My fellow food bloggers and I have reached week 45 on the Gourmet Live list of 50 Women Game-Changers in food. Almost to the end! This Friday’s featured chef is Diana Kennedy, who is an authority on Mexican cuisine.

For this week’s recipe, I decided to make Kennedy’s flan, a
lovely custard dish with a caramel topping. I’ve made flan many times from a
recipe in my Betty Crocker cookbook. Typically I use custard dishes. This is
the first time I’ve made it in a large dish. It didn’t turn out as beautiful as
I’d hoped. I suspect I baked it for too long, or it may be my apartment oven,
with its temperamental thermostat, was a little too hot.
However, the flan tasted wonderful! Cool and smooth with a hint of
cinnamon and the lovely caramel sauce. This dessert is the perfect finish to a
spicy meal, or a cool, refreshing treat on a hot summer’s day.
Flan
Adapted from The Art
of Mexican Cooking by Diana Kennedy
For the caramel:
3/4 cup sugar
For the custard:
1 quart milkPinch of salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick (or vanilla bean)
4 eggs
6 egg yolks
A flan mold, ramekins, or a souffle dish [I used a 9-inch
Pyrex pie dish.]
Heat the sugar for the caramel in a small, heavy frying pan
over low heat until it begins to dissolve. [I used a heavy-bottomed saucepan.]
Shake the pan slightly (do not stir) until all the sugar had melted. Increase
the flame and let the sugar bubble and color. Pour the caramel into the mold
and quickly turn it around in all directions, tipping it up in a circular
motion until the surface, bottom and about 2 inches of up the sides has been
lightly coated with the caramel. [Since I was using a 9-inch Pyrex pie dish, I
could only cover the bottom.] If the caramel thickens and becomes sluggish,
gently heat the mold in a pan of hot water or over low heat, depending on the
material, and continue the coating action. Set aside to cool.
Put the milk, salt, sugar, and cinnamon or vanilla into a
saucepan and bring slowly to a boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
Continue boiling slowly, taking care that it does not boil over, until the milk
has reduced by about 2/3 cup. Set aside to cool. [I didn’t measure to see if it
had reduced by 2/3 cup. I just eyeballed it.]
Place an oven rack on the lowest rung of the oven and heat
to 325 degrees F.
Beat the eggs and yolks together and stir into the tepid
milk. Pour the mixture through a strainer into the flan mold and place it in a
hot water bath in the oven. Test after 2 hours with a skewer or cake tester; if
it comes out quite clean, the flan is cooked. Remove from the oven, but allow
to sit in the water bath for about 15 minutes longer. Remove and set aside to
cool completely before refrigerating. [My flan baked for 1 hour due to the wider pie dish, and it probably should have only
baked for 50 minutes. It should still jiggle in the middle and a knife inserted
should come out almost clean. For ramekins, bake for 40 to 60 minutes.]
To unmold, carefully slip a blunt-ended, thin metal spatula
around the rim of the flan and gently tip the mold from side to side to see if
the flan is loose. If the caramel has hardened at the bottom of the mold, place
it in a pan of hot water for a short time and test again. Place the serving
dish (it must have a rim to hold the syrup) on top of the mold, invert quickly,
and pray that the flan comes out whole. Always serve a wedge of the flan with
plenty of the extra syrup.
Val - More Than Burnt Toast
Taryn - Have
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Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney,
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Mary - One Perfect Bite,
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Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits
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Annie - Most Lovely Things,
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Claudia - Journey of an Italian Cook,
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Joanne - Eats Well With Others
Claudia -A Seasonal Cook in Turkey
Viola - The Life is Good Kitchen
Kathleen - Gonna Want Seconds
14 comments:
Well, I think it looks scrumptious! Flan is a perennial favorite around this house...and I'd take a slice of that anyday!
I don't know - looks absolutely gorgeous to me and I'd happily enjoy a piece... or two... or 3.
Seriously Linda, you don;t think this turned out beautifully? Then explain my sudden urge to lick my computer screen!! I am available for afternoon tea today!!!
Thanks everyone. Perhaps I was a bit too critical about the way it looked. :) It sure tasted wonderful!
Jill--come on over for tea! Denver is only 8 hours or so from Topeka, right? LOL
It looks wonderfully delicious to me! I’d love a piece right now! Nice post!
You picked a wonderful recipe to highlight her recipes and style. This sounds really delicious and it is gorgeous to look at. Have a wonderful weekend. Blessings...Mary.
That's what I call real flan. To my liking it's the best way to make flan. It's all natural and all yummy!
My old neighbor used to make flan for me when I would mow her lawn. I love it. You picked a great recipe for this post. Thanks for sharing with us.
Your flan looks beautiful to me! I'd dig into that in a jiffy! :D
Mmmm! Love flan! Yours came out beautifully!
I don't think that I have ever had flan. I do know that I love both custard and caramel though so I would probably like it. In any case it looks gorgeous!
This one looks perfect!
I have never attempted flan so it looks gorgeous to me with its beautiful amber colour.
I think it looks delectable. Flan is a longtime favorite of mine. Move over Betty Crocker, is all I have to say.
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