Cuban Style Lemon Flan (Caramel Topped Custard) - Fred Whitlock, The Good Gourmet staff

Flan is a Spanish dessert-basically a custard that is topped with caramel.  I've tried many flan recipes and continue to return to this one which my Cuban mother made when I was a child.  It differs from most Spanish flan recipes because it uses a combination of condensed and evaporated milk.  My suspicion is that this recipe was developed by my family during World War II when canned products were more readily available than fresh.  Some of the best recipes are developed from special situations or needs.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup sugar
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 can evaporated milk
4 eggs, beaten
1 tbsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a saucepan, cook the sugar until it caramelizes to a light brown liquid.  Then pour the caramel into an 8" pie pan and tilt it repeatedly until the caramel coats the bottom of the pan.  You need to do this quickly because the caramel hardens right away.  

Mix the remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl with a whisk and pour it into the pie pan.  Prepare a "bain marie" or water bath.  I generally do this by pouring about a 1/2 inch of hot water into a large saute pan and then placing the pie pan in the water.  You can bake the custard without the bain marie but it will have a coarser texture.  For a smooth and creamy texture use the bain marie.

Place the bain marie in the oven and bake for 40 minutes until a knife blade comes out of the custard clean.  Allow custard to cool.  When it is near room temperature, cut around the perimeter of the flan with a knife and turn it over onto a serving plate.  Refrigerate the flan for several hours before serving.  

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