Flan

Flan, a quintessential Spanish dessert which almost every cook in Spain can whip up in the morning, then rest and cool while lunch or dinner prepared and served. At its best, it’s a silky, jiggly, luscious eggy custard with a base of delightful caramel which gives it a warm glowing color and just enough sweetness.

At its worst, it can be made from a powdered chemical sachet which, when mixed with water yields a tasteless, textureless jiggly dessert. There is no end to the number of powdered mixtures at the supermarket which claim to deliver homemade flan in a pouch. But why? Flan is so easy to make. Nothing needs to be simmered, cooked or tempered. Blend the basic ingredients in a bowl with a whisk or immersion blender, then pour the liquid custard into the caramel bottomed dish. Ok, you do have to make the caramel, but that is one ingredient, sugar, melted until golden, then liquified with a little water. Ta-da! 

I’m someone who always has eggs, milk, vanilla, evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk on hand. That's all there is to it. This recipe came to me from my beloved mother-in-law Regina. She was an extraordinary cook. One of those moms who cooked every meal at home for a family of six, every day of her children’s lives. In Spain, lunch is the main course and it would consist of a properly set dining table, with two to three courses, every single day. One of those courses was dessert and flan was the go-to dessert when the other courses took up a good portion of the day to create. 

When I opened my first espresso bar/cafe, I wanted to have Spanish inspired desserts, and what better than flan? Regina taught me how to make it, and it was so easy! How could a few simple ingredients yield this luscious silky dessert? The beauty and miracle of milk and eggs! Let’s not forget the sweetened condensed milk though. This is the magic ingredient that sweetens and lends body to the custard. This flan recipe is made the way a home cook would make it, and the way many Spaniards enjoy it; soft versus firm, jiggly versus dense.

The only trick to flan perfection is to take it out of the oven while the center is still wobbly. As it cools it will set and the final result will be a light, silky, melt in your mouth, lovely jiggly custard, which is easy to eat after even the most satisfying 3 course lunch.

Read the recipe to find this classic dessert.