How To Make Caramel Flans
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 25 mins
Cooking time: 30 mins
Ingredients needed to make caramel flans:
- 1 ½ cups half and half
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Dash of ground cinnamon or nutmeg
Cooking instructions for caramel flans:
- To make the caramel, add sugar in a 8’’ heavy-bottomed skillet and heat until it melts; shake the skillet from time to time while melting the sugar to heat it uniformly don’t stir it.
- Once the sugar starts melting, lower the heat to low and continue to cook it for about 5 minutes or until it melts completely to form a golden syrup; stir at times with a wooden spatula.
- Pour the caramel syrup to four ramekins, each of 6 oz, and tilt each of them to spread the syrup evenly across the bottom; set aside for about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, warm up your oven to 325 degrees F.
- Empty the cups of half and half into the lightly beaten eggs and whisk them further until properly blended.
- Add the vanilla and continue to beat them briefly but don’t let it become frothy.
- Arrange the ramekins in a square, 2 quart baking dish and pour the egg-cream mixture into them.
- Boil few cups of water in a separate saucepan and pour it into the baking dish until the water stands 1’’ around the ramekins.
- Place the dish in the oven and bake at the preheated temperature for half an hour to 45 minutes.
- Insert a toothpick into the pudding to check their doneness; if it comes out clean then the pudding is ready.
- Remove the ramekins from the dish and place them in a wire rack to cool to room temperature.
- Cover and leave them in the refrigerator until its time to serve them.
- To serve, run a sharp knife along the edges of each flan to loosen it up.
- Place a serving plate on top of each ramekin, hold them together tightly and flip them over to de-mold the flans.
- You can turn the flan mixture into baked custard by baking it in a souffle dish for an hour; but omit the caramel syrup in this case.
- Cook the flan you like the best and dig in!
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
