Flan aka creme caramel

Flan aka creme caramel, gets its name from the French word flaon, which means “flat cake” because of its shape is an extremely international and loved cake across the world.  The creamy custard cake thats topped with sweet caramel is literally loved by everyone.  Personally, I am not a fan of flan like texture; pudding and jello don’t really do it for me.  BUT I love flan even though its texture is so similar.

There is a lot of French influence in Syrian cuisine because when the French invaded and occupied the land they brought with them dessert. The dessert is also part of Spanish cuisine and they took it with them to Mexico during the conquest.

The dessert is first poured into a pan that is coated in sweet caramel and then steam cooked in a bath water.  Although it takes only 10-15 minutes to put together, you do need about 2 hours from start to finish.  First it has to steam cook in the oven for about an hour and then it needs another hour or so to cool down.

Overtime, bakers have experimented with this recipe and have since added coffee, chocolate, coconut, orange, and others.  This recipe is actually not my mothers recipe.  My mom makes it all the time usually in individual size pans using milk and sugar.  This recipe was given to me by a Mexican lady who is like family when she surprised me and made it for my birthday.  What impressed me is she made it so quickly and while I was present, without me even noticing!  It’s that easy and that delicious.

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Flan aka creme caramel

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

1 hr

 

This creamy custard flat cake is

Author: Nadia Hubbi

Ingredients

For the caramel

• 3/4 cup sugar

For the custard

• 5 eggs
• 1 12 oz can evaporated milk
• 1 14 oz can La Lechera
• 3 tsp vanilla

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. on medium heat add sugar to pan and stir for 5 minutes (do not step away, it burns quickly)

3. once it turns into a caramel color pour it into a 9 inch cake pan

4. in a circular motion move the caramel around so it fully coats the entire pan

For the custard

1. in a blender mix the 4 ingredients

2. pour the mixture using a seive (optional) into the cake pan coated in caramel

3. cover very well

4. place the cake pan into another larger pan

5. add boiling water to the pan so the water reaches midway to the cake pan

6. bake it in the water bath in the oven for 60 minutes

7. let it cool for 60 minutes

8. when its done, use a knife to make an incision around the outer edge of the custard to seperate it from the pan

9. put a plate directly on top of the cake pan, and flip it