Always impressive, caramel-drenched flan is easy when you know a few tricks

I was recently invited over to a friend’s house for a Spanish-themed dinner. I was put in charge of dessert, so I turned to the Internet for ideas. A recipe for flan caught my eye.

My search revealed that flan, also known as crème caramel — a dessert I have always thought of as French — also hails from Latin countries like Spain and Mexico. It is an elegant and impressive dessert with smooth but firm custard topped with caramel sauce. The whole thing is baked in a pan, similar to an upside-down cake, and when inverted for serving, the caramel flows over the top of the custard for a stunning presentation.

Ironically, flan actually originated in ancient Rome. Evidently, whenever they had an egg surplus they made flan, but not the sweet version we know; theirs was usually savory. It was the Spaniards who added caramel to a sweet version and brought it to the United States.

No matter what country it comes from, flan has always been a favorite, but I had never made one myself. So after reading through several recipes, I created a hybrid of the bunch — and it came out perfect.

It turns out, with a good recipe and a few tips, flan can be easy to make.

The list of ingredients is short and starts with the preparation of the caramel.

If you’ve never made caramel, this is the recipe to try. While it won’t make the type of chewy caramel you would eat as candy, it will make a syrup that will flow over your flan once inverted onto a platter, forming a sweet caramel puddle around the flan itself.

I used to be afraid of making caramel for fear of having it seize or crystallize in the pan, but I discovered two different methods to make sure this doesn’t happen.

The first is traditional: While the sugar and water are heating in the saucepan, using a pastry brush dipped in water, gently wipe down the sides of the pan wherever crystals form. Don’t worry about adding too much water.

The second is to place the water into the saucepan followed by gently pouring sugar into the center of the pan. Do not stir or swirl; instead allow the pan to remain undisturbed while it heats, allowing the sugar to melt and combine with the water. Once all the sugar is melted it is OK to swirl the pan gently, if necessary, but do not stir.

Finally, watch your caramel closely once it starts to develop color. While you do want it be amber in color, be careful, as it can go from perfect to burnt very quickly.

The custard itself only has four ingredients: eggs, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and vanilla extract. The secret to a smooth custard is to pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer to catch any air bubbles or pieces of egg that aren’t fully incorporated. This may seem like overkill, but this step truly makes achieving the perfect texture of your finished custard fool proof.

My last tips are related to getting the flan out of the pan. Be sure to loosen the flan from the pan by running a knife around the edge. And if you made yours ahead of time and it spent time in the refrigerator, be sure to dip the bottom of the pan into some hot water before unmolding to melt any caramel that has hardened. This could take anywhere from 15 to 30 seconds. Don’t worry if all the caramel doesn’t come out right away, you can always repeat this step after you have unmolded the flan and pour it over the top of your flan and berries.

You do not need to top your flan with berries, but they do make a decorative and tasty addition. We also served a little whipped cream on the side.

I will definitely be making this again. It would be easy to stock the canned milks on my shelf, and I always have sugar and eggs, so it would be a good last-minute dessert for any occasion. As you know, I like recipes I can have in my back pocket just in case I need them.

This was an impressive dessert when brought to the table, and so easy to make. So, whether you call it crème caramel or flan, trust me when I say anyone who is lucky enough to eat it will call it delicious. Please let me know if you try it!

• Penny Kazmier, a wife and mother of four from South Barrington, won the 2011 Daily Herald Cook of the Week Challenge. Contact Penny at DhCulinaryAdventures@gmail.com.

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Berry Topped Flan

¾ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup water

5 large eggs

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1 12-ounce can evaporated milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup your choice of mixed berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries)

Mint leaves

Whipped cream, if desired

Pastry brush

8x2” or 9x1½” round cake pan

Roasting pan large enough to hold round pan for water bath

Preheat oven to 350°F. (Have ¼ cup additional water and your pastry brush, just in case you need to brush sugar crystals off the sides of saucepan.)

Pour ¼ cup water into a medium sauce pan. Gently pour sugar into the center of the pan — do not stir. Cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.

Tip: By pouring the sugar into the center of the saucepan, and not stirring, it keeps sugar crystals from adhering to the sides of the pan, or crystalizing, and ruining the caramel. This should prevent the need to brush down the inside walls of the saucepan with a wet pastry brush to prevent crystallization, but it is a good idea to keep one on hand just in case.

Increase heat to medium-high and cook, swirling — not stirring — mixture in pan occasionally, until golden or amber in color, being careful not to burn. Remove from heat and immediately pour into round cake pan. Using potholders, tilt pan to ensure even coverage — be careful, the pan will be very hot. Set aside, but don’t worry if mixture hardens.

Add remaining ingredients to a blender, or whisk in bowl, until smooth. Allow to sit 5 minutes in order for some of the air bubbles to dissipate.

Place cake pan into roasting pan. Pour egg mixture through a fine mesh strainer into cake pan on top of hardened caramel.

Fill roasting pan with 1” of water and carefully place pan in preheated oven.

Bake 35-40 minutes or until slightly wobbly, but set, in the middle. Remove from oven and water bath, allow to cool on a rack at room temperature.

(Once cool, you may refrigerate flan up to three days prior to serving.)

When ready to serve, use a knife to loosen sides from pan. (If refrigerated, dip bottom of pan into a pan of hot water for 30 seconds to melt hardened caramel. Dry pan before proceeding.)

Carefully invert onto serving dish, allowing caramel to run over flan. Top with berries, spooning extra caramel from pan over tops of berries. Garnish with mint leaves. Serve with a little whipped cream if desired.

Serves 8

— Penny Kazmier