The Flim Flan Man

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Let's discuss Flan.  This oh, so favorite of Cuban desserts had it's humble beginnings in France and Spain, and because it so much a part of those two cultures I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that geographically it was born the region where those two countries meet (anywhere from Galicia and the Basque Country in Spain to Aquitaine and the Languedoc-Rousillon regions of France).  This is a dessert that is simple to make because it only contains a few ingredients: milk, eggs, sugar, and vanilla...That's it!  However, as simple as it is to make it can also be ruined very easily by cooking it too much or not enough.
I will present several versions.  Most purists will swear by the original version that contains just the ingredients above.  There are versions out there with coconut & cream cheese, or pineapple, or even condensed milk.  I happen to love the version that has condensed milk in it.  Not only is it a richer dessert, but it is more velvety in consistency and it holds up better in the caramel sauce.


Now, about the mold.  The mold you use should be metal, not glass.  Because you are working with melted sugar at a high temperature, the melted sugar could potentially crack and break the glass.  My mother always used a lightweight aluminum loaf pan.  But you can really use any shape.  A ring mold works well.  I do not recommend spring form pans as the custard will seep through the seams in the bain-marie and create a soup in your oven.


Flan de Leche (the Original)


2 cups whole milk
1 lemon peel 
1 stick of cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
6 egg yolks
3 egg whites
3/4 cup sugar, plus additional sugar for coating your mold (about 1/2 cup)
1tsp. vanilla


First prepare your mold:  Pour the 1/2 cup sugar in the mold and over medium heat melt the sugar.  When the sugar starts to turn amber in color, turn the heat down to low and work quickly to coat the entire inside of the mold with the caramel.  Please Note: sugar can very quickly turn from amber to brown to black.  You don't want the carmel to turn to brown.  It should be the color of maple syrup.  When the mold has been completely coated, set it aside and let the caramel cool and harden.


Boil the milk, lemon peel, cinnamon stick, and salt.  Let cool.  Lightly beat the egg yolks with the egg whites, sugar, and vanilla.  Add the cooled milk.  Strain the mixture and pour into your prepared mold.  Put the mold in a bain-marie and bake in the oven at 350 degrees until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (about an hour).  Cool the flan in the mold and then chill.  When serving, unmold onto a serving tray.  The caramel that hardened around the walls of the mold has now become a caramel syrup.


Flan with Condensed Milk


1/2 cup sugar
5 eggs
1 can of sweetened, condensed milk
1 cup of whole milk
1 tsp. vanilla

With the 1/2 cup of sugar, follow the steps in the first recipe (above) for coating your mold with caramel.  Beat the eggs, condensed milk, whole milk, and vanilla.  Pour mixture into the prepared mold.  Bake in a bain-marie at 350 degrees until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Tocino Del Cielo (Bacon from Heaven)

1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cups water
4 to 5 drops of lemon juice
1/2 cup of egg yolks
1/2 cup of whole eggs (when measuring, if you have more than 1/2 cup remove a little of the egg whites)
1 tsp. vanilla

In a heavy sauce pan combine the water, sugar, and lemon juice.  Bring to a boil and reduce syrup to about a cup.  Let cool.  Beat the egg yolks and whole eggs until thoroughly combined.  Add the cooled syrup and the vanilla.  Stir and combine the ingredients thoroughly.  Strain the mixture.  Pour into a caramel coated mold  (see recipes above).  Bake in a bain-marie at 350 degrees until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (about 1 1/2 hours).