Crème Caramel (Flan)

The Kidlet's most recent birthday cake used six egg whites. This left me with half a dozen egg yolks that needed eating. I considered making crème brûlée again, but I wanted ot try something new. Flan has always made me a bit nervous. I'm not good at caramel and I've always been worried that it wouldn't set or unmold properly.

I think I did take the caramel off the heat a bit too soon. It was very pale. But, other than that, I'm really happy with how this came out! The consistency was excellent. It unmolded beautifully. And the flavour was just right.

I did end up removing it from the bain marie during the last few minutes of baking. After 40 minutes it still wasn't set, but the top was starting to brown, so I put it in for another 10 minutes without the bain marie. I was a little worried that this had turned it into scrambled eggs, but the texture was beautiful! Not curdled or eggy at all! Abandon the water bath at your own risk, of course, but it worked well for me.

Crème Caramel

Slightly adapted from Edmonds Cookery Book

Ingredients

• 3/4 c. + 2 Tbsp. sugar, divided
• 1/2 c. water
• 4 large eggs or 6 large egg yolks¹
• 1 c. whole (3.25%) milk
• 1 c. table (18%) cream
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 160°C (325°F) and get a large dish or pan ready for your bain marie.
2. Gently heat 3/4 c. of the sugar with the water, stirring until the sugar has dissolved completely.
3. Once the sugar has dissolved, stop stirring, but continue to heat, shaking the pan occasionally.
4. Cook the sugar mixture until it becomes a rich, dark caramel. Be careful not to burn it!
6. Pour the caramel into a large casserole dish (or several small ramekins). Be sure the caramel coats the entire bottom of the dish(es).
7. Whisk the remaining 2 Tbsp. sugar into the eggs (or egg yolks).
8. Whisk in the milk, cream, and vanilla.
9. Pour the custard mixture into the casserole dish with the caramel.
10. Place the casserole dish in the larger dish or pan.
11. Pour hot water into the outer dish/pan until it comes halfway up the side of the casserole dish.
12. Bake at 160°C (325°F) for 30-40 minutes.
13. Custard should be just set but still jiggly. If it's not set at the end of 40 minutes, you may need to remove it from the bain marie and bake it for another few minutes until set.
14. Remove from oven, remove the casserole from the bain marie, and place it on a wire rack to cool for an hour or two.
15. Once cooled, transfer to the fridge overnight.
16. The next day, run a blade or spatula around the edge of the casserole dish to losen it, then invert the casserole onto a plate.
17. Carefully remove the casserole to reveal your caramel-topped custard.

---

¹ I was worried about the custard not setting and holding together properly without the egg whites, so I used 6 egg yolks + 1 whole egg. I think my eggs were slightly smaller than typical large/size 6 eggs though, so it may not have worked out to as much extra egg as it looks like on paper. ^Back