Celebrate Cinco de Mayo With The Culinary Institute’s Flan Recipe

Flan is an often misunderstood Mexican food that, if made properly, is a delicious and authentic way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.

Chef Kristin Egan from the Culinary Institute of America, along with her student Jose Ganam tell us that flan is actually a baked custard. A proper flan should be solid like a custard, but more firm than a creme brulee, which is made with just egg yolks.

There are several steps to baking flan, but home bakers should have no problem successfully pulling it off if they follow the recipe below provided by Chef Egan:

Lavender Flan
From "Baking at Home with The Culinary Institute of America"

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

• Unsalted butter for greasing
• 2 cups whole or low-fat milk
• ½ cup sugar (divided use)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh lavender or 1½ teaspoon dried
• 3 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 6 large strawberries, sliced (optional)
• Mint sprigs for garnish (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly butter six 4-ounce ramekins or custard cups. Bring a teakettle of water to a boil.

Combine the milk, ¼ cup of the sugar, and the lavender in a nonreactive saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove the pan from the heat and let steep for at least 30 minutes. Strain into a clean pan and return to a simmer.

While the milk mixture reheats, combine the eggs, egg yolks, and the remaining ¼ cup sugar in a heatproof bowl. Temper the eggs by gradually adding about one-third of the hot milk, whisking constantly. Add the remaining hot milk, stirring constantly. Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean container.

Carefully ladle or pour the custard into the prepared ramekins, filling them three-fourths full. Place the ramekins on a kitchen towel in a deep baking pan and place the pan on a pulled-out oven rack. Add enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake until the edges have set and a nickel-sized spot in the center jiggles slightly when shaken, 20–25 minutes.

Remove the flans from the water bath. Let them cool on a rack for 30 minutes; wrap individually, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 3 days before serving.

To unmold, warm a sharp knife in warm water and run around the edges of each cup. Turn the flans out onto chilled plates and, if desired, garnish with strawberries and/or mint sprigs.