Vanilla Flan (aka Creme Caramel)
I've been busy with work for the last 3 weeks so my cooking has been restricted to subsistence levels and I haven't been trying out any new recipes.
Today, I served a cheater's version of butter chicken using Patak's brand Butter Chicken paste, a fast plain basmati rice with peas and as a treat, I had a vanilla flan (aka creme caramel) that I made on Sunday while simmering an inside blade steak (it took 2 1/2 hrs to get it tender enough to fall apart) which I served with mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli and a sauce made by pureeing the simmering liquid (onion soup/diced tomatoes) and thickening it with a flour slurry.
Small Ramekin - Wait til the next day so it sets firmly enough that it will come out of the ramekin cleanly. I was in a bit of a hurry.
Large Ramekin ... creamy inside
Vanilla Flan (makes 4 large or 6 small ramekins)
6 large egg yolks
6 tablespoons sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract)
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
vegetable oil for preparing ramekins
Note: For a lighter product, you can substitute 1/2 cup of the cream with 1/2 cup of whole or 2% milk as desired
1. Making the Caramel
Make caramel by melting 1/3 - 1/2 cup of sugar over medium heat in a saucepan with 2 tbsp water poured into the center until it dissolves and then turns a golden colour. Some people like a more bitter taste so let it go another minute or so but do NOT burn the sugar.
Add a tbsp of the caramel to the base of each ramekin. Swirl to coat the bottom evenly.
You should have enough caramel for all the ramekins if you work quickly. Getting the caramel evenly distributed over the base of all the ramekins is not as important as getting the same amount of caramel into all the bowls. A second pair of hands may help with the swirling while one does the pouring.
2. Making the Flan
Fill a kettle and bring water to boiling.
Preheat oven to 325°F.
Whisk yolks and 6 tablespoons of sugar in a medium bowl to blend. Scrape in the seeds from the vanilla bean. Gradually whisk the cream into the sugar. Divide the mixture among 6 - 3/4 cup custard cups or ramekins which have the hardened caramel on the bottom.
Arrange the dishes in a 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Pour enough boiling water from the kettle into the pan so as to come halfway up the sides of dishes.
Bake custards approximately 35-40 minutes until the custard is set. Do not over bake or your custard will be rubbery. Remove the pan from the oven and remove custard cups from the water. Allow custards to cool before placing in the refrigerator. Chill overnight.
NOTE: I scalded the cream in the microwave in a Pyrex measuring cup for 2 min at high, then whisked into the egg mixture gradually. Then, strained the results back into the measuring cup for pouring into ramekins. Baking time reduced to 25 min as a result. This is useful when you are making a flavoured flan (ie green tea, lavender etc) as the heat will allow you to steep the herbs in the cream.
Run a sharp knife around the edges to loosen the flan. You may want to dip the base of the ramekin into warm to hot water to loosen the caramel before turning out onto a serving dish with a slight lip to it to catch the sauce.
Today, I served a cheater's version of butter chicken using Patak's brand Butter Chicken paste, a fast plain basmati rice with peas and as a treat, I had a vanilla flan (aka creme caramel) that I made on Sunday while simmering an inside blade steak (it took 2 1/2 hrs to get it tender enough to fall apart) which I served with mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli and a sauce made by pureeing the simmering liquid (onion soup/diced tomatoes) and thickening it with a flour slurry.
Small Ramekin - Wait til the next day so it sets firmly enough that it will come out of the ramekin cleanly. I was in a bit of a hurry.
Large Ramekin ... creamy inside
Vanilla Flan (makes 4 large or 6 small ramekins)
6 large egg yolks
6 tablespoons sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract)
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
vegetable oil for preparing ramekins
Note: For a lighter product, you can substitute 1/2 cup of the cream with 1/2 cup of whole or 2% milk as desired
1. Making the Caramel
Make caramel by melting 1/3 - 1/2 cup of sugar over medium heat in a saucepan with 2 tbsp water poured into the center until it dissolves and then turns a golden colour. Some people like a more bitter taste so let it go another minute or so but do NOT burn the sugar.
Add a tbsp of the caramel to the base of each ramekin. Swirl to coat the bottom evenly.
You should have enough caramel for all the ramekins if you work quickly. Getting the caramel evenly distributed over the base of all the ramekins is not as important as getting the same amount of caramel into all the bowls. A second pair of hands may help with the swirling while one does the pouring.
2. Making the Flan
Fill a kettle and bring water to boiling.
Preheat oven to 325°F.
Whisk yolks and 6 tablespoons of sugar in a medium bowl to blend. Scrape in the seeds from the vanilla bean. Gradually whisk the cream into the sugar. Divide the mixture among 6 - 3/4 cup custard cups or ramekins which have the hardened caramel on the bottom.
Arrange the dishes in a 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Pour enough boiling water from the kettle into the pan so as to come halfway up the sides of dishes.
Bake custards approximately 35-40 minutes until the custard is set. Do not over bake or your custard will be rubbery. Remove the pan from the oven and remove custard cups from the water. Allow custards to cool before placing in the refrigerator. Chill overnight.
NOTE: I scalded the cream in the microwave in a Pyrex measuring cup for 2 min at high, then whisked into the egg mixture gradually. Then, strained the results back into the measuring cup for pouring into ramekins. Baking time reduced to 25 min as a result. This is useful when you are making a flavoured flan (ie green tea, lavender etc) as the heat will allow you to steep the herbs in the cream.
Run a sharp knife around the edges to loosen the flan. You may want to dip the base of the ramekin into warm to hot water to loosen the caramel before turning out onto a serving dish with a slight lip to it to catch the sauce.