Benjamina Ebuehi's Mexican-style vanilla bean flan is a delightful dessert that captures the essence of Mexico City. This recipe yields a silky, creamy flan with a rich caramel topping, perfect for any occasion.
Ingredients
For this recipe, you will need: 1 vanilla pod, 400ml whole milk, 130g caster sugar, 2 large eggs plus 3 egg yolks, 397g tin condensed milk, and ¼ tsp fine sea salt.
Preparation
Start by splitting the vanilla pod and scraping the seeds into a saucepan. Add the empty pod and pour in the milk. Heat gently until warmed through, then remove from heat and steep for 15-30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 170C (150C fan)/340F/gas 3½. In a heavy-bottomed pan, heat the sugar gently, swirling occasionally, until it melts and turns a deep caramel color. Carefully pour the caramel into a 20cm cake tin (not loose-bottomed) and swirl to coat the base. Let it cool until hard.
In a bowl, whisk the eggs and egg yolks until combined, avoiding too much air. Stir in the condensed milk and salt. Strain the vanilla milk into the egg mixture and mix well. Pour the custard through a sieve onto the cooled caramel in the tin. Cover with foil and place the tin in a larger roasting tray. Fill the tray with boiling water halfway up the sides of the flan tin.
Bake for 50-55 minutes until the edges are set but the center wobbles. Remove from the water bath, cool to room temperature, then chill overnight.
Serving
The next day, run a palette knife around the edges to release the flan. Invert onto a serving plate and spoon any remaining caramel on top. Serve and enjoy this wobbly, joyous flan.
