Celebration Time

To help celebrate my 200th post, today I am serving up flan at mayarn.  This recipe comes from my mother's recipe box.  I have made the flan countless number of times since she taught me to make it when I was in my teens.  Of course, over the years I have played with the recipe--real vanilla, different types of sugar, cream, half and half--but decided to share the original recipe with my readers and let them adapt as they see fit.

Flan

Ingredients:
Caramelized Sugar
5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon sugar

Custard
5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups milk

Directions:
To make the caramelized sugar, heat the sugar in a small skillet and heat over medium, stirring constantly, until the sugar turns a light golden color.  Pour the liquid sugar into the bottom of an ovenproof plate. (I use a glass pie pan.)

To make the custard, in a sauce pan scald the milk over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Just before the milk comes to a boil remove pan from the heat.
In a bowl, lightly beat the eggs with a wire whisk until light colored. Then beat in the sugar and vanilla.
Return milk to flame and whisk in egg mixture.  Cook over medium low heat until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Make sure not to allow the custard to boil or it might curdle.
Pour mixture through a sieve into the carmel coated baking plate. Place the plate in a pan of hot water.  Cook in a 350° oven for 25-30 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the custard comes out clean. Remove the plate from water, cool on a wire rack, and then refrigerate.  To serve, loosen the sides of the custard with a knife and invert onto a serving plate.