I’ve been using this flan weekly for over a year and let me tell you my opinion on it. : ) I tried for years to find the right authentic recipe for flan. Skimming Pinterest, I would find nothing but “coconut carmel soy milk keto” whatever recipes. (No offense to anyone, just give me the goods.) I searched YouTube, google, and every time I’d eventually give up in frustration. But I finally found the recipe. Authentic, solid flan that has the texture of pudding on the inside with a delicious sauce on top. I found it on a YouTube video, this Italian woman knew the real deal for whatever reason. This flan pan is pretty darn solid. Like I said, I make flan weekly for my husband and I since we never get tired of it. (And we knew we wouldn’t which is why finding the proper recipe was so dire. Lol). I wash it in the dishwasher and it does fine. The only complaint I could have is a complaint that could come with the recipe generally speaking. The sugar sauce tends to stick to the bottom of the pan and I end up adding more sugar to it so more will be on the flan itself, but I think that’s mainly the nature of the dish. For those who are like me and don’t know where to turn, here’s my flan process : ) : Let me start off by saying I live in Colorado where things are rather dry. For those of you who didn’t know, cream of tartar is a spice that’s great for make a consistency more liquidy and when I make flan, I add it to my sugar that I’m melting down otherwise it just sticks to the pan. I get a 9X11 or whatever size Pyrex pan ready, with my flan pan waiting patiently in the middle. I put about a cup of sugar and a pinch of cream of tartar in a pan under medium heat. I have a silicone spoon I use and a nonstick sauce pan so the sugar melted down just kind of rolls off of everything. I’ve read to keep an eye on the sugar constantly and at first I was really paranoid about it. You do you, but personally I can’t stand waiting for the sugar to melt so I start that portion of the recipe up first. While my pan is heating up, I’ll toss the sugar around in the pan between ingredients I’m adding to a mixing bowl. Those are: evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk (you have to get La Lechera brand which is right by the normal sweetened condensed milk or in the cream part of the tacos salsa good fun aisle at the store. I’ve tried with other brands but it NEVER turns out the same. Maybe that’s just me. :), three eggs- and I never get anything but large eggs so idk... use those for this recipe, and a splash of vanilla. Throw all of those ingredients into a mixing bowl and I use a hand mixer to get it mixed well. Set that aside. : ) I hope you’ve been checking and tossing that sugar around, but if not- don’t sweat it. You’ll be sweating soon anyways from standing here keeping the sugar from burning. lol. You want to keep pushing the sugar around. I’ve read to shake the pan (idk how that helps keep sugar from burning on one side but whatever), I’ve read to keep a constant eye on it at all times and don’t walk away, and I’ve read so much about burning it and how to avoid burning it. If you’ve made it this far, you’re not an idiot. All you want to do is mix the sugar around while it’s melting to a liquid. I have a rule of thumb where as soon as it starts to look semi liquidy, I turn the stove to 350 degrees. I have a newer stove and it heats up fast though. If your sugar has any solid pieces left in it, keep stirring it. It won’t make too much of a difference if it’s mostly liquidy and a carmel kind of color, but we’re seeking perfection here. Once the sugar is liquid and is able to pour out of the sauce pan, do exactly that and pour it into the flan dish. Right after I’ve poured it, I use hot pads to pick up the flan dish and rotate it (twisting my whole body in the process because I’m a doofus lol) and get the Carmel sauce all along the sides of the pan as well as the bottom. You don’t have to get the sides excessively though, my goal when doing that is to help guide the sauce at the top down the sides when it’s baking and I’m taking it out of the pan. Next, get a strainer and pour the mixing bowls contents over the sauce through the strainer. At this point your flan pan should be in the Pyrex dish. I tend to get pieces of egg shells in the bowl and I’ve read repeatedly that this helps with consistency. I’ve never not tried it, but I know it helps with the parts of the yolk that are going to hinder with the smoothness. Once the contents are in the flan pan, snap that lid of the pan on top. I then add water to the Pyrex container, usually filling the Pyrex to about three quarters up the sides. I’ve read to use hot or cold or whatever specifically. As you can probably guess by now, I never pay attention and it always turns out fine. The cooking times vary and you probably won’t get it right on the first try. I put the Pyrex/water/flan pan with lid party into the oven and bake it for 50 minutes. For me, once the timer goes off, I turn off the oven and fan the oven door to get some of the hot air hot (I always fan it 7 times. Don’t ask me why.) and I leave it inside for another ten minutes. Once the second timer is done, I do the whole shebang and get the flan pan out of the water and the Pyrex pan. I let it sit on the counter for about thirty minutes before putting it in the fridge. YOUR FLAN NEEDS TO BE COMPLETELY COOLED OFF OTHERWISE IT WILL TASTE EGGY. Did you hear me? I’ll spare you from repeating. This is something that I think I messed up in the past and thought the recipe was wrong but I was so excited to try it. I’ve found what works for me, but just remember that. Letting it sit overnight or most of the day is key. Don’t remove it from the flan pan during that time. If you try to, it’s not going to have a solid consistency and it’s just going to be pudding. The next day ;)... you’re going to do the most satisfying activity in this process. You’re going to flip the flan. Using a knife, run it along the sides of the flan to be sure it comes out safely. If you don’t do that, it won’t come out. Flip the flan and grab a spoon to get all the sugary goodness off the bottom of the flan pan on to the top of your flan. Some will stick to the top. Like I said, I don’t know the solution to this really. I’ve tried using more sugar or more cream of tartar. Once you’ve gotten as much sugary goodness off as you’d prefer, cut the flan. It’s oddly satisfying. : ) Two things to mention: I’ve tried using the same brand (la lechera ) Carmel stuff in the can. It’s good but it’s got a grainy consistency and doesn’t quite work as a flan... it’s more like a custard dish and much more difficult to strain. Also, most importantly, I’m giving this recipe out with a lax attitude because I went through a lot of stress trying to follow other recipes when it wasn’t necessary. It’s okay to STIR the sugar while it’s melting. It’s okay to have BUBBLES in the bottom of the flan when straining it into the dish. The only real difficulty should be having to wait to eat it and if you’ve gotten this far- you know it’s worth it. ; )
