Puerto Rican Vanilla Flan Food

PUERTO RICAN FLAN RECIPE

Steps:

• Pour sugar into a heavy bottomed pot and melt over medium low heat. You can shake the pan occasionally to ensure the sugar melts evenly.
• Once the sugar has melted completely (can take up to 20 minutes) and there are no sugar crystals remaining, pour and spread caramel in an oven resistant dish or dishes. Set the dish aside.
• Next, add all filling ingredients to a blender and blend until velvety smooth. Pour this mixture into your baking dish (over the caramel and salt.)
• Bake in a water bath (placing your baking dish inside another, larger oven safe dish with a layer of water) at 350 degrees for 60-80 minutes, or until the center looks jiggly (think jello) but not liquid. Remove the flan from the oven and allow time to cool completely.
• Using a knife, loosen the edges around your flan and the baking dish. Grab a platter to serve the flan on and place it over the baking dish. Carefully flip the flan onto your platter, allowing the caramel to drizzle over the top. Slice, serve and enjoy!

VANILLA FLAN

Steps:

• Put 1/2 cup of the sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook until it begins to melt and turns brown around the edges. Pull the melted sugar around the edges toward the center of the un-melted sugar with a heatproof rubber spatula. Continue cooking, pulling the melted sugar, until all the sugar is melted and the caramel is uniformly dark amber (it should smell caramelly but not burnt), 10 to 12 minutes total. (If you still have undissolved lumps of sugar, stir it off heat until melted.) Pour the caramel into 8-by-2-inch deep cake pan in an even layer, 1/8 to 1/4 inch deep. Let the caramel cool; it will crack as it cools and that's ok.
• Bring the cream, milk and vanilla bean to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat and steep for 30 minutes.
• Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
• Put the eggs, salt and the remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a blender and puree on low speed until smooth and the sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute.
• Strain the cream mixture into the egg mixture and blend at low speed to combine, discarding any solids. Skim the foam off the top and transfer to the prepared baking dish. Remove any remaining foam from the top and cover the dish tightly with foil.
• Line a roasting pan with a clean kitchen towel; this will keep the baking dish from sliding and it will insulate the flan, preventing it from overcooking. Set the baking dish on a towel and pour boiling water into the roasting pan until it comes halfway up the sides of the baking dish; the flan should not be floating. Bake the flan until it looks set like gelatin(it will wobble when gently shaken), 35 to 45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, remove the foil and let cool. Cover the dish with plastic and refrigerate until set and cold, at least 3 hours and up to 24.
• When ready to serve, run a paring knife around the edges of the flan to loosen. Invert it onto a platter. Serve cold. The flan can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Unmold and serve.

SPANISH FLAN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt sugar until liquefied and golden in color. Carefully pour hot syrup into a 9 inch round glass baking dish, turning the dish to evenly coat the bottom and sides. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat eggs. Beat in condensed milk, evaporated milk and vanilla until smooth. Pour egg mixture into baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil.
• Bake in preheated oven 60 minutes. Let cool completely.
• To serve, carefully invert on serving plate with edges when completely cool.