Caramel Flan

This blog is explicitly for recording any new recipes that I try out. And the start of something new with something sweet is tradition in India. So I'm going to start with this easy recipe for flan. I made it for Christmas eve 2009. We had our family friends come for a sleepover and dinner was a mexican fiesta. So what better than flan as the dessert.
Flan, also called Creme Caramel, is a spanish dessert and hence a mexican dessert too. It is a rich custard dessert topped with a layer of soft caramel. And the easy recipe for this yummy stuff follows




Ingredients:
3/4 cup sugar
1 pckg (8 ozs) cream cheese, softened
5 eggs
1 can (14ozs) sweetened condensed milk
1 can (12ozs) evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Heat a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat and cook sugar until melted and golden brown. Keep stirring often and do not add any water to the sugar. The end product after about 15 minutes will be a golden brown liquid. Quickly pour this into an ungreased 2-qt baking dish. Tilt the dish to coat the bottom and let stand for 10 minutes.
In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Now add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour this mixture over the caramel in the baking dish. Place this dish in a larger baking pan. Now pour boiling water in the larger pan, upto half the height of the baking dish.
Bake in the oven at 350 F for 50-55 minutes. The center will be just set and the mixture will jiggle. Remove the dish to a wire rack and cool for 1 hour. Refrigerate overnight ( or at least for 5 hours). Run a knife along the edges and invert onto a rimmed serving platter. Cut and serve on dessert plates with some sauce spooned over each slice.

Yields 10-12 medium or 14-16 small servings.

recipe courtesy: Taste of Home's Best Holiday Recipes 2004.