Vanilla Bean Flan W Agave Syrup And Caramelized Walnuts Lower Food

VANILLA CARAMEL FLAN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Make caramel by combining sugar and water in a medium saucepan and cooking over moderate heat swirling occasionally until color begins to turn golden, about 12 to 15 minutes. Turn heat to low and continue cooking and swirling constantly until color is dark brown and mixture smells of caramel. Remove from heat and pour into a 9-inch round cake pan. Using a towel or hot pad, tilt pan and swirl caramel to coat the bottom and sides well. It will need a few minutes to cool down in order for about 1/4-inch of caramel to stick to the pan. Then pour excess back into the pot it was cooked in and add 2 cups milk. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, to dissolve excess caramel into milk, about 3 to 5 minutes. Strain warm milk and caramel mixture in a bowl and add cold half and half. Mix well. Add sugar, eggs, yolks and vanilla. Whisk custard to mix and strain into caramelized pan. Set flan into a roasting pan in the oven and pour boiling water into roasting pan until it rises halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until center feels just firm when pressed gently with the fingertips. Set aside to cool for about 1 1/2 hours then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or up to 4 days.
• To serve, run a knife along the inside edge to loosen. Cover with a platter and quickly invert. Carefully drain excess caramel into a small sauce pitcher and reserve. Serve wedges of flan on dessert plates topped with extra caramel sauce.

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.

VANILLA BEAN FLAN W/ AGAVE SYRUP AND CARAMELIZED WALNUTS (LOWER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F; put a kettle of water on to heat for the water bath.
• To prepare flans: Put 2 teaspoons agave syrup in the bottom of each of six 6- to 8-ounce straight-sided ovenproof ramekins. Refrigerate the ramekins for 15 minutes to thicken the syrup.
• Meanwhile, pour milk into a medium saucepan. Split vanilla bean and, with the tip of a sharp knife, scrape all the black paste inside into the milk. Add the pod. (Or add vanilla extract to the milk.) Heat over medium heat until the milk is very hot and bubbles form around the edges of the pan, but do not allow it to boil. Remove from the heat, mix in Benefiber and let stand for 5 minutes.
• Whisk eggs, egg yolks and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl. Slowly add 1 cup of the hot milk, whisking constantly as you pour. Whisk in the rest of the hot milk a little at a time.
• Strain the custard back into the pan through a sieve; carefully skim off any foam. Divide the custard among the prepared ramekins. Place the ramekins in a large baking pan. Carefully pour 1 inch of boiling water into the pan, being careful not to splash water into the custard. Cover the pan with foil.
• Bake until the custards no longer jiggle in the center, 25 to 35 minutes (depending on the size of the ramekin). Carefully remove the foil and let the flans cool in the water bath for 1 hour. Cover the ramekins and transfer to the refrigerator until chilled, about 1 hour.
• To prepare walnuts: Reduce oven temperature to 300°F; lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
• Toss walnuts with agave syrup and brown sugar until evenly coated. Spread in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until lightly browned, 6 to 10 minutes, checking frequently. Spread out on wax paper to cool.
• To serve, run a knife around the edge of each ramekin and invert onto a plate. Top each flan with about 1 tablespoon of the walnuts.