowl. [MamaT note: I just used my wire whisk to do this. This is a totally low-tech recipe!] Pour into prepared pie plate. Place pie plate in large roasting pan; fill roasting pan with warm water to about 1-inch depth.
Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Remove flan from water. Cool on wire rack. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
To serve: run sharp knife around edge of pie plate. Invert serving plate over pie plate. Turn over; shake gently to release. Caramelized sugar forms sauce.
======================
Mine released perfectly. Zteen said: "Mom, this is absolutely one of the best things you have ever made." It'd be good for a dinner party, because you HAVE to make it ahead, so you don't have to think about dessert on party day. And finally, I like that this is one large flan rather than the individual ramekins. You can cut this into pretty thin pieces because it was EXTREMELY rich. If I had divided it into 6 individual servings, I could not have finished a serving by myself. This way you can cut small and go back for seconds if you have room.
Yummy, yummy, yummy!
subs to publications are such a good idea for gifts. why don't i ever do that??
I made flan once in high school, a project for spanish class. I remember it being GOOD. I'll have to try this recipe sometime.
I used to make this all the time when I was dating. I don't make it anymore now that I'm single. ;) I've manipulated my recipe a bit over the years. I heat my milk first to scald it and when I do that, I put a whole vanilla bean in it to make it even more vanilla flavoured! I love the individual ramekins because you can ignore the flipping part if you want and also because you can add fruit and whipped cream on top of the individual dishes.
next time, make it in a bundt pan for total elegance. yum!
i want some.
please.