First day of Spring, and we’re due for a snow storm tonight. If that doesn’t perfectly capture New England weather, I don’t know what does. But that’s not going to stop me from moving forward with my lighter, more summery desserts – a week in sunny Florida definitely has me in the desserts-I-can-eat-with-a-spoon mood.

So this week, I’m finally posting the much-hyped Flan recipe from a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, as I just opened up my pictures, I realized I didn’t get any particularly good ones of the finished product. Full disclosure: it was a kinda slanted flan due to some jerry-rigging of the water bath, but it was still a hit. If you’re super curious, I think the flan emoji captured the essence of it well – you can look at that.

Anyways, flan is super easy. I know. I didn’t believe that either. But it was, and there is literally no excuse for not making it.

First, sprinkle the sugar over the bottom of a 9 inch cake pan.Place over medium heat and shake the pan until the sugar melts and turns gold – it doesn’t have to completely melt, since it will still go in the oven, but should look something like this:Allow to cool. It will crack slightly – don’t worry, that’s supposed to happen.

Meanwhile, use a whisk to blend the sweetened condensed milk, milk, eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla extract. As the flan expert, Erik did most of the work, so it only seems fair that he gets an action shot: Then, pour over the caramelized sugar.Put the pan in a larger pan and pour in about an inch of hot water. Cover the cake pan with aluminum foil.Bake at 350°F for 55 minutes or until i knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove pan from water and place on wire rack to cool for 40 minutes.Use a flat spatula to loosen the sides, place a serving plate upside down on top of the cake pan, and invert to remove the flan. It will come right out – it’s magic!

(And this is the picture I didn’t take.)

Keep covered in the fridge until ready to serve. Our flan was a birthday cake, so you can at least kind of see the finished product here:Enjoy!

Flan

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/3 cups sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup milk
• 3 eggs
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Sprinkle sugar evenly over bottom of 9 inch cake pan. Heat, while shaking, over medium heat until sugar turns golden brown. Allow to cool.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk, milk, eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla extract until smooth. Pour over caramelized sugar.
3. Cover cake pan with aluminum foil and place in a larger pan. Pour about an inch of hot water up the sides to create a water bath.
4. Bake at 350°F for 55 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.
5. Allow cake pan to cool on wire rack for 30 minutes.
6. Use a spatula to loosen edges and turn out onto a serving dish. Refrigerate.