Orange Cardamom Flan Food

CARDAMOM-COFFEE FLAN

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Cook milk, orange zest, cardamom, 3/4 cup sugar and 1 Tbsp. coffee in saucepan 5 to 7 min. or until sugar is dissolved, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Reserve for later use.
• Meanwhile, cook water, corn syrup and remaining sugar in separate saucepan on medium heat 15 to 20 min. or until mixture is a light amber color, gently swirling pan every few minutes. (Do not stir.) Turn off heat. Add remaining coffee; stir until dissolved. Pour into 9-inch round pan; swirl to evenly coat bottom of pan with sugar mixture. Cool slightly.
• Pour reserved milk mixture through fine-mesh strainer into blender or food processor container. Add cream cheese; blend until smooth. Add eggs; blend well. Carefully pour over syrup in pan.
• Place filled 9-inch pan in larger pan, then place on middle rack in oven. Add enough water to larger pan to come halfway up side of 9-inch pan.
• Bake 48 to 57 min. or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Remove flan from water bath; cool completely.
• Refrigerate flan 4 hours. When ready to serve, place flan pan in larger pan filled with hot tap water. Let stand 2 min. Run knife around edge of pan to loosen flan; unmold onto plate.

ORANGE-CARDAMOM PANCAKES

Steps:

• Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, cardamom and salt to a large bowl and whisk to combine. In a medium bowl, whisk the milk, eggs, orange extract, orange zest and 3 tablespoons melted butter until combined.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry mixture and mix to combine using a large spoon or rubber spatula. Using a whisk or a handheld electric mixer on high speed, beat the batter until smooth, about 30 seconds.
• Heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium. Add butter for greasing, tilting the pan to coat the bottom. Working in batches, cook the pancakes, using about 1/3 cup batter for each. Cook each batch of pancakes until bubbly on top and golden-brown underneath, 1 to 2 minutes, then flip and cook until golden-brown on the second side, 1 to 2 minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter, adjusting the temperature and adding more butter as necessary.
• Transfer pancakes to serving plates. Drizzle with maple syrup and top with butter, as desired.

ORANGE FLAN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a bowl whisk the eggs, egg yolks and sugar together, then add zest, orange juice, heavy cream, and salt, and whisk to combine. Strain the mixture and fill caramelized lined ramekins. Put ramekins in hot water bath and bake in the preheated oven for 18 minutes or until firm.
• Allow to cool to room temperature then refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours.
• Caramel:
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• Put the sugar and water in a saucepan, and bring to a simmer without stirring. Cover the saucepan with a lid for 2 minutes, them remove and simmer until mixture is an amber color. Pour caramel into ramekins to cover the bottom, and swirl to coat 1/3 up the sides of ramekins.
• Yield: enough to coat 4 to 6 ramekins

MEXICAN FLAN (BAKED CARAMEL CUSTARD)

Steps:

• Heat 1/2 cup sugar in a heavy skillet or saucepan, stirring constantly until it melts and turns a dark golden color.
• Remove from heat and immediately pour into a 4 1/2 cup metal ring mold, swish it around so it evenly coats the bottom of the ring mold.
• In a large mixing bowl, lightly beat the eggs.
• Stir in milk,1/2 cup sugar, vanilla and orange peel.
• Place caramel coated ring mold in another pan and place on an oven rack.
• Pour egg mixture into the ring mold and pour the hottest tap water possible around the ring mold to a depth of 1 inch.
• Bake at 325Ffor close to l hour or until a knife comes out clean.
• Cool flan on a wire rack, Chill for at least 3 1/2 hours.
• To unmold the flan loosen edges with a spatula, slip spatula down the sides to let air in.
• Place the serving platter over the mold and flip to allow the flan to slip onto the platter.
• Spoon the caramel that may remain in the mold on top of the flan.
• Pile sliced fruit in the center and serve.

COFFEE-CARDAMOM FLANS WITH ORANGE CRèME FRAîCHE

Steps:

• Stir 1 cup sugar, 1/3 cup water, and corn syrup in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil without stirring until caramel is deep amber color, brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan occasionally, about 7 minutes. Working quickly, pour caramel into eight 3/4-cup custard cups. Tilt and rotate each cup to coat sides and bottom.
• Stir milk, ground coffee, cardamom, and 1/2 cup sugar in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture simmers. Remove pan from heat; let mixture steep 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk egg yolks, whole eggs, and remaining 1/2 cup sugar in large bowl to blend. Return milk mixture to simmer; gradually whisk into egg mixture. Line sieve with several layers of moistened cheesecloth; strain custard into bowl, then divide among caramel-lined cups. Arrange cups in 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan. Pour enough hot water into baking pan to come halfway up sides of cups. Cover pan loosely with foil.
• Bake flans 20 minutes. Lift foil to allow steam to escape. Replace foil. Bake flans until softly set in center, lifting foil every 10 minutes, about 35 minutes longer. Remove flans from water. Chill flans 4 hours; cover and chill overnight.
• Run knife around flans. Turn out onto plates. Serve with crème fraîche.

FIG AND SESAME TART WITH CARDAMOM ORANGE CREAM

Steps:

• Pulse together flour, confectioners sugar, and salt in a food processor until combined. Add butter and process until mixture resembles fine meal. Add 3 yolks (reserving the fourth for egg wash) and process until it forms a smooth dough, 2 to 3 minutes. (Don't worry about overworking dough.) Transfer dough to a work surface and gather into a ball, then divide into 3 equal pieces. Form one third of dough into a small disk, then form remaining dough into a larger disk. Chill disks, each wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Simmer figs, water, sugar, and cinnamon in a 1- to 2-quart heavy saucepan, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until mixture is thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in sesame seeds (3 tablespoons) and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in orange-flower water, then transfer filling to a bowl. Cool filling to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place flan ring in center.
• Roll out larger disk of dough into an 11-inch round on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin. (If dough is too firm to roll out, let stand at room temperature 5 minutes.) Fit dough into flan ring, pressing dough up side of ring (dough is very tender and tears easily; patch as needed; they will blend in during baking), then trim dough flush with top of ring. Spoon filling into crust and spread evenly.
• Roll out remaining disk of dough into a 9-inch round on lightly floured surface with floured rolling pin. Gently lay round over filling, then roll rolling pin over top to trim. Patch if necessary.
• Beat together remaining yolk and cream (1 tablespoon) in a cup with a fork and brush some of egg wash over top crust, then chill until egg wash appears darker and is slightly tacky, about 3 minutes. Brush with second coat of egg wash and chill again. Lightly score top with back of a small knife to make a decorative pattern and sprinkle with sesame seeds (1 teaspoon).
• Bake tart until top is golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer tart on baking sheet to a rack and cool 10 minutes, then slide tart off parchment onto rack to cool. Gently remove ring.
• While tart bakes, stir together cream, honey, zest, and cardamom in a medium bowl and chill, covered. Just before serving, beat cream mixture with an electric mixer until it holds soft peaks.
• Serve tart, warm or at room temperature, with cream and oranges.

ORANGE-CARDAMOM FLAN

Steps:

• To make the custard, lightly crush the cardamom seeds in a mortar and pestle or seal them inside a sturdy plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin.
• In a medium saucepan, heat the milk, crushed cardamom seeds, orange zest, and 3/4 cup (150 g) sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Once warm, remove from the heat, cover, and let steep for 1 hour.
• Set eight 4- to 6-ounce (125- to 180-ml) ramekins or custard cups in a roasting pan or deep baking dish.
• To make the caramel, spread the 3/4 cup (150 g) sugar in an even layer in a medium heavy-bottomed skillet or saucepan. Pour 1/4 cup (60 ml) water evenly over the sugar to dampen it, but don't stir. Cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, then add the cream of tartar or lemon juice. Continue to cook without stirring, but swirl the pan if the sugar begins to brown unevenly. When the caramel turns dark amber in color and begins to foam a bit, remove from the heat and immediately add the remaining 1/4 cup (60 ml) water. The caramel will bubble up vigorously, then the bubbling will subside. Stir with a heatproof utensil until any hardened bits of caramel completely dissolve. Divide the hot caramel evenly among the 8 ramekins, then carefully swirl each ramekin so that the caramel coats the sides halfway up. Let cool completely.
• Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C).
• To finish the custard, reheat the milk mixture until it's quite warm. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and egg yolks, then gradually whisk the warm milk into the eggs, whisking constantly as you pour to prevent the eggs from cooking (don't whisk too vigorously, which will create air bubbles). Pour the mixture through a mesh strainer into a large measuring cup or pitcher.
• Divide the custard mixture evenly among the caramel-lined ramekins. Fill the roasting pan or baking dish with warm water to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and bake until the perimeters of the custards are just set and the centers are still slightly jiggly, 25 to 35 minutes.
• Transfer the custards from the water bath to a wire rack and let cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled.
• To unmold, run a sharp knife around the inside of each ramekin to loosen the custard, invert a serving plate or bowl over the ramekin, and turn them over together. Shake a few times to release the custard, then lift off the ramekin. (If the custard is stubborn, using a finger, gently pull it away from the side of the ramekin and invert again; it should slide out easily.) Pour any caramel remaining in the ramekin over the flan.
• Serve the flans cold.
• The baked custards will keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
• Surround the custards with poached dried fruit of your choosing. To make the poaching syrup: In a saucepan, heat 1 part honey or sugar to 4 parts water along with 1 cinnamon stick or 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise. Once the syrup is warm, drop in pitted prunes; raisins; dried apricots, figs, cranberries, or cherries; or any combination of dried fruits. Simmer gently until the fruits are plump and soft.