Fabulous Flan

This is without a doubt, not just the best flan recipe I have ever made, but the very best I’ve ever tasted.  Period.  Rich and creamy, but not overly sweet.  More of the sweetness comes from the caramel sauce than from the custard itself.

If you’ve never baked a custard, the absolute requirement is to bake it in a water bath, also known as a Bain-marie.  It’s simple, but must be handled carefully.  I have found it easiest to place a large pan on a rack in the lower half of your oven. I use a half-sheet cake pan, but a large roasting pan will work just as well.  Place your item (custard, flan, cheesecake, whatever) into the large pan and then carefully pour hot water in until it is halfway up the custard pan.

A flan mold with a lid works best.  A large, wide pie pan will do as well, but it’s a good idea to lightly cover with foil so you don’t get that rubbery film on the top of your custard.  Using the shallowest pan you can get away with makes inverting onto a platter that much easier.

Test with a knife halfway between the center and edge.  First, though, you can do the “jiggle test” – shake the pan slightly, if it jiggles in the center, it’s done.  If the whole thing jiggles, shut the oven door and set your timer for 10 more minutes.

The set-up and refrigeration time is non-negotiable.  Trying to invert a still-warm flan this large will make you cry.  I know, I’ve done it! 

Caramel Flan

350° Oven – approximately 65 minutes

1 cup white sugar

6 egg yolks (room temperature)

2 whole eggs (room temperature)

2 – 12 oz cans evaporated milk (NOT sweetened condensed)

3/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons Mexican Vanilla

Heat the 1 cup of sugar in a heavy saucepan and melt sugar swirling the pan at first and then stir once it has begun to liquefy. Once sugar is completely caramelized (liquid) quickly and carefully pour into 2-quart flan mold.  Swirl pan to coat bottom and partway up sides.  A 2-quart, 10 or 12in. pie pan can be substituted for flan mold.

Whisk together egg yolks, eggs, milk sugar and vanilla, until well blended, but do not whip. Pour in to prepared mold or pan.  Cover with lid or foil.

Bake flan in a water bath in lower half of oven for 55 minutes. Test with knife, not quite in the center, not all the way to the bottom.  If curds stick to knife, give it 10 more minutes, if a thin film sticks, it’s done.

Remove from oven and cool, then refrigerate for 2 hours before unmolding.  The flan will finish cooking and set up in this time.

To unmold, you need a flat platter with a raised rim that is slightly larger than the mold.  A cookie sheet or jelly roll pan can work. Run a thin knife around the edge of mold, loosening flan from sides.  Invert platter over mold, and quickly flip both over so that flan drops onto platter along with most of the caramel sauce.

Cut flan into wedges, and serve by spooning the caramel sauce over each slice.

 

AMAZING CHOCOLATE CAKE

Another of my multi-bowl recipes - WAY more involved than a box mix, but absolutely worth the trouble!!


Measure 1-1/8 cups of unsweetened cocoa into a heat proof bowl and add 1-1/2 cups boiling water and whisk till smooth, set aside.

Measure 1-1/2 cups WHOLE milk, add 1 tablespoon of good vanilla, set aside.

Measure 2-2/3 cups all purpose flour into bowl, add 2-1/4 teaspoons EACH baking soda and baking powder.  You can add 1 teaspoon of salt. but I don't.  Mix together. Sift, if you are into that kind of thing.

Now for the main bowl, the big one! Get out your mixer, measure 3 cups of brown sugar, packed. (YES! Brown sugar)
then 3/4 cup canola oil  (Not soybean or olive or even corn oil), and 3 eggs. Beat this for a minute or so, scraping the bowl often.

Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk mixture, beating and scraping constantly.
Finally, beat in the cocoa mixture and blend completely.

This recipe makes 3 - 10in layer cakes or about 4 doz cupcakes.

Bake at 350 - about 13-15 minutes for cupcakes, about 35 minutes for layer cakes.

Start with this delicious cake batter and make this pretty Black Forest Cupcake.

Test with toothpick, when it comes out clean, its done!

Sweet Cream Pancakes

This recipe is my homage to the Sweet Cream Pancakes at the Black Bear Diner in Bullhead City, Arizona.   I had them for the first time last year, and fell in love.  They are so good, they need no syrup, like a fluffy, slightly sweet cloud that smells and tastes of vanilla.

So I went home and did what I usually do, which is to scour the internet for a recipe.  I found a few more people like me, looking for answers, but only one recipe that even sounded close.
So I went to work, with my husband and son as my guinea pigs (such a tough job), toying with the right balance of creamy, sweet and fluffy.

I don't eat out at restaurants as a regular thing, since I have a hard time handing over my hard-earned money eating food that is just better from my kitchen. Yes, I am a conceited Food Snob, but I also know when to bow down to someone of superior cooking skill.  So, upon this year's trip to Bullhead, I look forward to visiting the Black Bear Diner and humbling myself.

In the meantime, this isn't a bad alternative!

These pancakes are much like most of my recipes.... not difficult to make, just a bit time (and bowl) consuming.

1 - 1/2 cups milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/4 cup sugar (you can use as little as 1 tablespoon, or even better, use Agave Nectar)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2-4 large eggs, separated.

Start with a 2 cup measuring cup, measure 1- 1/2 cups of milk. When I say milk, you can use anything from low-fat all the way to cream, depending on how rich (and fattening) you'd like your pancakes to be. I like using half and half. Stay away from fat free milk, AND I have no idea if soy, almond, or any other substitute will work To the milk, add 1 tablespoon vanilla and 1/4 cup sugar.

In a medium-sized bowl, measure 2 cups all purpose flour and 2 teaspoons baking powder, mix together. Now you will separate eggs. The yolks will go in the milk mixture, and the whites will go in a small mixing bowl. I use 4 eggs- 2 yolks go in the milk and all four whites go in my mixing bowl.
Use a small whisk to scramble the egg yolks into the milk mixture, then pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture, stirring just until large lumps are gone.

Beat the egg whites till soft peaks form, then fold into the batter.

Heat griddle to 300 degrees, then pour spoonfuls of batter onto hot griddle.
Presto Cool Touch Electric Griddle
(My griddle used to be non-stick, but it needs a wipe with vegetable oil or butter once in a while)

Cook pancakes till bubbles on the surface start breaking open, flip, then cook till the other side is golden brown. I make pancakes about 6" in diameter, this recipe makes 9 pancakes that size. Serve with your favorite pancake toppings.... butter, syrup, powdered sugar, fruit preserves, etc.

* more explanation about the eggs-

 I use the remaining egg yolks another way, they don't get wasted. You can put all four egg yolks in your pancakes, they will still be good, just very "eggy". If you only use two eggs, the pancakes will also be just fine....I just like the extra egg white to make them extra-fluffy!
Also, this same recipe, using all four eggs makes an OUTSTANDING waffle batter.

The world's best meatballs

I said before that I'm lucky to have an entire family who cooks. Friday's dinner was meatball sandwiches.

My 13 year old attends Charter School, which means he has Homestudy on Mondays and Fridays, so I asked him if he'd like to make meatballs for dinner.

1. I said 'meat', so he's all over that. (We've been sneaking in alot more meatless meals lately)
2. He gets a break from study.....uh, yeah, something like that.

Mostly, he loves to show off his mad cooking skills.

I called him from work about noon, so that he could make sure we have all the necessary ingredients: Ground beef, ground pork or sausage, eggs, onion, garlic and bread crumbs.



Seriously. That's it. So, what you see in the picture is a pound each of ground beef and sausage, so you'd chop half an onion, one or two cloves of garlic and 2 eggs. If you are using the seasoned bread crumbs shown in the picture, 1 cup is perfect and no other seasoning is necessary.

Mix with your hands (thoroughly washing them first, of course).
Its the only way. It's cold and icky-feeling, but it really is the only way.

Some people form their meatballs and drop them, raw, into sauce to cook. This works, but I don't care for the mushiness. I make golf ball-sized meatballs, place them in a pan, and when the pan gets hot, pour 1/4 cup of water and slam a lid onto it. In about 2 minutes,lift the lid and continue to brown the meatballs, turning occasionally for about 10 minutes.

You can also arrange them on a cookie sheet, spaced apart and bake for about 20 min in a 300 degree oven, turning occasionally.

Throw cooked meatballs into any marinara sauce, home made or canned, and then pour over cooked spaghetti or shove into a roll for a meatball sandwich. Freeze the leftovers, if there are any!

Oh, and I call these "The World's Best Meatballs" because I don't have to make them.