Easter Flan – with a zing!

Usually, I plan lunches and dinner parties way ahead of time. But this time as I wanted to keep this Easter very low-key, I relaxed and took my own time, but eventually I had to rush in the end. So I had to come up with a dessert which was easy and quick.

With no time left to shop, I had to work with what I had.
In my refrigerator, I had eggs, milk, heavy whipping cream, strawberries, and cream cheese. In the pantry I had sugar, flour, condensed milk, evaporated milk, instant vanilla and chocolate pudding mixes. So my thoughts went I can make a strawberry trifle or a tart (very appropriate for spring – although it’s still cold here in NY) or a flan (very Easter appropriate with the eggs involved) or both the tart and the flan (over ambitious!).

So I quickly googled the recipes (our study is such a mess and I can’t get to my baking books)… this recipe looked so easy. I decided to go with it.

The first time I had Flan was in Las Vegas on our vacation in 2003. The minute I took a bite, it immediately reminded me of the Egg Pudding I used to make with a friend’s recipe back home using a pressure cooker! (details in a later blog).

I was a bit nervous whether it would come out of the mould as I didn’t have the flan pan or the ramekins, instead I just used my 6 inch corning ware dish. My contingency plan was – at the worst; I can just scoop out the flan and serve it in bowls or whip up some fresh cream for the strawberries. But this flan came out beautiful and it was such a huge hit that by evening none was left!

I Love it when there are no left over’s. For me, that means that the guests loved it!

I hope you all will give it a try and enjoy as much as we did! I sure will be making this often.

Here’s the recipe –

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
2 tablespoons Kahlua

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Method:

In a small saucepan, cook the sugar over medium heat until it starts to melt. Lower the heat and cook until caramelized to a golden brown. (Do not stir or touch the sugar, but swirl the pan to melt evenly.)

Pour into a metal flan mold or 9-inch cake pan. Turn the dish and swirl to evenly coat the bottom. Let caramel cool and harden. (I used my 2.5 quart corning ware dish – it worked perfectly)

Place the dish in a larger roasting pan and add hot water to come halfway up the sides of the baking dish.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the condensed and evaporated milks and Kahlua and whisk well to blend.

Pour into the prepared pan. Bake until set and just firm in the center but still jiggles slightly, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Let cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 2 hours.

To serve, run a thin sharp knife around the rim of the flan. Place a platter or large plate on top of the flan and gently flip over so the plate is on the bottom. Lift away the mold.

Cut into wedges and serve immediately.

Enjoy!