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Flan

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Impress your friends and family by making this fabulous flan recipe courtesy of "Martha Stewart's Cooking School."

Source: The Martha Stewart Show, February Winter 2009
Yield

Ingredients

For Caramel

For Custard

Directions

Variations

To make a large flan, prepare caramel as directed above and pour into an 8-inch round cake pan. Top with custard, then set pan in a hot-water bath and bake, chill, and serve as directed.

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Reviews

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  • dpica7
    2 DEC, 2014
    I had great success with this recipe! I made it in a 9in round pan and it did require an additional 10 mins or so in the oven. Like one of the other posters, I was thrown by the caramel hardening when it hit the pan but by some cooking magic it liquified beautifully in the oven (don't know how that works - don't really care). I tried a different recipe first that used sweetened condensed milk and fewer eggs. I found that recipe overly sweet and very creamy (I prefer the "eggier" version).
    Reply
    • recoiloptimum
      18 MAR, 2017
      Yep, needs a 9" pan and an extra 10-15 minutes.
  • Maris123
    23 AUG, 2015
    My mom mixes all the ingredients in a bowl at once. Then cook it in a steamer. When i grew up i experimented with a mixture of different milks (condensed, evaporated, full cream, skimmed). But like my mom i put them all together then bake it in a bain marie. My questions is why is there a need to heat the milk before mixing it with the eggs. If were making english custard, i understand. But pre-cooking the eggs when its going to be baked anyway. Am i missing something?
    Reply
  • MSRenkert68
    24 FEB, 2014
    I made this recipe when it first appeared in 2009. It's easy as can be. I was thrown at first by the fact that the caramel sauce hardens when you put it in the ramekin. Then you add your custard and bake it. Somehow the caramel liquefies during the cooking and chilling process, and it's the most gorgeous sauce that flows out on top of the flan when you unmold them. I'm making it again today for dessert after our venison chili.
    Reply
    • OldCrow360
      24 JUL, 2015
      I use a bread loaf pan for my flans. I put this pan into my oven while the oven is preheating. My caramel doesn't harden when I pour it into my warm loaf pan. I'm sure this would work with ramekins, too. Also, I add two tablespoons of white corn syrup to my caramel mixture at the beginning of the cooking process. I can't remember why this helps, but I got the idea from an old Alton Brown (Good Eats) show, so it must have some scientific basis.
  • jg1996business
    25 APR, 2015
    I cooked this in a round casserole dish instead of separating it into individual ramekins. It came out great but it took much longer to cook...as you would expect. I baked it at 325 for 2 hours and it was perfectly firmed up.
    Reply
  • Myang1971
    26 NOV, 2014
    Delicious recipe - my guests raved. BUT, the modification to make in an 8 inch cake pan needs adjustment. I had more custard - enough for three ramekins- after I poured it into the pan. Maybe a 9 or 10 inch pan would be better. And it needs to bake 10-15 mins longer in a big pan.
    Reply
  • Charley1945
    15 NOV, 2014
    This is the "best" flan recipe. I have been cooking for over 40 years. I served this flan to a party of 18 and everyone practically licked their bowl clean including the guys. The white bowls were very shallow which made the presentation outstanding. In order to get the best caramel results, you must use quality cookware. I use one of my small stainless steel all-clad pots which is known for its uniform heat..bottom & up all sides. I have made this recipes 5 times with perfect results.
    Reply
  • Strawberry
    11 JUL, 2012
    I made this using a round pan instead of remakins and it was fine, but I think next time I will def. use remakins. The flan tasted good but I haven't had too many of them so can't really make a comparison. I didn't have any problems making the caramel or the custard. However, baking it in a water bath was a pain in the ...... And then I left it out for an hour or so and put it in the fridge overnight. It was good but I wasn't blown away by it and def. too much work.
    Reply
  • shaoi
    3 JUL, 2011
    I made this last night and am making it again tonight for tomorrow's July 4th party! I followed the recipe to the tee and ended up with the perfect flan. Thanks, Martha!
    Reply
  • MyraJones
    1 JAN, 2011
    We made this for a Latin American themed party and it was a huge hit! We could not believe how easy it was to make and came out perfect. You'll impress your friends with this one.
    Reply
  • JeaninVancouver
    11 MAR, 2010
    I suggest a cast iron pan to melt the sugar in; evens the heat well. and about getting it in the bottom of the ramekins... even if you can't swirl it, during the cooking process it will spread all over the bottom as it should. Don't worry; try again. I make it often.
    Reply

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