Friday, August 1, 2008

Caramel-Topped Flan

To be honest I had never had real flan before I bought Dorie's book. Once while grocery shopping with my mom I begged her to buy me a box of instant flan. I believe the box actually said creme caramel/flan. It looked so gorgeous and exotic on the box. Like my very own haute dessert.

Well, lets just say that it did not taste "hot" at all. It was gross and very chemical tasting. Never touched the stuff again. Fast forward 15 years ...flan? Yes!

When Dorie's book came out I was awed by all the gorgeous recipes. And towards the end of the book a flan recipe was present along side a stunning photo.

The first time I made flan was for my friend Lucy, who is a flan connoisseur, and she gave it a thumbs up. I asked her what she liked about it. She said "...I loved the fact that cream & the vanilla shines through." And that the flan "...did not have an egg smell/taste to it." But the best part she said was "..the generous helping of caramel!"

I made the flan again for a friend who was convinced that flan could never be a great dessert and therefore should remain in the instant jello aisle. Let's just say that we quickly changed his mind.

Print Recipe

39 comments:

YD, sometimes with ♥June and ♥Angel Samantha said...

I have been coming here for the past few days now(from Velvet Lava)and this is my first time commenting.
You've got a very delicious blog! I have printed out the recipe for the carrot cake. Will probably make it this weekend(if I have the time). I sure have bookmarked this blog!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

PHENOMENAL flan!

Bria said...

Your flan looks delicious! I attempted Dorie's flan recipe the other day but was highly unsuccessful! It was really oily, very very firm and extremely eggy :(

Anonymous said...

I've actually never tried flan before, because I hate how eggy it seemed... But yours look really good! And I think the generous amount of caramel really helped :)

glamah16 said...

This was one of the first deserts I learned how to make . Its so easy and comforting.

marae said...

Looks awesome! I have had very good flan and very bad flan, and the differences are HUGE. I know what your friend says about not tasting egg and letting the flavors come through...this sounds like it was as good as it looks. FAB!

Katie said...

Ohh your flan looks delicious, very silky smooth. We call it creme caramel here in the UK.

Anonymous said...

I love flan! We would have it at my great-aunt's every Christmas. Yum!

grace said...

to date, i'm not a flan fan. i haven't given it another shot for awhile, and i'm pretty obsessed with caramel, so maybe i should give this particular version a go...assuming i actually have the skills to make it. :)

Ingrid_3Bs said...

MMMMMMMM, I love flan. Have you tried the cheese ones? They also put coconut in both versions as well. While I like the original and the coconut is okay (a little too sweet)the cheese version is the way to go!
Ingrid :-)

Snooky doodle said...

I REALLY LOVE YOUR BLOG. NICE PHOTOS AND NICE CAKES :-)

Ivy said...

I love flan. I 've gotta try this recipe!

Anonymous said...

I definitely agree that nothing from a box will ever taste as good as homemade- I'm glad that you gave this another shot, the right way!

Anonymous said...

i've never had flan,but for some reason i've been thinking about it lately. after seeing yours i'm gonna try it, it looks wonderful!

jasmine said...

EEK-- that box sounds awful. I must admit I go through flan phases...but chances are if I see it on a menu at a swanky restaurant, I'll have it....

Yours looks lovely.

j

Rosie said...

Oooooh Gigi this looks awesome! Now where did I leave my spoon *giggle* I just want to dive in and take a taste now.......

Rosie x

Deborah said...

I've only made flan once, but I'd love to try this recipe some day! And your photo is gorgeous!

Maria♥ said...

Gigi I love caramel flan and this is a very popular dessert in Spain ;o)

Maria
x

Cookie baker Lynn said...

Lovely flan - it looks like everything a flan should be.

eatme_delicious said...

Oh yes that looks good! I've been really wanting to try out the coconut version of that flan recipe.

Jacque said...

Mmmm, it looks delicious! Ready for me to take the next bite.

I've been wanting to try this for a while but worried about the egginess factor. Sounds like it's not an issue.

Chibog in Chief said...

i was thinking so much of making caramel topped flan yesterday.;but since i run out of eggs i abandoned the idea..your version made me bite my hands..really divine!! love the caramel on the top!!

Stef said...

I really want to pick up that little piece that fell and eat it up! mmmmmmmm

Honeyed Hashette said...

So beautifully yummy looking. I love custard desserts- flan, panna cotta, pudding...mmmmm

How To Eat A Cupcake said...

Ew Ew Ew EW!! I had to make flan in high school as a project for my spanish class. Mine (along with everyone else's) was so disgusting! And then last fall when I went to Greece, one of the desserts at a dinner was flan. I tried it just to make sure I still didn't like it (something I do often)... Yeah I still hated it!

Patricia Scarpin said...

Your flan looks perfect. We make something similar here in Brazil, using sweetened condensed milk, and it's delicious!
Where's my spoon, Gigi? ;)

Ann said...

Oh, FLAN, heavenly flan! It looks like a little cloud on that plate. Ya know, I have not yet made flan and I really must....

It's just so pretty and elegant, I love it!

Lot-O-Choc said...

Ooh ive never had proper flan either! This looks delicious, I may have to attempt to make one sometime. Yum :D

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LyB said...

I've never had flan before, homemade or otherwise. I think you've just convinced me to try it out. What page is that on again? ;)

test it comm said...

That looks so good! I have never had flan before either and I have been wanting to try it.

Nora B. said...

I'm a fan flan!! This looks delicious to me :-)

steph- whisk/spoon said...

i made this recipe awhile back, and it was sooo good! i am a flan lover!

Helene said...

Never met a homemade flan I did not like and this one looks wonderful!

Anonymous said...

that's a one good looking flan! looks to die for!

Anonymous said...

The picture looks like a creme caramel or a creme brulee. What's the difference? A flan to me is something quite different, more like a tart.

Gigi said...

Caitlin,

Here in the states flan and creme caramel are the same thing. I hope this helps.

Anonymous said...

Hi..
I love this post, looks awesome.
Cheers,
Graduation Cake Ideas

Unknown said...

http://gigicakes.blogspot.com/2008/08/caramel-topped-flan.html
http://gigicakes.blogspot.com/2008/09/pumpkin-pie-pnacakes.html
http://gigicakes.blogspot.com/2008/09/vanilla-buttermilk-cake-with-instant.html
http://gigicakes.blogspot.com/2008/10/buttermilk-pear-tart.html