Espresso Flan

6 large eggs

2 egg yolks

11/3 cups white sugar

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

11/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped of seeds and pul (see note)

1 heaping teaspoon freeze-dried espresso coffee

Caramel

11/2 cups white sugar

1/4 cup water

Whisk eggs and yolks together, add sugar, salt and cream. Mix well. Add vanilla seed and pulp and continue whisking. Allow to rest 15 minutes so vanilla can infuse custard.

In the meantime, heat a heavy-bottomed saucepan; add sugar and then water. Heat on high stirring constantly until sugar melts and caramel color develops. Be careful not to burn. Remove from heat and spoon 2 teaspoons each into 5, 6-inch diameter ramekins and allow to firm.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

After custard has rested strain through a fine sieve to remove strands of egg white. Stir in espresso. Lightly brush sides of ramekins and the caramel with melted butter or coat with cooking spray.

Fill ramekins about two-thirds full with custard and place in baking pan about the same height as the ramekins. Add tap water to the baking pan to the same level of the custard. Bake about 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool to desired serving temperature.

To serve: Run a knife around edge, place serving plate over ramekin and flip over. Scrape out any residual caramel and drizzle over flan.

Cook's notes: Put vanilla bean pod into maple syrup or sugar container for flavor. You can use smaller ramekins; cooking time is about the same. Check for doneness 5-10 minutes earlier. Leave out espresso for vanilla flan or experiment with different flavorings, like maple syrup or almond extract.