davidson@sdcsvax.UUCP (Greg Davidson) (08/27/85)
I'm mad about Flan, but I can rarely find the real thing. All of the Mexican restaurants in San Diego (generally a good place for Mexican food) serve an ersatz Flan which is more like Jello custard with an insipid caramel sauce. Real Flan is a very solid custard with a sauce that is thick and slightly bitter. I've had it in Mexico and in L.A. A related dish is Creme Caramel, served in many French restaurants. Its O.K., but still doesn't have the character of Flan. Does anyone have a recipe for Flan which they have found to produce the real thing? _Greg
andrew@grkermi.UUCP (Andrew W. Rogers) (09/01/85)
In article <1060@sdcsvax.UUCP> davidson@sdcsvax.UUCP (Greg davidson) writes: >I'm mad about Flan, but I can rarely find the real thing... > >Does anyone have a recipe for Flan which they have found to produce >the real thing? > I found this in a newspaper many years ago. I don't know if it's the "real thing" or not, but nobody I've made it for has complained otherwise... C H E F J E N S E N ' S F L A N (whoever he is) 2 cups sugar 1/2 cup water 1 quart milk 8 large eggs 1 tsp. vanilla Pinch of salt In a heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stir together 1 cup of the sugar and the 1/2 cup water until the sugar dissolves. Continue cooking over moderate heat, without stirring, until golden brown. Pour the syrup into a round 10" by 2" cake pan (from a 3 to 4-tier cake set); tilt to coat bottom and sides; let cool for 30 minutes. Heat the milk until lukewarm. In a large bowl beat together until blended the eggs, remaining 1 cup sugar, vanilla, salt, and 1 cup of the lukewarm milk; add the remaining lukewarm milk and beat to blend. Strain into the prepared pan. Place in the round 12" by 2" pan from the tiered set; add enough tap water to come up about as high as the custard mixture. Bake in preheated 350F oven until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean - about 50 minutes. Cool. Cover with wax paper and chill. Place a large shallow serving dish upside down over the flan; invert; remove the pan. [Apply a cloth soaked in hot water if the flan refuses to come out otherwise.] There will be a generous amount of caramel syrup. Makes 12 servings. AWR