Spanish: Crème Caramel (flan)

Recipe by Paul Young <info@cooking-with-paul.com>

(makes 8-12 servings)

Ingredients:

Procedure:

  1. Preheat oven to 350˚F
  2. Make the caramel: boil water in a saucepan, stir in sugar until dissolved; continue boiling mixture until color starts to turn golden brown (do NOT stir for about 3-5 minutes); turn down heat and start swirling for about 1-2 minutes; remove from heat and continue swirling for another 30 seconds as caramel turns amber-colored
  3. Immediately pour melted caramel sauce into a 9-inch non-stick round cake pan and quickly tilt your baking dish to spread the sauce over the bottom of the pan before it sets; set aside
  4. Make the custard: In a blender add condensed milk, evaporated milk, heavy cream, vanilla, eggs, and salt; blend for 1 minute on low speed
  5. Strain mixture into cake pan through a fine mesh sieve
  6. Cover the cake pan with a sheet of foil, making sure the foil isn’t touching the top of the custard (you don’t want to bake your foil into your flan).
  7. Place cake pan inside of a large roasting pan and place in oven; pour hot water into the roasting pan until the water level is halfway up the sides of the cake pan
  8. Bake at 350˚F for about 75 minutes (or until there is a stiff jiggle in the center of the flan)
  9. Transfer to a cooling rack, let cool to room temperature
  10. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours (or overnight)
  11. Transfer custard to serving platter: run a knife around the edges of the pan (clean your knife periodically); place a rimmed platter over the cake pan (as a cover), then invert the cake onto the platter (tip: hold top and bottom firmly with both hands, tap the cake pan if needed)
  12. To serve: slice and transfer to serving plates; spoon extra caramel sauce over each slice
  13. Garnish with berries (if desired)