Leche flan

Ingredients

• Egg yolks10
• Condensed milk400 g
• Evaporated milk370 ml
• Sugar for the caramel200 g
• Vanilla1 tsp
• Lemon zest1
• Water for the caramel60 ml

Salt and spices grow more slowly than the rest: doubling a dish does not double the pepper.

Weight converts to ounces and volume to cups. Grams of flour are not turned into cups, because that depends on how tightly it is packed.

Method

1. 1

   Melt the sugar with the water to an amber caramel and pour it into the moulds, tilting them to coat the base.

   12 min

2. 2

   Let the caramel set in the moulds while you make the custard.

   8 min

3. 3

   Work the yolks with a whisk without beating them to a foam; air bubbles leave holes.

   6 min

4. 4

   Stir in both milks, the vanilla and the zest, mixing slowly.

   5 min

5. 5

   Strain the mixture twice through a fine sieve and lift any foam off the surface with a spoon.

   8 min

6. 6

   Pour it into the moulds over the caramel and seal each one tightly with foil.

   6 min

7. 7

   Steam for forty minutes at a gentle simmer, chill four hours and turn out onto a plate.

   45 min

About the dish

Filipino flan is made on yolks alone, without whites. That makes it twice as dense as the Spanish or Mexican kind, with a texture close to set condensed milk.

The mixture is strained twice without fail. Chalazae and air bubbles leave holes in the finished flan, and smoothness is the chief mark of quality here.

The llanera mould is covered with foil and steamed rather than baked. Steam holds a lower, steadier temperature and the flan does not curdle at the edges.

Worth knowing

• — The steam has to be gentle. At a rolling boil the flan froths and fills with holes — the commonest fault.
• — Turn it out only when completely chilled. Warm, it collapses and the caramel has not had time to melt into a sauce.
• — The leftover whites go into meringue or an omelette. Ten yolks leave ten whites, and throwing them away is not done.

Nutrition

Per serving at the base yield, calculated from the ingredients rather than measured in a lab.

Calories

420 kcal

Protein

11 g

Fat

16 g

Carbs

58 g

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