There is something very romantic about the sweet, comforting smell of burnt sugar and vanilla that permeates a kitchen while cooking flan.

The preparation process can be simple but takes a few tries to master the perfectly beautiful and distinct amber color of the caramel.  It took several disasters for me to feel comfortable enough with swirling sugar and water in slow motion without stirring, carefully but in rhythmic pace.  Sometimes causing me to gyrate my hips without even realizing it.  Sounds tricky doesn’t it?

Flan making tests my patience every time. A caramel burn is the most painful burn I’ve ever experienced.  My grandmother would say: “El caramelo es traicionero, dulce y delicioso pero puede causar un dolor que lo sientes hasta el alma.”    (Hot caramel is treacherous, sweet and delicious but can cause so much pain, that you can feel it in your soul).

The trick is to keep a watchful eye and use a light-colored stainless steel or enamel saucepan to be able distinguish when the caramel color has reached its point.  DON’T STIR!  I know it’s so tempting.  Cook over low to medium heat and watch for the golden color change and light syrupy texture.

Once you feel comfortable in making the caramel, you’ll be able to concentrate in making your own flan variety.
Below is a recipe for one of my favorite flans.  I love the combination of hints of citrus with the creamy sweetness of the milks.  The addition of orange peel and juice add a burst of flavor and texture to every bite.  Enjoy!

Orange Flan Ingredients

Serves 6

¾ cup sugar

3 tablespoons water

5 eggs

fresh juice from 2 large oranges (about 1/3 cup)

2 ½ tablespoons of very fine orange peel

1-14oz can sweetened condensed milk

1-12oz evaporated milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325° F.  Place four 3/4 – cup ramekins or flan/custard cups in 13x9x2-inch baking pan.

In a heavy, small skillet, stir sugar and 3 tablespoons water over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves.  Boil but do not stir, hold skillet’s handle and slowly swirl pan to incorporate sugar and water.  About 5 minutes. Immediately pour syrup into custard cups; divide equally.

In a medium bowl, whisk eggs then gradually whisk in juice, orange peel, condensed milk, evaporated milk and vanilla.  Divide mixture among ramekins.

Pour hot water into baking pan, half way up the sides of cups (bain marie).  Bake flans for 45 minutes or until sides of flans are set but centers are wobbly.  Remove baking pan from oven and let the flans cool in the baking pan with water.  Remove from water and refrigerate overnight.

Run a small knife around flans to loosen. To unmold, place a plate atop ramekin, hold plate firmly and invert.  Shake gently and allow flan to settle onto plate.

Editor’s note: This is the sixth post in our Flan Week celebration in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. Today is the turn of  Ericka, our The Culture of Food regular contributor and author of Nibbles and Feasts. Ericka shares with us a story and recipe of a traditional and easy flan de cajeta from Mexico . We hope you’ve been enjoying Flan Week and come back for the last recipe {Fat-Free Flan?!} tomorrow.

The smell of simmering cajeta at my grandmother’s house signified two things: Autumn had arrived, and obleas.  We would spend endless nights watching telenovelas and assembling cajeta and obleas (wafers) into little sandwiches of delight.  Wrapping them in cellophane and tying them with blue ribbons to sell at her convenience for 20 centavos. Cajeta is my greatest indulgence because it  sparks my greatest memories of spending time with my grandmother in her kitchen. Being flan week, I could not pass up the opportunity to celebrate than with none other than Flan de Cajeta.

Easy Flan de Cajeta Recipe

Ingredients:

For caramel
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water

For Flan:
¾ cup cajeta (preferably goat’s milk caramel)
2 ½ cups half-and-half
1 strip of lime zest (about 1” wide)
1 vanilla bean
3 whole large eggs
4 egg yolks

Directions for Caramel:
In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring sugar and water to boil.  Swirl or stir slowly until sugar has dissolved and the caramel has turned into an amber color.  Watch for darkening of color but be carful not to burn.

Immediately pour caramel in flan ramekins and swirl to coat bottom and a bit of the sides.

Directions for Flan:
Preheat oven to 350F

In medium sauce pan, put cajeta, half-n-half, and lime zest.  Split vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape seeds into pan.  Simmer and stir until smooth.

In a separate mixing bowl, wisk together eggs and yolks.  Slowly add to cajeta mixture and stir slowly.  Remove from heat and pass through a strainer.  Carefully ladle mixture into ramekins.

In a hot water bath, bake for 30-40 minutes until edges are set.  Center should still be a bit wobbly.

Remove from water and let cool for at least 30 minutes, flan should continue to set.  Unmold before serving.

Makes 6-8 flans

Ericka Sánchez–Proudly born in Torreón, Coahuila Mexico, Ericka arrived in the United States in 1982 to El Paso, Texas. Her love of food began in her mom’s kitchen but flourished in a food photography studio where she assisted in food styling/design and photo shoots.Now a wife and a mom to a 2-year old toddler, Ericka launched her bilingual blog Nibbles & Feasts in 2010 as a guide to satiating food cravings through recipes and to share her restaurant recommendations and food events in Los Angeles. You can read all of Ericka´s recipes here.

{Photo Courtesy of Bren Herrera}

To be enticed with other flavors, check out my blog, Flanboyant Eats, every day where I do a #FlanFriday and feature a new flavored flan!

Flan Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Flan

Ingredients:

6 tbsp. sugar
4 whole eggs, whisked
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup pumpkin purée (canned will do)
3/4 cup 2% or whole milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

Directions:

For custard: In a bowl, combine eggs, sweetened condensed & whole milk, pumpkin purée, spices and extract.  Whisk for about 2 minutes. Set aside.

For caramel: Add sugar to the aluminum flan mold and bring to medium-high heat. Allow all of the sugar to melt down until golden caramel, stirring constantly. Do not allow sugar to burn. When sugar is fully dissolved into caramel, carefully coat the bottom and sides of the flan mold using hand towels to hold the pan. Use a brush if you are not experienced in handling extremely hot caramel. Let sit for two minutes until sugar sets. Pour flan mixture into pan using a medium mesh hand strainer.

Baking the Flan: If you have a traditional 10″ flan pan, cover entirely with aluminum foil. If using a more updated version, cover lid and shut tight with latches. Add two cups of water to a large saucepan and gently place flan pan into the baño de Maria. Bring to boil for 45-60 minutes or until custard is fully cooked, but not too firm. Once the flan is fully cooked, immediately low heat and let simmer for 5 minutes. Remove flan pan from the baño de Maria and discard excess water from saucepan.

Do not remove flan from pan. Refrigerate for 7-9 hours or overnight. To serve, loosen the sides of the flan all the way around using a butter knife. Take a large plate, place upside down on top of flan and flip!

Bren Herrera is a Cuban-born American that lives for food, fashion, travel & music–the 4 elements that keep her busy while entertaining others. As a private chef and food writer and blogger, Bren loves introducing to her clients her Cuban roots through her cuisine but also infuses techniques and flavors she’s adopted from her international travels. She cooks in stilettos, owns 9 stovetop espresso makers and starts her day with a doble of Cuban espresso. Her food blog, Flanboyant Eats™, a cheeky wordplay on the Latin custard flan, has garnered her global attention and accolades from revered chefs which whom she’s worked with. Because of her food blog’s name, Bren has been dubbed the “Flan Queen” has over 45 flavors to indulge in. She has written a weekly column LATINA Magazine, Dean & DeLuca and other notable print and online publications. Bren blogs at: www.flanboyanteats.com and www.bsochic.blogspot.com and can be found on Twitter and Facebook under her name.

Editor’s note: This is the third post in our Flan Week celebration in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. Today is the turn of  Morena, half the team behind the blog Perú Delights and she brings us a traditional Crema Volteada {Flan} from Perú.. We hope you come back all week to check out so many different ways of making flan in Latin America and Spain!

Nothing in the world is easier to make than a Flan, or its mother, the gracious French lady called Crème Caramel. For Latin Americans, our love of flan is in our genes, in our blood, and in our surprisingly sweet palate. It is popular all across Central America, South America, and the Caribbean, and even though it may have lots of regional variations, it’s chore is always the same: baked milk and eggs covered in caramel. I have eaten it since I was a little girl, so did my parents, and so have my children, and I don’t think this continuity is going to end any time soon.

In Peru children start their love affair with Flan at a very early age. There isn’t one single kid who hasn’t carried a portion of Flan in his/her school lunchbox, or a house or restaurant that doesn’t make it regularly. It’s a dessert to celebrate everything, to comfort anyone, and to have in hand just to satisfy the cravings for something sweet. Nobody is free from indulging in this velvety, vanilla flavored custard covered with caramel sauce… So rich and addictive, but at the same time so innocent and homey.

The name is confusing for many people, especially because in French pastry vocabulary, a Flan is a kind of tart with a baked crust and a creamy filling. What we Latinos know as Flan is something quite different but equally delightful. Peruvians also call it Crema Volteada, which literally means “upside down cream”, and have turned their love for this ubiquitous dessert into a creative force, producing many versions of the original with as many flavors and textures as is possible to imagine: cream cheese, apple, pear, raisins, quinoa, lúcuma, coconut, corn, prunes, cinnamon… However, hands down, the original plain vanilla is the favorite all over the country.

Leche Asada is another dessert from Colonial times that resembles Flan, even though it´s less sweet, not as rich, and has a burnt top layer. It’s made with fresh milk instead, baked without the caramel, and the outer surface is burnt with a hot cast iron, (so it definitely is not a Crème Brulée or Crema Catalana either).

Here is our very simple and surefire recipe for Flan. We use evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and eggs, all mixed together in a blender, and baked in a water bath, a.k.a. “bain marie”, to get that soft, creamy, delicate texture. It’s so easy that you can make it with success even if you’ve never boiled a pan of water in your life. The amount of eggs varies from recipe to recipe, and if you prepare it with whole milk instead, the result will be lighter and less creamy, but still delicious. A disfrutar!

CREMA VOLTEADA (makes 8 portions)

Ingredients

1 cup white sugar

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 can evaporated milk
6 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla essence Directions

*Preheat the oven at 375 F.

*In a saucepan heat the sugar over medium high heat, moving constantly until it melts and forms a liquid caramel. Be careful not to let it burn because it will taste bitter. When it’s ready pour into a ( 9 inch) baking pan, covering all the inner surface with the caramel. Be very careful with your fingers, and don’t even dream of tasting it with your tongue. Hot caramel is dangerous. Let it cool.

*Blend eggs, milk, and vanilla essence in a mixer. Pour into the baking pan.

*Put the baking pan inside a larger pan with about 2 fingers high of hot water.

*Bake for 1 hour. Let it cool completely.

*When cool, run a knife around the border and turn the flan over a bigger plate.

*To soften the hard caramel at the bottom of the baking pan, put the empty baking pan over medium heat, with 1/3 cup water. Stir with a spoon until it softens and becomes liquid again, and pour over the flan.

*Keep refrigerated, and share with your loved ones.

Morena Cuadrais half the team behind Peru Delights, a Peruvian food blog she created with her daughter, also Morena. They write about their country`s cuisine, with both a traditional perspective and an open mind with a healthy twist. Morena is a journalist, a trained chef and a wine expert, and has edited and published several magazines and book collections. She’s a founding member of the Peruvian Guild of Wine Specialists, and she directed a cooking school in Lima until 2008. She now lives in Virginia,USA.

{All photos in this post are courtesy of Morena Cuadra}

Editor’s note: This is the second post in our Flan Week celebration in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. Today is the turn of Chef Uchi from Latino Food Lovers and she brings us a Malbec flan alfajor. She says: “This is a classic family recipe of flan with caramel and whipped cream with some modernized modifications to delight. When accompanied by whipped cream and dulce de leche, the flan is called ‘mixto’ (mixed).” We hope you come back all week to check out all the different ways of making flan!

Memories often inspire us. To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, I was inspired by two sublime memories: the alfajores I savored during my childhood and good wine shared with friends.

In Argentina, there are alfajores of all kinds. You can find regional alfajores (such as the Santa Fe, the cordobeces, Mar del Plata) and the commercial ones.

Another major inspiration is the wine. In Argentina, like in most Latin America, it is the perfect companion for a barbecue (asados). There are different varieties, although Malbec has become an icon for the Argentinean wine industry.

For my recipe, I have used a touch of Malbec. For its presentation I gave this dessert an alfajor shape. It is why I called it “Malbec flan alfajor”.

Hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients:

250 grs. sugar

740 ml whole milk

1 vanilla extract

1 1/2 tablespoon Malbec

250 grs. sugar

7 eggs

1 egg yolk

Dulce de leche (to taste)

Chantilly cream (to taste)

Chocolate or caramel decoration

Preparation:

Caramel

1. Prepare caramel with 250 grs. sugar and a little water in a saucepan  and cook until it begins to turn brown

2. Pour the caramel into ramekins

Flan

1. Mix milk, vanilla, Malbec wine and half the sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil in bain marie

2. Mix eggs and yolks with half the sugar

3. Add the mixture from step 2 in step 1

4. Strain the mixture through a chinoise

4. Fill the molds with the mixture and place in a deep pan with water

5. Bake at low heat (300˚F) for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the dessert gets a thick consistency

6. Let it cool and place in the refrigerator (if possible overnight)

7. Pass a knife around sides of the flan

8. Remove the mold on a tray

9. Connect the two flans with a drop of dulce de leche

10. Serve with some whipped cream and chocolate or caramel decoration

Chef Uchi Davidzon was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is a food writer and dessert guide at About.com, a digital property of The New York Times Co. Uchi is a Pastry Chef from FCI (French Culinary Institute New York) who was awared Les Dame D´Escoffier NYC 2010. She is the founder of Lola Mora Catering NYC and publishes the Latin Food Lovers blog which was awarded the best food blog by Blogs By Latinas Awards 2011. 

The contents of this posting, including, but not limited to its text, graphics, video, and images is the exclusive property of Luciana Davidzon and is used here with her express permission. Said contents may not subsequently be used or reproduced in any way without express written permission from Ms. Davidzon. Copyright © 2011 by Luciana Davidzon. All rights reserved.

{© SpanglishBaby Media}

As you all know, we’re celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month until mid October. Ana and I wanted to do something a bit different this year and so we came up with the idea of dedicating one whole week to the time-honored Latin dessert that unites us all: FLAN.

We’ve invited fellow Latina bloggers to share their flan recipes and stories with all of us in the days coming up! And there’ll be something for everyone. Check out the list of blogueras and the flans they’ll be making:

• Morena from Peru Delights {Crema Volteada from Peru}
• Ericka from Nibbles & Feasts {Flan de Cajeta from Mexico}
• Maria from Mommylogue {Traditional Spanish Flan}
• Uchi from Latin Food Lovers {Malbec Flan Alfajor from Argentina}
• Bren from Flanboyant Eats {Surprise Flan by the creator of #FlanFridays}

“Es bien fácil“, or so says my mother-in-law as she’s melting sugar to make caramel and mixing a bunch of ingredients in the blender. She is trying to prove to me how easy it is to make flan de queso from scratch. Mind you, not only has she been cooking since she was born, but somehow she always fails to remember I couldn’t be more clumsy in the kitchen.

Unfortunately – and in what many would describe as in very non-Latina fashion – I hail from a long list of inept mujeres when it comes to the kitchen. I hate to admit it, but it’s my reality. Growing up, mi papá was the one who took care of our nourishment. It wouldn’t be fair to call him just a cook, though. He actually deserves the title of chef, for his dishes were always the most delicious treats. He had a knack for transforming a few mismatched ingredients into finger-licking meals. Food has always been extremely important in my family. My father firmly believed in “barriga llena, corazón contento” which loosely translates into eating well will bring you happiness. Coincidentally, he used to say the same thing as my mother-in-law about the ease of cooking – I’ll never understand why.

Flan de la Abuela: Y-U-M-M-Y!!!

Anyhow, my mother-in-law’s recipe for flan de queso has been posted on my fridge for at least a year now. I haven’t had the audacity to attempt making it. Truth be told, I’m afraid of failing. But, since Valentine’s is coming up and my husband has been more understanding than usual these last few weeks with the craziness my life has become in preparation for the launch of SpanglishBaby, I will go for it. And also, I have to admit, it’s important for me to learn how to make meals and desserts like this one, so Vanessa can learn more about our culture. After all, food is a huge part of our identity!

You might want to do the same with your children or maybe you’re just more skilled and adventurous in the kitchen than I am, so I’ve decided to share Abuelita Ivette’s recipe for what’s arguably the best flan de queso my palate has ever tasted…

Ingredients:

1 – can evaporated milk

1 – can condensed milk

3 – large eggs

1 – 8 oz. package of cream cheese

1 – tsp. vanilla extract (or liqueur of your choice)

sugar and water (for the caramel.)

Directions:

• Mix all the ingredients–minus the sugar and the water–in the blender. Set it aside.

• Pour enough sugar in a metal pan to cover its bottom and add just a bit of water on medium heat. Stir occasionally until it becomes a light brown liquid.

• As soon as that happens, pour it into a mold. Make sure you spread so it covers the bottom of the mold evenly. Wait until the caramel hardens, it will happen fairly quickly.

• Then, pour the mixture from the blender into the mold. Cover it with foil paper and take to the oven which has been preheated to 350 F. The mold needs to be cooked using a method called baño maria. This means you boil water in a larger pan and place the mold inside it into the oven for one hour.

• To check if its ready, use a knife to poke it. If it comes out clean, you need to take it out of the oven. Let it cool, this will take a while so be patient, and invert it so the caramel is exposed. Just writing about it makes my mouth water!

Good luck and, don’t worry, Ana has made this flan many times and if she can do it, anyone can do it! In the meantime, I’ll just sign off by revealing that the only other ingredient I didn’t include in the recipe is: LOVE. You see, whenever we asked my Dad how come his dishes were so delicious, he would always answer: porque está hecho con amor.

¡Buen provecho! And, by the way, gracias Suegrita!!

Photo by: adactio

“Es bien fácil“, or so says my mother-in-law as she’s melting sugar to make caramel and mixing a bunch of ingredients in the blender. She is trying to prove to me how easy it is to make flan de queso from scratch. Mind you, not only has she been cooking since she was born, but somehow she always fails to remember I couldn’t be more clumsy in the kitchen.

Unfortunately–and in what many would describe as very non-Latina–I hail from a long list of inept mujeres when it comes to the kitchen. I hate to admit it, but it’s my reality. Growing up, mi papá was the one who took care of our nourishment. It wouldn’t be fair to call him just a cook, though. He actually deserves the title of chef, for his dishes were always the most delicious treats. He had a knack for transforming a few mismatched ingredients into finger-licking meals. Food has always been extremely important in my family. My father firmly believed in “barriga llena, corazón contento” which loosely means that eating well will bring you happiness. Coincidentally, he used to say the same thing as my mother-in-law about the ease of cooking–I never understood why.

Flan de la Abuela: Y-U-M-M-Y!!!

Anyhow, my mother-in-law’s recipe for flan de queso has been posted on my fridge for at least a year now. I haven’t had the audacity to attempt making it. Truth be told, I’m afraid of failing. But, since Valentine’s is coming up and my husband has been more understanding than usual these last few weeks with the craziness my life has become in preparation for the launch of SpanglishBaby, I will go for it. And also, I have to admit, it’s important for me to learn how to make meals and desserts like this one, so Vanessa can learn more about our culture. After all, food is a huge part of our identity!

You might want to do the same with your children or maybe you’re just more skilled and adventurous in the kitchen than I am, so I’ve decided to share Abuelita Ivette’s recipe for what’s arguably the best flan de queso my palate has ever tasted…

Ingredients:

Photo by: Bill HR

1 – can evaporated milk

1 – can condensed milk

3 – large eggs

1 – 8 oz. package of cream cheese

1 – tsp. vanilla extract (or liqueur of your choice)

sugar and water (for the caramel.)

Directions:

• Mix all the ingredients–minus the sugar and the water–in the blender. Set it aside.

• Pour enough sugar in a metal pan to cover its bottom and add just a bit of water on medium heat. Stir occasionally until it becomes a light brown liquid.

• As soon as that happens, pour it into a mold. Make sure you spread so it covers the bottom of the mold evenly. Wait until the caramel hardens, it will happen fairly quickly.

• Then, pour the mixture from the blender into the mold. Cover it with foil paper and take to the oven which has been preheated to 350 F. The mold needs to be cooked using a method called baño maria. This means you boil water in a larger pan and place the mold inside it into the oven for one hour.

• To check if its ready, use a knife to poke it. If it comes out clean, you need to take it out of the oven. Let it cool, this will take a while so be patient, and invert it so the caramel is exposed. Just writing about it makes my mouth water!

Good luck and, don’t worry, I will tell you all about how incredibly easy it was for me–yeah, right!–in a future post. In the meantime, I’ll just sign off by revealing that the only other ingredient I didn’t include in the recipe is: LOVE. You see, whenever we asked my Dad how come his dishes were so delicious, he would always answer: porque está hecho con amor.

¡Buen provecho! And, by the way, gracias Suegrita!!

We hope you attemp to make this recipe and then come back and tell us how it went. Or, maybe you can share with everybody your own links or recipe for flan!