This is the easiest desert you can ever make!

I think it might be the first desert I ever made when I was 6 or 7 years old.

Ingredients:

1 cup of sugar

4 cups of milk

5 eggs

2 egg yolks

Anything you want to flavor it with: vanilla bean, extract, lemon zest, I used some coconut in this one too!

For caramel:

1/2 cup of sugar  and water

Pre-heat your oven at 350°.

First you need to make a caramel. In a pan just cook the 1/ cup of sugar and wet it a bit with some water. Let the sugar bubble up and when it start turning dark pull it aside. Be careful it’s easy to burn the caramel! Before it cools down, pour a small amount on the bottom of your molds, and spread it to the side by turning the mold in your hands. You have to be fast because the caramel will set instantly.

In a sauce pan, bring to a boil your milk and your flavoring. Then set aside to cool off.  

In a bowl, whisk you eggs and the sugar until foamy.

Then introduce gently a bit of the milk to the eggs mixture while constantly whisking. If you don’t have time to let the milk cool down then you will have to do what we call “to temper your eggs” meaning: Add slowly the hot milk to your eggs while whisking energetically, once 1/2 of your milk is incorporated with the eggs mixture then pour it into the sauce pan with the rest of the milk still whisking.

It’s important to always pass the mixture through a sieve before you will pour it into your molds. You want to filter the bits of cooked eggs.

Then put your mold in a pan and fill it with water. Your flans need to cook in a Bain-marie for 45 minutes.

How do you know your flan is cooked, if you press gently on the surface you will find it firm, if you still have doubts just  stick a small knife blade in it.

Then cool off the flan and refrigerate. You can make this recipe in advance.

When you are ready to serve just run a blade along the side of the mold and turn upside down on a plate.

In the summer I love to do this recipe with Zucchinis and goat cheese and serve it with a roasted pepper coulis. It’s a really nice and fresh appetizer, of course I do not use any sugar or caramel but salt and pepper. This is one those recipe that once you have the technique you can take it where ever you want!

Ever tried a orange Flan with chocolate sauce?

Bon Appétit!