Flan!

I love Flan.

I seriously, seriously, love it.

It is possibly the most perfect non-chocolate dessert in the world.  When I lived in Spain, I ate flan every day, because you could buy single servings of it for a euro at the bakery I passed every day on my way to and from the metro and I just couldn't quite maintain the willpower to walk by twice a day without stopping in.  It was fabulous.  I would not recommend eating it every day, though, unless you've been thinking to yourself, "you know, I am just entirely too skinny these days! I could really use some padding around the middle."  In which case... yes.  Daily flan is for you!  

This is my favorite flan recipe.  It is a simple custard, without the sweetened condensed milk or other canned dairy products common to flan recipes.  It is just milk, sugar and eggs.  Perfection. You will need 6 Ramekins for this.  If you don't have ramekins, go get some.  They are cheap and seriously useful.

Flan


Nouns:
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
3/8 cup sugar

Verbs:
Preheat oven to 350.  Put the ramekins in a large baking dish and add a half inch or so of hot water to the dish so the bottoms of the ramekins are submerged, but the water is not so high that a slosh would get the insides of the ramekins wet.

In a small saucepan, melt the 1/2 cup sugar over medium high heat, stirring constantly and watching to be sure the sugar caramelizes, but doesn't burn.  As soon as the sugar is all melted and caramel colored, spoon it into the bottom of the ramekins.  It will harden as soon as it hits the ramekin, so drizzle it carefully to coat the whole floor of each one.  Then, simmer the milk over medium heat.  Do not let the milk boil.  While the milk is simmering, whisk the eggs and egg yolks together for two to three minutes.  Gently, gradually, add the milk to the eggs, stirring constantly.  Do not add the hot milk too quickly or your eggs will curdle.  You will have scrambled eggs,  and while those are great, they are not flan.  Flan is way better than scrambled eggs.  So be patient.  Once the eggs and milk are combined, stir in the remaining 3/8 cup sugar.  Pour the mixture into the ramekins.  Bake for 40 minutes.  Chill in the fridge for two hours before serving, or up to several days.

When it is time to serve, run a knife around the edge of the flan to separate it from the dish, then invert the ramekin over a plate such that the caramel-y bottom of the flan is now on the top and caramel sauce pours off the top and down the sides.

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