I attempted to make flan in celebration of Cinco de Mayo. “But flan isn’t cake,” you might be thinking. You are correct! It’s technically custard. But for the purposes of last weekend, flan was cake.
The first issue I should have confronted before I even planned to make flan is that I don’t like flan. There are very few things I don’t eat and flan is one of them. A couple years ago a friend and I ordered in Mexican and she suggested we split the flan for dessert. This particular flan was… amazing. It was soft and creamy, like cheesecake. It didn’t have that jiggly JELL-O consistency that turns me off to traditional flan. In my search for a flan recipe that I would enjoy eating, I came across a version that incorporated cream cheese. In hindsight, I should have run with that one. Instead, I went the traditional route and asked my friend, Sheina, for her recipe. I’m sure this recipe would be great if made correctly. But I didn’t do the recipe justice. I’ll explain.
The mise en place was simple – 3 cans of milk, 5 eggs, vanilla extract (from Mexico!) and a cup of sugar to crystalize on the stovetop.
I crystalized the sugar in a saucepan with a couple tablespoons of water.
The rest of the flan ingredients were mixed together in a big bowl. I had originally planned to bake the flan in a 9″ pan. But the volume of the batter was so high, I opted for my springform pan in a water bath.
I was concerned about water seeping into the springform pan so I wrapped the bottom of the pan in foil before pouring the crystalized sugar on the bottom before pouring the rest of the batter on top.
About halfway through the baking process I discovered that while the water failed to seep inside the pan, the flan batter had leaked out of the pan.
I let the flan bake the rest of the way, in complete denial about the mess that was baking.
I peeled the flan off the outside of the pan and let it cool before transferring it to a plate.
As you can see, the syrup sloshed everywhere and the flan cracked. I cut myself a piece anyway, which yielded an interesting looking slice.
I had a couple bites. It was edible, but certainly not worth keeping around. As I dumped the remaining flan in the trash, it slid off the plate like water off a duck’s back.
And now, back to baking cakes and not custard.
Oh no! Frustrating. I learned from a neighbor from Puerto Rico. She carmelized the sugar right in the pan on the stove and then topped with the flan batter and put in the oven.
I don’t care for flan either! I don’t think it tastes very good.
Also, I have the same vanilla from Mexico! 🙂
Thanks for following through with the flan post. Me? If I’m going to consume that many calories it’s going to be from something I like more than flan. But I applaud your attempt to honor Cinco de Mayo!
I made a tortilla cake once. Do you remember that? I’m remembering dark chocolate and cream cheese….
Is it because you used a spring for?)m pan??