My Grandpa's Specialty (Flan Dessert)

The first time I had ever heard of this dessert was while sitting at a very inclusive and upscale Mexican restaurant with my family while on the beaches of Cozumel, Mexico. It was our last night and my dad was in a generous mood to treat his three lovely ladies out to dinner. For dessert my mom had ordered the flan, which I had never heard of before so I was eager to see what this "flan" was all about. And wow, the second the waiter placed that flan in front of my mother, silence over took and I was in utter awe. It just looked so eloquent and FANCY! I thought for sure the chefs slaved over that little and petite dessert for hours, but years later I would soon discover how wrong I had been. . .

So my first encounter with a flan happened a few years back, and my next encounter with a flan wouldn't happen until this past Sunday when my grandparents came in town. My grandfather had told me he wanted to teach me how to make flan and only if i wanted to and if it was up to par shall I write about it in my blog. Ha! He really made me laugh, because anything and everything that I cook is usually posted into my blog, especially such a decedent dessert like the flan! My grandfather kept reassuring me that I didn't have to put the recipe in my blog unless I felt that I absolutely wanted to. First off, my grandfather only knows how to cook the best of the best, so why wouldn't I want to write about his upscale dessert?! And second, I just could not wait to write about how giddy and excited he seemed over the fact that this fancy dessert only took a whopping eleven (yes, only eleven!) minutes! And third, I am thinking that he was also just so eager to be mentioned in my blog, because he kept bringing the subject up!. . . So this post is dedicated one hundred percent to my grandfather; the chef who cooks in style while wearing corduroy pants and a golfing vest with a martini by his side.

At first I always thought that a flan was a Mexican dessert or something that was originated from Latin America, because that is what I was always told. However, after doing a little research upon the dessert I came to find that actually it was first originated in France, Spain, and Rome. Okay, so maybe I don't quite know where this classy, little dessert originated from, but that is simply because every website had something different to say about the flan. (I mean how can one dessert somehow originate in multiple countries?) Well regardless of its origin, most all websites did agree upon the flan being mostly enjoyed by us Americans, Latin Americans, and Filipinos (So Vlad, if you are reading this. . . looks like I have found a step up from boxed brownies next time you're in town!) As my own unique definition, I would describe a flan as part custard/cake/pudding/jiggly jello and tastes a bit like a sweet custard with the definition of a cake and the texture of pudding. So basically this is a soft and cold dessert that is purely wonderful! I love you grandpa for teaching me this oh so easy recipe!

Ingredients:

12 ounces evaporated milk

1/4 cup sugar AND THEN 1/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

pinch of salt

LETS COOK!

Crack eggs into a medium sized bowl. Pour evaporated milk into the same bowl, as well as the 1/4 cup sugar, and salt. Whisk together. In a serving dish, fill about half inch up with hot water. Place mini (5) ramekins into the water in the serving dish. (The water will be on outside of ramekins but inside of dish). Now over very low heat in a small sauce pan pour remaining sugar and stir watching carefully that sugar does not burn and melts to for a liquid. Remove immediately from heat when all clumps are gone and evenly pour into ramekins. Pour liquid mixture on top evenly in all ramekins. Preheat oven to 350 and bake for about 55 min or when a knife can come out clean in the center of the dessert. After, put in refrigerator and cool until ready to serve (stays good for days!) Flip the dessert over onto a plate where the carmalized sugar shows on top. Serve, and enjoy!