Clean-Unmolding Mexican Flan

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A silky baked custard with a dark amber caramel that pours off the plate like syrup. The two things that scare people — cooking sugar to caramel and baking in a water bath — are broken into foolproof steps here, with visual cues for both. Made a day ahead, it chills to a firm, sliceable custard that slips out of the pan in one piece.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tbsp water
• 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice

• 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 12 oz can evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 3 large eggs
• 3 large egg yolks
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 strip orange zest, 2 inches, optional

• 1 8-inch round cake pan or 1.5-quart round baking dish (not springform)
• 1 roasting pan large enough to hold the cake pan
• 1 kettle or saucepan of boiling water

Instructions

1. Set an 8-inch round cake pan (at least 2 inches deep, solid bottom — no springform) next to the stove. Have a folded kitchen towel and oven mitts ready; the caramel will be extremely hot. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 325°F.
2. Make the caramel: combine the 3/4 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons water, and lemon juice in a small heavy saucepan. Stir just until the sugar looks like wet sand, then stop stirring entirely. Set over medium heat and let it bubble undisturbed, 6 to 10 minutes. It will go from cloudy to clear, then to pale straw, then amber. Swirl the pan gently by the handle once it starts coloring so it browns evenly.
3. Pull the caramel off the heat the moment it is the color of an old penny and smells nutty — roughly 350°F on a candy thermometer. It darkens for a few seconds off the heat, so err early rather than late; black caramel tastes bitter. Immediately pour it into the cake pan and tilt to coat the bottom in a thin even layer. It will harden in under a minute; that is correct. Set aside.
4. Make the custard: in a large bowl, whisk the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and whole milk until smooth. In a second bowl, whisk the 3 whole eggs and 3 yolks with the vanilla and salt just until the yolks break up and the mixture is uniform — about 20 seconds. Do not whip; air bubbles become holes in the finished flan.
5. Pour the eggs into the milk mixture and whisk gently to combine. Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve directly into the caramel-lined pan; the sieve catches any stray egg white and gives you the glassy texture. If using, drop in the strip of orange zest, then skim any foam off the surface with a spoon.
6. Set the cake pan inside a roasting pan. Pull the oven rack out, place the roasting pan on it, and pour boiling water into the roasting pan until it comes halfway up the sides of the cake pan — about 1 inch. Pouring after the pans are in the oven means no sloshing into the custard. Tent the cake pan loosely with foil, not sealed, so steam can escape.
7. Bake at 325°F for 50 to 65 minutes. It is done when the outer 2 inches are set but the center 2 inches still wobble as one unit when you nudge the pan — like gelatin, not like liquid. A thin knife inserted an inch from the edge comes out clean. An instant-read thermometer in the center should read 175 to 180°F.
8. Lift the cake pan out of the water bath and cool on a rack for 1 hour, then cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours and preferably overnight. The chill is not optional: it firms the custard so it unmolds in one piece, and it dissolves the hardened caramel into syrup.
9. To unmold, run a thin paring knife around the very edge, pressing against the pan wall. Dip the bottom of the pan in 1 inch of hot tap water for 45 seconds to loosen the caramel. Invert a rimmed serving plate over the pan, hold both together firmly, and flip in one confident motion. Wait — you should hear it release. Lift the pan straight up.
10. Scrape any caramel left in the pan over the top with a spatula. Slice with a knife wiped clean between cuts and spoon the pooled syrup over each serving.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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