Flan de Leche

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             FOOD FUNNY
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Here's another good one from Maria Noel-Resnick:

After the egg hunt on Easter Sunday, the young farm boy decided to play
a prank. He went to the chicken coop and replaced every single egg with
a brightly colored one. A few minutes later the rooster walked in, saw
all the colored eggs, then stormed outside and beat up the peacock.

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             TODAY'S RECIPE
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The French call this "crème caramel," and it's really a sort of crème
brulée with the burned sugar on the bottom instead of the top. I prefer
to call it by its Spanish name since I first discovered it when my
family lived in South America, and I truly believe it can be found, in
one form or another (and it has many forms), on the dessert menu of
every single restaurant in the Spanish-speaking world.

Flan de Leche

For the caramel sauce:
1 cup (250 ml) sugar
1/3 cup (80 ml) water
2 Tbs (30 ml) corn syrup
1/4 tsp (1 ml) lemon juice

For the custard:
1 1/2 cups (375 ml) whole milk
1 1/2 cups (375 ml) light cream
3 eggs plus 2 egg yolks
2/3 cup (160 ml) sugar
1 1/2 tsp (7 ml) vanilla extract
A pinch of salt

To make the caramel sauce: Combine all ingredients in a small,
non-reactive saucepan and bring to a boil without stirring over moderate
heat. Cook, swirling the pan gently, until the syrup is honey colored
and large bubbles form on the surface. Remove from the heat and
carefully pour the syrup into 6 to 8 ungreased, 6-ounce (180 ml)
oven-proof ramekins or custard cups. Set aside.

To make the custard: Heat the milk and cream in a separate saucepan over
moderate heat just until steam begins to appear. Meanwhile, whisk
together the eggs, yolks, and sugar just enough to combine them - you do
not want any bubbles in the mixture. Remove from the heat and gently
whisk the milk mixture, vanilla, and salt into the egg mixture. Strain
into a pot or measuring cup with a pouring spout and divide evenly
between the ramekins. Place the ramekins in a deep baking pan with about
1 inch (2.5 cm) of hot water in it and place in the center of a
preheated 350F (180C) oven. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until the tip of a
knife inserted about halfway between the edge and the center of the
ramekin comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool on wire racks.
Refrigerate until ready to serve. To serve, run the blade of a small
knife around the edge and invert an individual serving plate over each
ramekin. Carefully turn the two over and shake gently to release the custard.
Serves 6 to 8.
Received on Thu Jul 2 18:42:44 2009