Flan

Simple ingredient list. But not as easy to make as it seems.

This is a story about how my mother was right. But recipe first; anecdote later.

Ingredients:

• 5 Tbsp sugar
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• Water or milk
• 2 whole eggs; 5 egg yolks

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
2. Melt sugar in top of a double boiler until caramelized
3. In a bowl, mix together 1 can of sweetened condensed milk, 1 can of water or milk, and eggs.
4. Pour sugar into a pan or pie plate (you may want to lightly grease it)
5. Pour egg mixture on top of sugar and bake for 25 minutes or until set but jiggly
6. Let cook for 10 minutes, then refrigerate
7. Turn onto plate before serving

Flan is pretty prolific in the Latin-American world. It is a creamy, eggy custard with a caramel topping. If you’ve ever eaten at a Mexican restaurant, you’ve likely seen it on the dessert menu, although it’s actually Spanish.

Well, really it’s French, but Spain is credited with taking it to her colonies and making it the popular dish it is today.

Even thought it is her mother’s recipe, *my* mother always refused to make flan because “it’s a pain in the butt.” Her words. But anytime I have the opportunity to eat flan that others have made, I avail myself and enjoy. It is such a rich dish that I don’t feel the need to eat it any more often than occasionally, but it is always a delight when I do.

When I decided to start this adventure of cooking my grandmother’s dishes for Hispanic Heritage Month, I saw the flan recipe and was excited to see it was a lot simpler than my mother made it out to be.

Unlike the other recipes from Ma, this one was less vague. So I jumped right in. My four-year-old daughter helped me crack the eggs. I still haven’t decided what to do with all the egg whites. I’m thinking merengues, but that is one I don’t have a recipe for.

So, Dottie cracked the eggs while I poured the sweetened condensed milk into a bowl. I accidentally bought skim milk instead of 2%, so I used that instead of the water called for in the recipe…because it’s basically the same thing.

Dottie helped me mix everything, too. There she is, pink fingernails and all.

While my daughter mixed the eggs and milk, I started the sugar. I kept checking on it, but the sugar never melted. Eventually, the water in the bottom boiled off and I burned the pan. The sugar still wasn’t hot.

By this time I was starting to think my mother had a good point.

I got tired of waiting, so I transferred the sugar to a regular saucepan on low heat. It melted quickly, but it kept sticking to the pan and I couldn’t get enough of it out to cover the bottom of my pie plate. So I added more sugar. And more. And more. And even then I barely got enough. It was infuriating.

Eventually I put it in the oven. It took a little longer than the 25 minutes, but not by much. When it came out I let it cool for about 10 minutes or so, then I put it in the fridge.

When I was ready to it eat, I ran a sharp knife around the outer edge of my pie plate, put a serving plate on top, and flipped it. And…TADA! Nailed it!

Ugliest. Flan. Ever.

My mother was right. More trouble than it was worth. BUT, despite its horrific appearance, it was delicious.

I think I will stick to eating flan that other people make.