At Mike's request, reposted.
I had trouble with the sugar blackening as I poured it into the ramekins, hence my recommendations. I used a dark pan and it was surprisingly hard to see the color of the caramel as it boiled.
FWIW this flan is basically a rich French ice cream, that has been cooked solid. On the positive side it is SO rich and yummy. On the negative side, one serving is 9 weight watcher points or about 500 Calories!!
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Re: Where did I read about Elote?
Postby Frank Deis » Fri May 27, 2011 6:19 pm
First -- go on YouTube or somewhere and look up "Caramelizing Sugar." They usually don't say this but 1) use a silvery pan so you can see the color of the caramelizing sugar better and 2) have a pie plate with ice water so you can stop the sugar from getting browner as you pour it. I used a sugar water mix which seems to give you slightly longer between tan sugar and black burned sugar.
This is supposed to make 8 ramekins, I used 11 or 12.
Start by clearing a shelf in your fridge so you can cool the desserts. The tray you use as a bain marie should fit on the shelf.
I buttered all the ramekins as another prelim step. And boil a big kettle of water. You need a pan with high sides so that the ramekins can sit in hot water as they bake.
OK.
2 cups sugar -- for the caramel
Stir together all of the following:
6 eggs plus 2 yolks
2 cups half and half (this is the container size here in NJ)
1 cup sweetened condensed milk (the size of a can here in NJ)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon -- recipe says ground canela -- I used a Chinese cinnamon -- not Vietnamese which is too sharp.
7 oz pumpkin pie filling. NOT the canned pumpkin, the pie filling is sweetened and spiced. Can is huge, measure 7 oz
pinch of kosher salt (or any salt AFAIK)
Cream to whip
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melt sugar, cook until lightly browned, pour into ramekins
place in baking pan (bain marie) with water half way up
fill with flan mix and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Surface of flan should be slightly puffed up and knife come out clean.
Refrigerate for 4 hours and unmold before serving. Top with whipped cream.
BTW the bain marie baking technique here is exactly what you do for the delicious breakfast/brunch dish, eggs en cocotte. Put an egg in a ramekin with a tablespoon of cream, some fresh thyme leaves, and a few drops of truffle oil plus salt and pepper. Bake 15 minutes and scoop out with hard toast to eat.