Dessert? No, that’s Flan

I am not really a desert man. Most of the time when Ms Cocktail and I go out to eat I’ll look over the dessert list and then just order a coffee. However, there are couple of things that I just can’t seem to pass up and Flan is one of them. This is a wonderfully traditional dessert that fits nicely in with cuisines from Europe to America and I’m using it as part of my Cinco de Mayo celebration because it is wonderfully Mexican as well. There is some lime zest added to help give it that Mexican flair.

Flan

3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup water

3/4 cup sugar
1 1/3 cups milk
1 1/3 cups half and half
Four 1/2 inch wide strips of lime zest (make it from the top to the bottom of a lime)
5 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Prepare the molds: Select six 6 ounce or four 8 ounce moulds. I like to use little ceramic ramekins but you can be creative here. In a 1 quart sauce pan add the sugar and then sprinkle the water over the top to evenly wet the sugar. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and boil without stirring until the mixture begins to turn golden in color. Start swirling the pan over the heat until the color develops more fully and gets to a deep amber. This whole process can take from between 10 to 20 minutes depending on how hot your stove is. Immediately pour the mixture into the moulds and quickly tilt the moulds to evenly cover the bottom. It will solidify very fast so you have to work relatively quickly.

Prepare the custard mixture: In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, combine the sugar, milk, lime zest and half and half.  Bring just to a simmer, remove from the heat, cover and let set ten minutes. In a large bowl whisk the eggs to a uniform color and consistency. Slowly whisk in the milk mixture and the vanilla. Strain this complete mixture through a fine mesh strainer and then distribute evenly between your moulds.

Baking the flan: Heat the oven to 325 degree Fahrenheit and set a rack in the middle. Bring a kettle of water to a simmer. Place the filled moulds in a baking pan and place it on the rack. Before closing the door, take the kettle of water and pour it into the baking pan about 2/3 of the way up the side of the moulds. This will ensure slow and even cooking of the flan. Bake for 50 minutes, pull the baking pan out of the oven and let the moulds cool in the water. Refrigerate when cool.

Serving the flan: Take a knife and run it around the edge of the mould trying not to disturb the edge of the flan. You only need to go about 2/3 of the way in, don’t go all the way to the bottom. Place your serving plate upside down on top of the mould and flip them both over in one motion. If the flan doesn’t drop out, place your thumbs on the mould, pick up the plate and shake up and down until the flan drops onto the plate.