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Mexican Food 101: Traditional flan
In honor of Mexico’s bicentennial this month, we’re dedicating the Sept. 8 food section to all things gustatory about our neighbor to the south. This Mexican Food 101 series will highlight a few traditional dishes you might want to make at home.
When the Spanish conquistadors arrived in Mexico in the 1500s, they brought with them cows, cinnamon, sugar cane and a traditional egg custard that is now as beloved in Mexico as it is in Europe. Flan can be flavored with vanilla, coconut, cinnamon, mint, rum, chocolate or even coffee, and many home cooks use evaporated or condensed milk to shorten the cooking process and reduce the number of egg yolks required to thicken it.
This recipe from Diana Kennedy creates a not-so-sweet, eggy flan, so if you prefer a sweeter version, increase the sugar added to the milk by at least1/4 cup. For a super sweet shortcut flan, try this version from Ahora Si editor Josefina Villicaña that uses sweetened condensed milk and only four eggs. (In fact, in a taste test in the Statesman newsroom last week, most people preferred the shortcut version of the flan to the traditional method. Did I mention the shortcut method is super sweet?)
A few flan-making tips, no matter which recipe you use: When making the caramel, remove the melted sugar from the stove just after it has melted and has turned an amber color. Quickly coat the bottom of the pan or ramekins, because the caramel will start to harden within seconds.
To test whether the flan is done, insert a knife into the custard, but not all the way through or else you’ll ruin the appearance of the dish. Making the flan a day ahead and dipping the pan in warm water will make it easier to flip onto the serving dish.
Flan a la Antigua
1 cup granulated or raw sugar, divided
1 quart milk
1 vanilla bean or a 2-inch stick of cinnamon
Pinch of salt
4 whole eggs
6 egg yolks
In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat a half-cup sugar over medium heat and stir until the sugar has melted and starts to turn amber. Pour the caramel into small ramekins, a square baking dish or even a bread pan and turn the mold to coat the bottom and halfway up the sides. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the milk and add the remaining sugar, vanilla bean or cinnamon and salt and let it simmer briskly for about 15 minutes. The milk should be reduced by about a half-cup. Set it aside to cool. Beat the eggs and egg yolks together well. Add them to the cooled milk and stir well. Pour the mixture through a strainer into the coated mold or pan.
Set the mold or pan in a water bath on the lowest shelf in the oven. Cook the flan for two hours and insert a knife to see if it is done. When flan has set, let cool completely before serving or store in the fridge overnight. Serve at room temperature. Serves 8.
— Adapted from a recipe by Diana Kennedy in ‘The Cuisines of Mexico’ (Harper and Row, 1972)
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