Spanish Flan or just ‘Flan‘ is a creamy, baked sweet dessert that is similar to a Custard and originated from Spain. It is also known as Crème caramel (French: [kʁɛm kaʁaˈmɛl]), flan, caramel custard, egg pudding or caramel pudding. This dessert has further been modified as it spread across the globe by adding a Caramel syrup layer on top.
Though, this dish requires to be baked in an Oven, we have customized it so that we can prepare it easily in a Pressure Cooker that is more widely available in India than a Baking Oven.
I had first tasted this at Portland, Oregon at a Mexican Restaurant and had loved it at first sight!. It is an easy-to-make recipe, does not require many ingredients and is an impressive dish to serve to guests. Go ahead and try this out! You will definitely love this one, if you have never tasted it before – I promise!
Spanish Flan
Equipment
- Large Pressure Cooker with a steamer rack
- Hand Blender
- 4 Nos. Ramekins or Steel bowls (should be flat bottomed.)
Ingredients
Flan
- 1 cup Milk (2% Fat is desirable)
- 1 cup Homemade Heavy Cream
- 200 gms Condensed Milk (½ tin of Milkmaid)
- ¼ cup Sugar
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract (You can substitute with 2 teaspoons Vanilla essence)
- 1 pinch Salt
- 5 Nos Eggs (lightly beaten)
Caramel Syrup
- ½ cup Sugar
- 3 tbsp Cold Water
Instructions
Caramel Syrup
- Take ½ cup Sugar in a Pan and heat it on a medium flame. Keep holding the Pan and swirling the melted sugar across the Pan until it turns dark brown in color. Add the water and continue heating it until a dark brown syrup forms.
- Pour the syrup directly from the Pan into the Ramekins or steel bowls so that it slides off the walls into the bowls. Keep turning the bowl so that the syrup coats the entire surface and the bottom of the bowl. Take care not to pour the hot syrup onto your fingers!
- Keep the Ramekins or bowls aside to let the caramel syrup cool.
Preparation for the Flan
- Take a small pot and mix the Milk and Heavy Cream and then heat it on a medium flame.
- While the Milk and Cream are heating up, take the Eggs and beat them lightly in a bowl.
- Once the Milk is hot, switch off the stove and add the Condensed Milk + ½ cup Sugar + 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract + a pinch of Salt to the Milk and mix well.
- Pour this into the beaten Eggs and then whisk everything for a few seconds with a hand blender.
- Pour this mixture into the Syrup coated bowls (or Ramekins). Tap the sides of the bowls slightly to clear off any bubbles that form in the mixture. Clear off any bubbles using a Kitchen blowtorch.
- Cover the bowls tightly with Aluminium foil.
Cooking the Flan
- Take a large Pressure Cooker and fill it with 1 litre of Water.
- Place a Steamer Rack (the one you find in Microwave Ovens) in the Cooker and place the Ramekins or bowls onto this rack.
- Place the lid on the Cooker and cook on a medium flame until 2 whistles.
- After 2 whistles, switch off the stove and keep the Cooker aside until all the Pressure is gone.
- Take the Ramekins or bowls out and place them aside for an hour (to let them cool off). Do not unwrap the Aluminium foil.
- After an hour, place the bowls in the Refrigerator to cool overnight or at least for 8-9 hours.
- Unwrap the Aluminium foil, take a knife and gently run it around the bowl to loosen the Flan.
- Turn the bowl upside down onto a plate and slightly shaken to let the Flan slide into the plate.
- Serve chilled.
Wow! this such a simple way to cook and tastes like the authentic spanish flan that I have had in Oregon, US. Always assumed that… Read more »