Leche Flan in Oz

One of my favourite Filipino desserts, Leche Flan has a thousand and one varieties. Commonly known as custard in Australia, this version is part of the Spanish influence in the Filipino kitchen. Similar to the French creme brulee, with a different twist in the preparation, the Leche Flan is prepared with the sugar caramel in the bottom before the flan mixture is poured into the ramekins or tins. While the preparation of the creme brulee uses the aid of a kitchen blow torch to caramelise the sugar, I find this version easier and more convenient.



This is one of the desserts that are in my favourite lists, but never tried it until now.

Most of the recipes online and in books call for the same ingredients, with slight differences in the measurements and in the kind of milk used. Nonetheless, it still comes out as a dessert should. Sweet and decadent. My little girls don't like the smooth texture of this dessert (as I find they only love those resembling chocolate or is chocolate-coloured), I'm sure they eventually find themselves searching for this recipe.

Ingredients

14 egg yolks
2 cans condensed milk
1 c fresh or full cream milk (Some recipes call for canned evaporated milk. I haven't tried this but I'm sure the difference wouldn't be that noticeable)
1 tsp lemon juice

1 c sugar (I used white)
1/2 c water (I don't use as much as I wanted the caramel to be thick. The first batch I made, I didn't use water and the caramel came out toffee-hard)

Caramelise the sugar using a shallow pan. Do not stir but let the sugar melt on its own, adding water bit by bit until the sugar has all melted.

Pour onto ramekins or baking tins (I used a generic rectangular baking tin) and let cool


Whisk egg yolks in a big bowl. Add the condensed milk and mix well. Add the whole milk and stir until the mixture is smooth.

Pour onto the ramekins or baking tins. Place in a roasting pan and pour some water, half-level of the tins.

Bake in a 180 degree oven for 40-45 minutes. The flan is done when a knife inserted onto the mixture comes out clean.


Enjoy!