Flan

I hope everyone had an awesome Thanksgiving! I had the pleasure of hosting a Friendsgiving this year, to celebrate one of my best friends birthdays! We got together and feasted on a relatively traditional Thanksgiving meal (minus the turkey- I went with rotisserie chicken this time to save some time and energy). One of our less traditional items was flan.

My flan actually made an appearance at the Thanksgiving dinner I had with my family. One of my mom's favorite desserts is flan, so I had to make it for her favorite holiday. Since I was also hosting the birthday party the next day, I extra one to share with my friends. Cynthia really liked this recipe, so per her request, I had to share it. Its a really simple recipe to make, and it's definitely a crowd pleaser.

Flan (makes 1 large flan)
1/2 cup Sugar
2 tbsp Water
Drop of Honey
2 tbsp Water
1 cup Cream
1 cup Milk
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
2. In a small pot, bring 1/2 cup of sugar, 2 tbsp water, and a drop of honey to a rolling boil.
3. Cook the sugar until the boiling slows, and a dark caramel color is reached.
4. Remove the pot from the heat and quickly add the 2 tbsp of water. Be very careful when doing this step, as the sugar will boil very hard and can splatter. Shake the pot as the water cools the mixture to evenly thin the liquid.
5. Pour the mixture into a 9 inch cake pan and allow it to cool on a flat surface.
6. In a medium pot, pour cream and milk with half the remaining sugar. Bring to a boil.
7. Whisk 3 eggs with the remaining sugar in a bowl. When the cream boils, slowly add it to the eggs while constantly whisking.
8. Once the cream is fully mixed in, add the vanilla. Allow the mix to cool briefly.
9. Once the sugar has set in the pan, and the mix has cooled, gently pour it into the pan.
10. Place the pan into a casserole dish or large cast iron skillet, and pour water into the larger vessel so that the water level is 3/4 of the way up the pan.
11. Place the larger vessel into the oven and bake for about 2 to 2.5 hours.
12. When the custard has formed a skin, and jiggles very slightly, the flan is finished. Depending on the amount of air at the bottom of the pan, the flan may jiggle less or more. You can test if the flan is cooked by very gently pressing the custard. It should bounce back gently.
13. Remove the flan from the heat, and allow to cool for about 30 minutes.
14. Run a knife along the edge of the pan to separate the flan from the sides of the pan.
15. Place into the refrigerator until it is cooled completely. Turn over onto a plate when cooled and serve cold.

This is a great dessert that you can make in advance, or start and leave in the oven for a while. It's a laid back dessert that doesn't require a whole lot of maintenance to execute successfully. You can put it in the oven, and turn on Netflix for 2 hours while you wait! The best part is that it wouldn't be unproductive ;)