Flan De Nuez Walnut Custard Recipes

FLAN DE CAFE (COFFEE CARAMEL CUSTARD)

Steps:

• In a small, heavy frying pan, heat the 3/4 cup sugar over medium-low heat until it begins to dissolve. Shake the pan slightly, but do not stir, until all the sugar has melted, about 10 minutes. Increase the heat and stir the sugar as it begins to bubble and take on color.
• When the sugar is a dark, caramel color, pour into a 6-cup charlotte mold or souffle dish and quickly turn in all directions, tipping the mold or dish from side to side until the surface -- the bottom -- and about 2 inches up the sides is lightly coated with the caramel. If the caramel thickens before it reaches this point, then heat the mold over a low flame until the caramel runs more smoothly.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Place the milk, salt and remaining 1/2 cup sugar into a heavy saucepan. Bring to a simmer and stir to dissolve sugar. Continue boiling -- being careful the mixture doesn't boil over -- until the milk has reduced by about half a cup, about 20 minutes. Stir in the vanilla extract and coffee powder, and set aside to cool.
• In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and yolks together; when the milk is tepid, stir the eggs into the milk. Pour through a strainer into the prepared mold or dish; set in a hot-water bath and bake in the lower third of the oven for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until custard is set and a knife comes out clean; cooking times vary with the depth of the mold. Set aside to cool completely before refrigerating; the flan should be served chilled. To unmold, carefully insert a blunt, thin metal spatula around the rim of the custard and gently tip the mold from side to side to see if it is loose. If the caramel on the bottom of the pan has hardened, place in a pan of hot water to loosen and test again. Unmold into a serving dish.

FLAN DE NARANJA (ORANGE FLAN)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Fill a baking dish half way with hot water for the water bath.
• Heat sugar and water in a heavy-based saucepan over medium-low heat; constantly swirl the sugar mixture in the pan until sugar dissolves and turns into a golden-brown caramel syrup, about 10 minutes. Watch carefully, as sugar burns easily. Pour melted caramel into a shallow baking dish and gently tilt dish to coat the bottom with caramel.
• Mix egg yolks, condensed milk, evaporated milk, orange juice, and orange zest in a large oven-safe bowl; gently pour custard over caramel in baking dish. Cover the flan with foil to prevent a skin forming on top, if you like.
• Set bowl into the water bath and bake in the preheated oven until until flan has set but still jiggles slightly when moved, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Allow flan to cool to room temperature, then remove foil, and place flan in the fridge to chill, about 2 hours.
• Run a knife around the edges of the flan to loosen from dish; turn flan onto a rimmed serving plate to release custard and let caramel sauce flow over the flan.

MAPLE FLAN IN A WALNUT CRUST

Steps:

• 1. To prepare the flan, place the maple syrup in a large, heavy saucepan. Set it over low heat and let simmer until the syrup is reduced by a quarter (to 3/4 cup), 15 to 20 minutes.
• 2. Add the cream to the syrup and stir until mixture is smooth and comes back to a simmer.
• 3. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks until smooth. Add a little of the hot maple cream into the eggs to warm them, whisking constantly to keep the yolks from curdling. Pour the mixture into the saucepan, whisking the cream constantly. Strain the mixture into a bowl, stir in the salt, and chill for at least 2 hours and up to 5 days.
• 4. Preheat oven to 300°F. Place 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat, then add the sugar and corn syrup. Raise the heat to high and cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until the mixture becomes a dark amber caramel, 7 to 10 minutes. Immediately pour the caramel into an 8-inch round nonstick cake pan, tilting to make sure the sides are well coated. Work quickly so the caramel doesn't harden. If it does, rewarm it over low heat.
• 5. Pour the maple custard into the caramel-coated cake pan. Place it in a baking pan and carefully move it to the oven rack. Pour enough very hot water into the baking pan to reach two thirds of the way up the side of the cake pan. Cover the baking pan with foil and prick all over with a fork. Bake the flan for about 1 hour, then lift off a corner of the foil to vent the steam. Re-cover the pan and continue to bake until the flan is set around the edges but still slightly jiggly in the center, about 45 minutes longer. Remove the flan from the baking pan and transfer to a rack. Let cool at room temperature, then cover and refrigerate overnight.
• 6. To prepare the walnut crust, preheat oven to 350°F. Spread the nuts out on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven, stirring once or twice, until they smell nutty, about 10 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool.
• 7. Using a food processor, pulse the walnuts until they are finely ground, then reserve. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and confectioners' sugar until combined, about 1 minute. Beat in the egg. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, almond flour, walnuts, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in 2 batches, scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions. Mix until the dough just holds together. Scrape the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and form it into a disk. Wrap it and chill for at least 1 hour, until firm.
• 8. Preheat oven to 325°F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough 1/8 inch thick into a 12-inch round. Fit the dough into a 9-inch quiche pan. Trim away any excess dough, then use a fork to prick the crust all over. Bake the tart crust until it's pale golden, about 25 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool. (The tart shell can be made 8 hours ahead and kept at room temperature or frozen.)
• 9. To unmold the flan, run a small knife around the sides of the cake pan, then invert the flan into the baked tart shell. Serve with whipped crème fraîche, if desired.
• Variation
• For individual flans without crust, divide the caramel and then the maple custard evenly among eight 4-ounce glass or ceramic ramekins. Bake as directed for 1 hour and 30 minutes, venting the steam after 45 minutes.

MINT CUSTARD

Steps:

• Bring the milk, vanilla essence to the boil in a heavy-based saucepan.
• Whisk the egg yolks and sugar until white in colour.
• Slowly add the hot milk to the egg mixture.
• Return the custard back to a clean saucepan and gently reheat until the custard coasts the back of your spoon.
• Do not boil.
• Refrigerate until cold and fold in crème de menthe and mint leaves.

FLAN PATISSIER (FRENCH CUSTARD PIE)

Steps:

• For the pastry, combine flour, butter, potato starch, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and process until it has the consistency of sand.
• Combine milk and egg yolk in a small bowl. Add to the flour mixture and mix by hand until the mixture is evenly moistened. Do not overwork the pastry. Wrap pastry dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Grease and flour a 9-inch springform pan.
• For the filling, combine milk, 1/2 of the sugar and split and scraped vanilla bean in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat once milk boils.
• While the milk is heating, whisk eggs and remaining sugar in a large bowl until well combined. Stir in cream and cornstarch, and whisk until well blended.
• Whisk egg mixture into the cooled milk, stirring constantly.
• Return everything back into the saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat, whisking constantly to prevent eggs from setting. As soon as custard begins to thicken, remove from heat and whisk constantly for a few minutes while it cools.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Remove pastry from the refrigerator. Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface into a circle large enough to cover the bottom and sides of the springform pan. Line a springform pan and sides with the pastry and pierce several times with a fork. Store in the refrigerator until filling is cooled down enough.
• Briefly beat cooled pastry cream with an electric mixer to smooth it out. Pour into the pastry shell and even out the surface with a spatula.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Increase temperature to 470 degrees F (240 degrees C) for an additional 10 minutes to brown the surface, making sure the custard does not burn. To speed up browning the top you can also place on a rack closer to the top.
• Remove pie from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate cooled custard pie for 4 hours before serving.
• To unmold, run the blade of a knife along the inside of the mold, to loosen the flan. Then carefully remove the ring off from the springform pan.

FLAN DE NUEZ (WALNUT CUSTARD)

Steps:

• Caramelize ("burn") sugar in a frying pan until dark brown.
• Quickly cover bottom and sides of a pyrex dish with this caramel sauce before it hardens.
• In blender, whir the eggs, both milks, and the walnuts.
• Bake in medium heat in regular or dutch oven using double boiler (steaming) method, for about an hour.