Recipe for "flan"

NAME

     FLAN - A rich Mexican custard
     This recipe comes from the Delicias Culinarias cookbook that
     I brought from Mexico.

INGREDIENTS (Serves 4)

     150 g     sugar
     2         eggs
     2         egg yolks
     5 dl      milk
     5 ml      vanilla extract

PROCEDURE

          (1)  In a small kettle, heat 40 g of sugar with 5 ml of
               water until the mixture turns brown. Pour the mix-
               ture into 4 gelatin molds. Move the  molds  around
               so that the mixture coats the interior. Set aside.
          (2)  Mix  the  eggs,  sugar,  milk,  and  the   vanilla
               extract.
          (3)  Pour the mixture into the molds.   Put  the  molds
               over  a deep pan with water (double boiler or bain
               marie technique) for 1 hr in a 175  deg.  C  oven.
               Keep  the  water  in  the pan at the same level by
               adding boiling water.
          (4)  Cool and put it in the  refrigerator.  Unmold  the
               flan before serving.

NOTES

     You can substitute liquor for some of the milk to  make  the
     flan  richer. Personally, I use 25 cl of milk and 25 cl rom-
     pope (Mexican eggnog).
     Be careful when  coating  glass  molds  as  they  can  break
     because of the sudden change in temperatures. You have to do
     it fast as the mixture hardens very quickly.

RATING

     Difficulty: moderate.  Time: 21/2 hours Precision:  no  need
     to measure.

CONTRIBUTOR

     I. Arieh Cimet
     Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA
     {ihnp4,chinet}!nucsrl!cimeti