Flan: The Topic

[Monica Bhide]

The wonderful flavor of reduced milk is what I love in a classic Mexican flan.Instead of mixing a proportion of milk and cream,I reduce milk...also just enough yolks to produce a nice texture,but no eggy taste.See Rick Bayless' 'Authentic Mexican' for details.Also,when baking in a water bath,fill 1/3 up with hot water,not 1/2,not 1/4.It makes a big difference,in my experience.

I shall try this variation. I do agree with you on the water. It is quite interesting how much difference a small amount can make. Thanks

[wingding]

Since Indian confections and custards based on reduced milk are so integral to their cuisine,it would seem like a natural.Have you used reduced milk in many of your modernized recipes?

[Monica Bhide]

Since Indian confections and custards based on reduced milk are so integral to their cuisine,it would seem like a natural.Have you used reduced milk in many of your modernized recipes?

I use it quite a bit actually, I make a Hawaiian Rabri. or a reduced fat milk dessert topped with frozen pineapple slices. I also use it for making kheer or rice pudding. I have to say that I like things to be easy, so I do make Indian icecream or Kulfi without reducing the milk or even using eggs, the results have been mouthwatering. If you would like to try the recipe, I am happy to PM it to you. It is the simplest kulfi recipe, no machine, no eggs no cooking......

[Suvir Saran]

Since Indian confections and custards based on reduced milk are so integral to their cuisine,it would seem like a natural.Have you used reduced milk in many of your modernized recipes?

I use it quite a bit actually, I make a Hawaiian Rabri. or a reduced fat milk dessert topped with frozen pineapple slices. I also use it for making kheer or rice pudding. I have to say that I like things to be easy, so I do make Indian icecream or Kulfi without reducing the milk or even using eggs, the results have been mouthwatering. If you would like to try the recipe, I am happy to PM it to you. It is the simplest kulfi recipe, no machine, no eggs no cooking......

Monica,

My grandma and sister who have lived in the US long enough, have taught me a Quick Kulfi they make for family. Note, this is not what they serve for special occasions. Funny part is, when I am in SF or Dallas, and I open their freezers, they always have this prepared for me.

I know there is no reducing and no eggs... but No Machines??? Are you serious?

My grandmas kulfi is not cooked, but is certainly blended in a blender (machine). Do you use a hand held device to blend? How else do you make the Kulfi? Now I am very curious.

[Monica Bhide]

Since Indian confections and custards based on reduced milk are so integral to their cuisine,it would seem like a natural.Have you used reduced milk in many of your modernized recipes?

I use it quite a bit actually, I make a Hawaiian Rabri. or a reduced fat milk dessert topped with frozen pineapple slices. I also use it for making kheer or rice pudding. I have to say that I like things to be easy, so I do make Indian icecream or Kulfi without reducing the milk or even using eggs, the results have been mouthwatering. If you would like to try the recipe, I am happy to PM it to you. It is the simplest kulfi recipe, no machine, no eggs no cooking......

Monica,

My grandma and sister who have lived in the US long enough, have taught me a Quick Kulfi they make for family. Note, this is not what they serve for special occasions. Funny part is, when I am in SF or Dallas, and I open their freezers, they always have this prepared for me.

I know there is no reducing and no eggs... but No Machines??? Are you serious?

My grandmas kulfi is not cooked, but is certainly blended in a blender (machine). Do you use a hand held device to blend? How else do you make the Kulfi? Now I am very curious.

Suvir, it is a very simple recipe. It is the right combination of evap milk, condensed milk and Nestle's table cream. I hand blend them. Add mashed alphonso mango and the freeze it. It is really quite delightful. Simple, yet satisfying. When I serve this for large dinners, I garnish with Silver leaf or varak. It makes it look very grand. Someone once quoted an ad. when they ate my kulfi and it has stuck.. Tuesday effort, Sunday taste. I would be delighted if you would try it and provide your opinion. It would be an honor

[Suvir Saran]

Since Indian confections and custards based on reduced milk are so integral to their cuisine,it would seem like a natural.Have you used reduced milk in many of your modernized recipes?

I use it quite a bit actually, I make a Hawaiian Rabri. or a reduced fat milk dessert topped with frozen pineapple slices. I also use it for making kheer or rice pudding. I have to say that I like things to be easy, so I do make Indian icecream or Kulfi without reducing the milk or even using eggs, the results have been mouthwatering. If you would like to try the recipe, I am happy to PM it to you. It is the simplest kulfi recipe, no machine, no eggs no cooking......

Monica,

My grandma and sister who have lived in the US long enough, have taught me a Quick Kulfi they make for family. Note, this is not what they serve for special occasions. Funny part is, when I am in SF or Dallas, and I open their freezers, they always have this prepared for me.

I know there is no reducing and no eggs... but No Machines??? Are you serious?

My grandmas kulfi is not cooked, but is certainly blended in a blender (machine). Do you use a hand held device to blend? How else do you make the Kulfi? Now I am very curious.

Suvir, it is a very simple recipe. It is the right combination of evap milk, condensed milk and Nestle's table cream. I hand blend them. Add mashed alphonso mango and the freeze it. It is really quite delightful. Simple, yet satisfying. When I serve this for large dinners, I garnish with Silver leaf or varak. It makes it look very grand. Someone once quoted an ad. when they ate my kulfi and it has stuck.. Tuesday effort, Sunday taste. I would be delighted if you would try it and provide your opinion. It would be an honor

Monica,

I have the same recipe. My grandma is in her eighties and her hands would not be able to blend as well. She has used machinery for the last 20 years of living in the US. She blends the ingredients you mention. It is a fun recipe for a quick dessert for a last minute event. And yes with garnishes and some extra care, it becomes special.

[Jaymes]

For any of you who have never made flan, and might want a simple "starter" recipe with which to begin, here's one. Most of my "gringo" friends just call this recipe, "Flan." It's interesting to note that most of my Mexican friends also have this recipe, and make it when they're pressed for time, but they call it "Gringo Flan."

Easy Gringo Flan

1/2 C sugar

6 eggs

1 13-oz can evap milk

1 14-oz can Eagle brand milk

1 t vanilla

pinch of salt

Caramelize sugar in skillet or microwave. Pour into flan mold. Allow to cool thoroughly. Beat eggs until mixed, trying to get as few air bubbles as possible. Add evap milk and condensed milk. Fill condensed milk can with water and add that as well. Add vanilla and salt and combine well. Strain mixture and pour into mold. Set in lower half of 350º oven in a pan of warm water. Bake for one hour or until knife inserted in middle comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly, and then refrigerate until time to serve. At serving time, unmold and spoon caramel over.

Sometimes I add some orange juice and zest for orange flan.

[wingding]

I don't like all the 'ez quick' substitutes,in general.The taste is never as good,and learning good technique is always a good exercise,if you really want to become a good cook.A few pinches of time and suffering always make the food better-it's one of my mottos...

Edited December 14, 2002 by wingding (log)

[Suvir Saran]

I don't like all the 'ez quick' substitutes,in general.The taste is never as good,and learning good technique is always a good excersize,if you really want to become a good cook.A few pinches of time and suffering always make the food better-it's one of my mottos...

Exactly what I was trying to say very delicately in the Kulfi post. Thanks for saying it here.

My grandma calls that easy Kulfi, the Tuti Phuti Buri Mem di Kulfi (the fractured/broken old white womans Kulfi), for it is made by her when she is too tired and is willing to compromise on the taste. It does a certain job, but that is never replacing the taste and richness and magic of Kulfi made from scratch.

[FoodMan]

I don't like all the 'ez quick' substitutes,in general.The taste is never as good,and learning good technique is always a good excersize,if you really want to become a good cook.A few pinches of time and suffering always make the food better-it's one of my mottos...

Exactly what I was trying to say very delicately in the Kulfi post. Thanks for saying it here.

My grandma calls that easy Kulfi, the Tuti Phuti Buri Mem di Kulfi (the fractured/broken old white womans Kulfi), for it is made by her when she is too tired and is willing to compromise on the taste. It does a certain job, but that is never replacing the taste and richness and magic of Kulfi made from scratch.

Suvir do you have a good Kulfi recipe? the real deal. Or is it in another thread or in your book? If so then I'll have to wait till it's out. One more question though: Do u need an ice cream maker to make the real Kulfi?

FM

[Suvir Saran]

Suvir do you have a good Kulfi recipe? the real deal. Or is it in another thread or in your book? If so then I'll have to wait till it's out. One more question though: Do u need an ice cream maker to make the real Kulfi?

FM

I have several good Kulfi recipes. IN fact Monica has a great one for the Quick Kulfi in her book. Exactly what my grandma makes ever so often.

If you want a recipe for old fashioned Kulfi, as you would find in my freezer, email me and I shall send it to you. And yes my book will have at least 2 recipes.

And no you do not need an ice cream maker. You reduce the milk to a point where it is hard for it to get crystals.... A long procedure.. but worth it... Some people like my sister, have made it without much effort using a slow cooker.

[Jaymes]

I don't like all the 'ez quick' substitutes,in general.The taste is never as good,and learning good technique is always a good excersize,if you really want to become a good cook.A few pinches of time and suffering always make the food better-it's one of my mottos...

Exactly what I was trying to say very delicately in the Kulfi post. Thanks for saying it here.

My grandma calls that easy Kulfi, the Tuti Phuti Buri Mem di Kulfi (the fractured/broken old white womans Kulfi), for it is made by her when she is too tired and is willing to compromise on the taste. It does a certain job, but that is never replacing the taste and richness and magic of Kulfi made from scratch.

I absolutely agree with that... EZ doesn't usually have the taste, magic, texture or satisfaction of a dish made from scratch. In fact, I'd think that goes without saying.

But occasionally, in the interest of time, like Suvir's grandma "when she is too tired, and willing to compromise," it is good to have some "EZ quick" recipes. Such as the cornbread made with doctored-up Jiffy mix.

And also, I have found that when beginning cooks see difficult and complicated recipes with long lists of ingredients and instructions, they often can be too intimidated to even attempt them.

For example, my recipe above for Pumpkin Flan that begins with "take one pumpkin" might stop novices from even trying. On the other hand, if you give brand new and unsure-of-themselves cooks a recipe that looks simple and easy, and they try it and have a big success, it encourages them and spurs them on to try ever better, and more difficult and complicated dishes.

And, even if beginning cooks are willing to attempt a preparation calling for more advanced technique, or steps/ingredients, and it fails, they well may never even try again.

I began my flan career with Gringo Flan over thirty years ago, when I was a brand-new bride and budding cook and hostess. Flan was my favorite dessert in Mexican/Spanish restaurants. I was afraid it'd be difficult. I'd looked at other flan recipes, and just didn't know if I could pull them off. I wasn't sure about baking something in a 'water bath.' Many recipes called for whole vanilla beans. I'd never worked with them and wasn't sure if I could even find them easily.

But then a friend (Mexican, actually) showed me that recipe for "Gringo Flan." I looked it and its short list of ingredients and instructions and thought, "Hey, I can do that." And I did, on several occasions. Whereupon I thought, "Boy, this is really good. And it's not hard at all. I wonder what flan is like when made with one of the more complicated and authentic recipes?"

That led me to now having about eleven flan recipes (and several creme brulees) that I prepare often; Gringo Flan frankly, no longer among them. I have indeed advanced beyond it.

But here on eGullet, we have all levels of cooks -- beginning, intermediate, advanced -- as well as others just checking things out. I don't believe it ever hurts to give them many options.

Or, to have many options available to you in your own quiver of culinary arrows.

Who knows when I will be as old and tired as Suvir's grandma with her Tuti Phuti Buri Mem di Kulfi.

And be darn glad I can at least still totter to the stove and open up a can of Eagle Brand and whip myself up some Gringo Flan. It may not be the very best, award-winning, flan in the world (although it's damn good), but I'll bet it beats whatever they're serving up over at the old folks' home.

Edited December 14, 2002 by Jaymes (log)

[Suvir Saran]

Who knows when I will be as old and tired as Suvir's grandma with her Tuti Phuti Buri Mem di Kulfi.

And be darn glad I can at least still totter to the stove and open up a can of Eagle Brand and whip myself up some Gringo Flan.  It may not be the best flan in the world, but I'll bet it beats whatever they're serving up at the old folks' home. 

For that matter, it is better than what many people can serve you even after they make it from scratch.

True, I often am ready to cry when I know a friend has gone through much too much effort to only serve a meal that is terrible at best in terms of taste. I am moved and humbled by the effort, and not moved at all by the taste.

How sad is that? Very.

[Monica Bhide]

I don't like all the 'ez quick' substitutes,in general.The taste is never as good,and learning good technique is always a good exercise,if you really want to become a good cook.A few pinches of time and suffering always make the food better-it's one of my mottos...

I agree with you here. Sometimes, though, with a three year old running around -- EZ works for me!!

[rancho_gordo]

I'm proud to say my six chicken have come into their majority and now are laying bewtween 4-5 eggs a day, despite the cold and shorter days. I can't keep up with consumption and thought I'd try and master flan, which seems easy enough.

I made Diana Kennedy's recipe and I like it but it's a bit too eggy, even for me. Do you have any egg/milk ratios you like? I reduced the milk but have heard condensed milk works well too. I want to really master the clasic and I'm not so interested in kooky variations just yet.

La Kennedy seems to be saying to use a water bath unless you have a flan mold. In Mexico a few years ago, I picked up a flan thing with a locking lid. Do I avoid the water bath if I use this contraption? Is it any better than any other kind of cookware?

[theabroma]

RG, amigo:

Are you using eggs or egg yolks? Perhaps increasing the milk a bit would be a good idea. The condensed milk version is tasty, but very "tough" and quite sweet.

I have a flan recipe I need to excavate from a former pastry instructor ... his mom was from Galicia and his flan was killer: tender, quivering, silky, and not too eggy.

I don't think that it matters what you cook the flan in - it is a custard and as such should be cooked in a ba~no maria; not doing so will dry it out and definitely make for a tough custard ( or and albino handball, depending on how you look at it!)

Also, are you considering making Huevos Reales with the yolks and meringues with the whites? Or turron (nougat)?

Theabroma

[Jaymes]

Ranchismo,

I've been making flan a loooooong time. There are lots of different recipes and methods. Mainly, I make various flans the old-fashioned way. No condensed milk. In a pan in a hot water bath.

But Caroline, our gal in Mexico, had a wonderful thread a while back on making flan in a pressure cooker. According to her, and I certainly take her word for it as she is living there, the vast majority of flans made now in Mexico are the condensed milk versions and they're made in pressure cookers.

When I first started making flans, some 40 years ago, my Mexican friends called that recipe with the condensed milk, "Gringo Flan." Obviously things have changed.

Caroline's terrific thread on flan is here: Flan Magico

[rancho_gordo]

5 new eggs today! Time to try ut another recipe.

Are you using eggs or egg yolks?  Perhaps increasing the milk a bit would be a good idea.  The condensed milk version is tasty, but very "tough" and quite sweet.

4 eggs and 6 additional yolks.

1 quart of reduced milk and only 1/2 a cup of sugar.

This wan't bad but just a bit too eggy for me.

I have a flan recipe I need to excavate from a former pastry instructor ... his mom was from Galicia and his flan was killer:  tender, quivering, silky, and not too eggy.

I'm quivering just thinking about it!

    Also, are you considering making Huevos Reales with the yolks and meringues with the whites?  Or turron (nougat)?

Recipes , please! Meringues I'm ok with but the other two.....

But Caroline, our gal in Mexico, had a wonderful thread a while back on making flan in a pressure cooker.

I'll get there but I want to master the old fashioned way first.

When I first started making flans, some 40 years ago, my Mexican friends called that recipe with the condensed milk, "Gringo Flan."

I see recipes all over the map. Some ask for sweetened condensed milk and others call for evaporated milk. Some call for whole milk while others want milk and cream.

I've tried Kennedy and now I have Bayless open and will give him a try unless one of you gets back to this thread lickety split. I have lots of eggs coming so there's plenty of room for mistakes and experiments.

Has anyone tried a stick of canela while reducing the milk?

Here's one of my girls in action!!!

Hey Jaymes- weren't you visiting when she was just a chick????

[KatieLoeb]

One way to achieve the silky texture is to strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve to remove any completely unblended little bits of egg, those little squiggly things in the whites that always seem to turn the texture of a toenail no matter what you're cooking them in and to make the custard uniformly liquid before baking in the water bath.

Another way to achieve incredible lightness of being (in flan, at least) is to separate the egg whites and whip them to soft peaks like a souffle before folding them gently into everything else. All that extra air makes for a much lighter end result, even if it isn't quite a souffle.

[Jaymes]

Hey Jaymes- weren't you visiting when she was just a chick????

Yeah, her and me both.

[caroline]

Thanks Jaymes. Yes you'd be hard put to find a flan made with milk in Mexico. The condensed milk-pressure cooker method is pretty much universal (though I see Patricia Quintana has one with milk, beaten egg whites and chestnut puree in The Taste of Mexico).

But in general Mexicans don't see this as a second class substitute but as superior. It has less bubbles than flan cooked in a water bath. It is denser which they like because they can add all kinds of flavorings. And it's quick and reliable and doesn't require turning on the oven (if you have an oven).

I now use half the amount of sugar that I gave in the original recipe. A full cup of sugar just means that most of the caramel sticks to the mold. And Rancho Gordo, I use one of those cheap and nifty molds that you talk about with the clamp to keep the top on.

Cheers,

Rachel

[rancho_gordo]

Well, the Bayless recipe, from Authentic Mexican was near perfect. I did leave a stick of canela in the milk as it was reducing and it was nice but I'd probably leave it out next time. Tasted too much like Christmas.

OK, Caroline, next time it's in the pressure cooker and with sweetened condensed milk. Do I do a quick release under running water or the slow release?

[rancho_gordo]

Also, are you considering making Huevos Reales with the yolks and meringues with the whites? 

←

Googling a bit for Huevos Reales, I found this translation!

The yolks are fought on the verge of cord until they are clear and thick. The dust is added to them to hornear and second pluses are fought. Moldecitos for panqué are smeared with grease with mantequilla. A spoonful of paste in each moldecito is placed and they put in the furnace preheated to 180° C during 10 minutes. When they are ready, they remove from the molds, they sour with a possesor, they are placed in a Plato deep, are decorated with the almonds, the pinions and a pasita in the center. The rest of the pasitas and the almonds are added to the honey, with which the real eggs bathe. The honey: they are put to boil all the ingredients until they take a consistency from light honey.

I love computers! Gotta go and fight some yolks now.

[caroline]

Heaven help us. If you dive into the world of Mexican egg sweets you will never emerge! At least not in your right mind.

On flan, I am really the last person to be talking. I'm not one for sweets in general and I'm definitely not one for flan in particular. But my husband gobbles up what I make and it's really quick and easy.

But I think it's probably best to think of the Mexican flan magico as a different species from European flan. Same genus perhaps but definitely different species.

And it's such an undemanding dish that I'm not sure it matters whether you allow it to reduce pressure slowly or under the faucet. I have to admit I can't even remember what I do,

Rachel

[Apicio]

Caro RG,

If you are looking for less egginess, perhaps you should try reducing your whole eggs to 3 and your egg yolks to 2 which is what Cooking Illustrated's recipe for creme caramel calls for (along with 1.5 cups each of whole milk and heavy cream and 2/3 cup of sugar). This will not help you with the problem you are trying to solve though. Cooking it in bain marie avoids sudden intense oven heat which can curdle your mixture in a hurry. You want slow and gradual heat to obtain a smooth creaminess in your flan. Now, your custard pan with cover is most probably designed for steaming or cooking in a pressure cooker, to avoid boil overs. Using evaporated and/or condensed milk as a lot of Mexicans (and other Latin Americans) are fond of as witness their "Tres Leches cake," will yield a denser flan but still with the same quivering creaminess as long as it is cooked long and slow in either the oven in a bain marie or by steaming in a pressure cooker. Let me know if you need the temperature and cooking time.