Flan (Latin Style)

Here is a nice and simple recipe for a Latin-style Flan.


Now there are a lot of different styles of Flan, as well as flavors. Today we're focusing on a simple condensed milk and caramel Flan, the typical kind you'd find in Mexican/Spanish style restaurants. This recipe came from my mother, who carried it from her mother, so technically this is Brazilian in origin... No idea if it's unique to there, but this is how I learned to make it.

You'll need the following:

2x Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
2x Condensed Milk Cans worth of Milk
-Cornstarch
-Suger

Wasn't that easy?

For those that don't know, Condensed Milk comes in a wide variety, but it's pretty much all the same stuff, here is what we used:

As you can see, it's one can "itambe" (which is a Product of Brazil, who could guess that?) and one Kroger brand, again, same stuff, just one comes from Brazilian cows and one from... Well probably Brazilian cows as well, hell if I know...

Next step is to break out your blender. You have one right? If not, then you should have read a head, cause now you're s.o.l.

We're mixing in the two cans of Condensed Milk with two cans worth of Whole Milk (I suppose you could use Skim or 2%, but this is a Flan, it's 80% sugar topped with melted sugar, what's the damn point?).

For those who wish to get technical two cans of Milk would be around 18 oz. each, or just over two cups each.... Use the damn cans, you have them right there, and it makes things all the easier...

The last thing we have to add is Cornstarch, which I was informed was in the amount of two "of the large spoons"

After confirming that my Mother meant "Tablespoons" I was again shown I was incorrect in decrypting her measurements:

This is apparently a Brazilian "Tablespoon"

If I had to guess I'd say this is probably somewhere in the realm of 2 1/2 to 3 normal tablespoons, and we're using two of them, so between five and six tablespoons of Cornstarch... In the end the precision amount won't matter, so from now on the actual measurement for this scenario will be somewhere between "Damned If I Know" and "Eh, Looks Like Enough".

EXTRA: If you wish to make a flavored flan (other than "milk") then simply add in appropriate fruit juice instead of milk along with the blended ingredients. Latin favorites are Orange Flan, Mango Flan, and Papaya Flan.

We're going to put that on near-top-speed ("Whip" on my blender) for about five minutes or until the Condensed Milk is no longer visible on the sides... Some stirring may be needed.

Next you'll want to grab a Flan pan, or similar metal baking dish and add into it two full cups of sugar, then move to your stove top. 

Putting the pan over Medium heat you'll want to slowly cook the sugar until it begins to caramelize. You must be careful at this step and keep note of two things:

1. Make sure the heat on your stove stays around medium, if it appears the sugar is cooking too fast it will burn, and then it's a bitch to clean up and retry.

2. Keep spooning the sugar evenly, let one area sit too long and it will burn and then it's a bitch to clean up and retry.

Cook the sugar until it all caramelizes into a light/medium brown color. You're looking for the same color as those toffees you always got at your Grandma's house, not the color of her spit canteen. 

Once that is completed remove the pan from the stove top. Your next goal is to spread the sugar mixture around the pan, evenly coating the sides

Once that is done you'll need to procure a large oven-safe pot. Take said pot and fill it with about an inch or so of water and bring said water to a boil.

Now we're going to place our flan-pan in said pot and cover in tin-foil, which then goes into the oven. The reason for this is the steam emitted will help bake our flan and create a moist environment for it to raise in. This is similar to any other custard you would be cooking.

Into the oven this will go. Cooking at 350 degrees for thirty minutes or until a toothpick can be pulled from the flan without leaving anything. If desired (and recommended) remove the tinfoil for the last five or so minutes in the oven to help solidify the bottom of the flan, creating a more staple platform for the end product.

Once this is done you have one more tricky task...

Get a plate large enough for your flan, place it on top of the flan-pan once it is removed from the oven... Now, carefully, CAREFULLY, flip the plate and the pan, causing the flan to leave the cooking pan and go onto the plate.

After accomplishing this scape out the remaining caramel and top the flan with it. Be sure to do the above mentioned soon after removing from the oven, as the caramel will cool and stick to the pan, and you don't want that.

Now, as for eating, you can eat hot or, as I've learned to do it, refrigerate the flan for at least an hour, allowing the ingredients to settle and stiffen up.

Either way, you've completed this task and made a flan.

Enjoy.