Tinfoil Chef

Flan is one of those desserts that if nothing else is guaranteed to LOOK really fancy and expensive like something you’d expect to get on a first class passage on one of those royal caribbean cruises.

The first part of the recipe is the custard. For that you boil a quart of milk with 5 anise seeds, peel from half a lemon a 3 inch cinnamon stick and 1 3/4 cups of sugar. Stir this constantly until it comes to a boil then remove it from the heat. Let it stand for 15 minutes and then strain it to remove what’s left of the anise seeds and the cinnamon stick.

Mix 8 eggs with 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla and add to the mixture and stir for a minute or so and set it aside.

Next comes the caramel part. Cook a cup of sugar with a quarter cup of rum until the sugar has dissolved and becomes a caramel color. Pour equal parts of this into 6 custard cups. Then pour equal amounts of the custard mixture into the cupscups.

Put them in shallow pan with enough water in it to reach 3/4 of the way up the side of the cups. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. When it’s done take the cups out of the water and cool them on a rack. When they’ve cooled, cover them and refrigerate.

At serving time unmold the flan by loosening the edges with a knife and then invert the cups onto a serving dish.

It’s fancy looking enough to make people think you slaved all day on them or spent a fortune buying them.

Technorati Tags: caramel, custard, dessert, fancy+looking+dessert, flan, recipe

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