Leche Flan

... cringes at how horribly she is neglecting this blog ...

I made dinner for a friend of mine earlier tonight, and he requested flan for dessert. I thought I'd make him the Filipino version of it.

I will admit to taking shortcuts with it, but the final result is still close to the original.

And yes, this is not for the faint of heart ... or for those with very high cholesterol levels ...

This one is pretty easy to make.

Ingredients:

• 1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
• 1 can (14 oz.) condensed milk
• 10 egg yolks (yes, ten of them!)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• pancake syrup or maple syrup

Yes, the last ingredient listed is my shortcut as I was too lazy to make my own caramel syrup, which is generally made with sugar (1 c) and water (3/4 c).

Preheat the oven to 375 °F.

Combine the milks, egg yolks, and vanilla. Beat well. (You may use a blender; however, I just used a big bowl, a whisk, and elbow grease. ;) )

In a mould (and I used the disposable "individual pot pie" sized aluminium pans, which are pretty small), put the syrup in so it just covers the bottom. Add the mixture until it's about 3/4 full. Cover the moulds with aluminium foil.

Place the moulds on a baking pan filled with water and bake for ca. 45 minutes or until the centre of the custards are relatively firm (i.e., stops jiggling). Remove from the oven and allow to cool. When it's cool enough, place in the refrigerator.

To serve: run a thin knife around the edges of the mould to loosen the leche flan. Place a plate on top of the mould and then turn it upside down. Be careful that you don't spill the caramel all over yourself (and believe me, if you're not careful, that's a possibility...)

Enjoy! Because this recipe calls for egg yolks, the final product has a very creamy, melt-in-your-mouth consistency.

I've also made this with whole eggs instead of just the egg yolks (use 5 eggs if you do that). It won't be as creamy, but it'll still be quite good.