Flan

I'm not much of a custard lover myself but I had yen for flan.

 My sister, Cathy, really liked flan. 

If a Mexican Restuarant didn't serve flan for dessert, she didn't think it was a real Mexican restaurant.    

I dedicate this post to my sister.

While looking for a recipe on  the internet I found a LOT of variations.  Heavy cream, half and half, condensed milk, 3 eggs, 5 eggs.  

Below is the recipe I settled on and I like it.  I like creaminess that sweetened condensed milk adds.  I always make my pumpkin pie with sweetened condensed milk.

 I also thought it would be fun to use a real vanilla bean.  What a messy pain that is.  Good vanilla extract is fine.

Preheat oven to 325

Start with the top, or the bottom.  This is the best part of flan - the caramel on top.

Watch this video to learn how to cook it.

This works perfectly.  I used a glass pie tin and melted the sugar right it.

DO NOT stir the sugar before it melts, it will just get hard. 

When it begins to melt, stir it in a circular motion, just like the video.  I found it worked better to let it cool and thicken and then move the pan around to coat the sides.

While it's cooling, mix the custard.

• 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 12 oz can evaporated milk
• 1 Tbl vanilla extract

Put the pan in the pan you are going to bake it in.  BEFORE you put the custard in it.  I learned that trick the hard way. 
Pour boiling water to fill the pan halfway.  

I spilled some custard in the water while moving it to the oven but I don't think that hurt anything.  Back 50-60 minutes until the center is still soft but not runny

After it cools what you are supposed to do is run a knife around it and turn it upside down on a plate.  That didn't go so well for me.  Oh well.  It's not the prettiest flan anyone ever made.  But it does taste pretty good.