Sweet Ginger Flan Food

EASY FLAN RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Pour the sugar into a skillet over medium heat. Stir the sugar continually until it begins to brown and clump together. Keep stirring until the sugar completely melts and dissolves into a golden-brown syrup. Remove the syrup from the heat as soon as it has dissolves as it can burn.
• Working quickly, carefully pour the caramel into a 7-inch round pan or a special flan pan (flanera) as shown in the photos in the blog post. Pour the caramel evenly into the bottom of the pan so the entire bottom is coated. If you need to, use an oven mitt or potholders to move the pan from side to side to get the caramel evenly distributed. If the caramel hardens too quickly, you can carefully reheat the pan by placing it directly on the stove or on the skillet for a few seconds.
• Set the caramel-coated pan aside to cool and harden.
• In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs, sweetened condensed milk, whole milk and vanilla extract. Whisk together until everything is fully combined, but try not to overwhisk so that there aren't too many air bubbles in the mixture.
• Pour the custard mixture into the caramel-coated pan. Cover the top of the pan with the lid (if using a flanera) or tightly with aluminum foil.
• Place the flan pan in a large baking dish and pour enough water in the dish until it reaches about halfway up the pan. Carefully place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
• Carefully remove the dish from the oven, and then lift the flan pan out of the water bath. Remove the lid or aluminum foil and let it cool to room temperature. The flan may still be a little jiggly, but that's okay - it will continue to cook with the residual heat.
• Once it's cooled, cover with the lid or aluminum foil and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
• To serve, remove the lid or aluminum foil and slide a knife along the edges of the pan to loosen it up. Place a plate or platter on top of the flan, grab a hold of both the plate and the pan and quickly and securely flip it over so that the flan is now upside down. Carefully lift off the flan pan. Your flan should be sitting in the caramel on the plate, ready to enjoy!
• Carefully lift the flan pan up. The flan should be on the plate - if it's not, place the pan back down and let it sit for a few minutes. Don't freak out! It will loosen up and slide out. You could try tapping the sides of the pan a bit or even giving the sides a squeeze.
• Slice the flan and serve with the rich caramel sauce!

CLASSIC FLAN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place a small bowl of cold water and a pastry brush near the stove top. Place a 9-inch cake pan in a large roasting pan. Bring a large kettle or pot of water to a boil.
• Make the caramel: In a saucepan over medium-high heat, mix sugar and 3 tablespoons water, stirring to combine. Do not stir again. Cook, washing down the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in water, or cover with a tight-fitting lid, to prevent crystals from forming, until caramel is amber, about 8 minutes, swirling pan to color evenly. Pour into cake pan, swirling to coat bottom evenly.
• Make the custard: In a small saucepan, heat milk with 1/2 cup sugar over medium just until mixture starts to steam and bubble around the edges, 5 to 6 minutes (do not let it boil).
• Meanwhile, whisk together eggs, yolks, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add ladle of hot milk mixture to the egg mixture and whisk to combine. (This is called tempering, and it prevents the eggs from curdling.) Add two more ladles of milk mixture, one at a time, whisking to combine after each addition. Gradually whisk in remaining milk mixture. Strain through a fine sieve into a large measuring cup or a bowl (to remove any cooked bits of egg). Stir in vanilla.
• Pour custard into cake pan. Place roasting pan in oven. Add enough boiling water to pan to come halfway up the sides of the pan. Bake until custard is just set (it should tremble slightly in center when shaken), about 50 minutes.
• Remove roasting pan from oven. Use tongs to carefully remove pan from hot-water bath and place on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 8 hours (or up to 3 days). To unmold, run a sharp knife around the flan, and place a rimmed serving plate upside down over the top. Invert, and gently lift pan to remove. Serve immediately.

FLAN MEXICANO (MEXICAN FLAN)

Steps:

• Place sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar melts and turns a golden amber color, about 10 minutes. Watch carefully once syrup begins to change color, because it burns easily. Carefully pour the melted sugar syrup into a flan mold. Let cool.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Pour whole milk, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, egg yolks, orange juice, orange peel, vanilla extract, and cornstarch into a blender, and blend for a minute or so, until the mixture is smooth. Pour in the cream, and pulse several times to incorporate the cream. Pour the mixture over the cooled caramel syrup in the flan mold.
• Line a roasting pan with a damp kitchen towel. Place the flan mold on the towel, inside roasting pan, and place roasting pan on oven rack. Fill roasting pan with boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the center of the flan is set but still slightly jiggly when moved, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let the flan cool, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours. To serve, run a sharp paring knife around the inside of the mold to release the flan. Invert a plate on the mold, flip the mold over, and gently remove the mold to unmold the flan and reveal the syrupy caramel topping.

CREAMY CARAMEL FLAN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a small, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, cook sugar, stirring, until golden. Pour into a 10 inch round baking dish, tilting to coat bottom and sides. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well incorporated. Beat in condensed and evaporated milk and vanilla until smooth. Pour into caramel coated pan. Line a roasting pan with a damp kitchen towel. Place baking dish on towel, inside roasting pan, and place roasting pan on oven rack. Fill roasting pan with boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the baking dish.
• Bake in preheated oven 50 to 60 minutes, until center is just set. Cool one hour on wire rack, then chill in refrigerator 8 hours or overnight. To unmold, run a knife around edges of pan and invert on a rimmed serving platter.

STEAMED FLAN WITH GINGER

Steps:

• In the stove-proof baking pan, combine the sugar, ginger, and ⅓ cup (80 ml) of water, and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Bring the mixture to a roiling boil over high heat, then lower the heat and simmer, constantly and very carefully stirring the mixture or swirling the pan. (Use an oven mitt or tongs to hold the side of the pan and swirl slowly.)
• After about 5 minutes, the mixture will foam, then turn a mahogany brown and begin to thicken. Keep gently stirring or swirling just until the mixture is deep brown, thick, and gooey, 2 to 3 minutes more, being careful not to burn the caramel. Remove from the heat immediately and let cool slightly, making sure the ginger is evenly scattered across the bottom of the pan.
• In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until uniformly yellow, with no whites visible. Continue whisking while slowly adding the condensed milk. When the mixture is thoroughly combined, repeat with 2½ cans of water (measuring the water in the can will help dislodge any milk stuck to the sides), then set the custard aside.
• If using a steamer, add enough water so that it almost reaches the rack. If using a wok or pot, put the cup or trivet in the bottom and add enough water so it almost reaches the top of the cup or trivet. Carefully put the pan with the caramel on the steamer rack or on top of the cup or trivet. Slowly pour the condensed milk mixture over the caramel, then cover the steamer or wok. Bring the water to a boil over high heat.
• When the water comes to a boil (look for steam coming out from under the lid or quickly lift the lid to check), lower the heat so the water simmers. Cook the flan until the edges are set and starting to bubble, and the middle is jiggly, 5 to 6 minutes. You can insert a chopstick or cake tester into the center of the flan to double- check its doneness; it should come out clean.
• Carefully remove the pan from the steamer or wok and let it cool. Cover the pan and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight. To serve, run a knife around the flan; firmly hold a round, rimmed platter or pie dish against the top of the pan; and flip the pan over to invert the flan onto the platter. Slice into wedges and serve with the caramel sauce spooned over the top.