VANILLA BEANS
FLAN
Inspired By: Traditional Recipe
Ingredients:
For Syrup:
cup sugar
2-3 Tbsp water
For Custard:
2 cups whole milk
1 cup half and half
2 PureSpice ® VANILLA BEANS
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 lg eggs
1/3 cup sugar
For Syrup:
1. Put the sugar in a 1-qt saucepan and stir in enough water to moisten all the sugar. Heat gently until the sugar is dissolved. Then bring to rapid boil and cook for several minutes until caramel colored. Do not stir. The temp needs to be over 300 F so sugar crystals will melt.
2. Pour caramel syrup in souffl dish, making sure bottom is evenly covered.
For Custard:
1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. Put milk and half and half in 2 qt saucepan, add the VANILLA BEANS and heat to a boil. Cover and remove from heat, let sit for 5 minutes.
3. Put eggs in mixing bowl and gradually blend in sugar, stirring with whisk until the sugar dissolves. Do not let air get in mixture.
4. remove VANILLA BEANS from milk/cream mix and slowly pour the milk into the eggs while stirring gently with whisk.
5. Put sieve over second mixing bowl and strain the milk/egg mix through it.
6. Wipe any milk off the VANILLA BEANS and slit them lengthwise. Use the knife to scrape out the black seeds from the beans. Add the seeds to the custard mix along with the vanilla extract.
7. Pour custard into souffl dish.
8. Place dish in a baking pan and place pan in oven. Add hot water, (not boiling) until it reaches about halfway up sides of dish. Bake for about 50 minutes. Check water bath from time to time to make sure it is not boiling. Add ice cubes, if needed.
9. Your flan should be done when its lightly colored and firm to the touch, but not soild. To double check; stick the blade of your knife in the center of the flan and halfway down. The blade should come out clean. Carefully remove the baking pan from the oven, then remove flan from water bath. Let flan cool to room temp, then chill, covered in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
10. To remove flan, run knife between the side of the custard and its container. Put a serving plate on top of dish and quickly invert the two. Lift dish straight up.
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