Flan

FLAN (Spanish caramel custard)

Adapted from Craig Claiborne, The New York Times Menu Cookbook (1966)

12 servings 

The first cookbook I used, back in my college days was The New York Times Cookbook by Craig Claiborne, and I added in the NYT Menu and International cookbooks. They’re all very good, and David and I have favorite recipes from each of them. Here’s a recipe from the Menu cookbook that I turn to when I need a dessert that will serve 8-12 people. The bonus is that it’s very simple to make. The recipe says it will serve 12, and it will. But last night I served it to 9, and everyone wanted the small second serving that I could pass out.  It’s so good that I find myself thinking about halving the recipe for a smaller dinner party. I think that would work, maybe baking the custard in an 8” cake pan. I’d reduce everything in half except for the sugar that is caramelized—I’d probably do 2/3 cup for that.

The flan can be made a day ahead; but leave it in the casserole, only turning it out until you’re ready to serve it.

1-1/2 cups sugar (divided 1 and 1/2)

1/8 t. salt

2 t. vanilla extract

7 large eggs

1/2 cup cold milk 

4 cups hot milk (heated up, but not to boiling point)

(I used skim milk for all the milk, which made for a lighter dessert. Using 2% or whole milk would also be fine.)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Warm up the 1-1/2 quart casserole that you’ll be using by letting it sit in a pan of hot water. This will prevent the caramel from hardening before you can coat the bottom and sides of the pan in the next step.

Stir and cook one cup of the sugar in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat until it is melted; it will be an amber color. (Along the way it will form into crystallized chunks, which made me very nervous the first time I did this, but just keep stirring and it will all eventually melt.) Pour the caramel into a 1-1/2 quart casserole, turning to coat all the bottom and as much of the sides as possible.  

In a medium or large bowl, combine salt, vanilla and remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Mix well. Add the eggs and beat lightly with a rotary beater or electric mixer. Stir in the cold milk, then slowly add in the hot milk, and mix well.

Pour the custard into the caramel-coated casserole. Set in a pan of hot water. Bake in the oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the filling comes out clean. (I left it for about 15 minutes more last night, using a friend’s oven. The knife came out clean at 1:20, but I didn’t like how very loose the custard looked.)

Remove from the oven and cool. Then chill in the refrigerator. Just before serving, run a knife around the edge of the flan; go around twice. Then turn it out into a shallow bowl or a slightly cupped serving plat that is about two inches larger than the flan. Serve by slicing or spooning out, drizzling caramel over the top.