Making Mom's Flan

I remember going over my grandmother’s house when I was little and helping her make flan. I used to know the recipe by heart. She would let me crack the eggs into the blender and add a teaspoon of vanilla.

Years later, and the recipe forgotten, I boasted about my mom’s delicious take on the dessert to the Elevator web team, promising to recreate it for them. Lost in the prospect of its amazing taste, I had forgotten the fact that I am possibly the worst cook ever. I didn’t even own a blender.

Even so, I sought to make good on my promise. I called my mom for the recipe, bought the ingredients, a blender and even the same tin mixing bowl that my mom uses as a baking pan.

After an evening of making batter and caramel from scratch (my first batch of caramel went straight to the garbage after I burned it), it went into the oven, and I thought the hard part was over. But the next morning, when I tried to flip it onto a plate after it had cooled, it was still stuck to the pan with caramel. It took 30 minutes of coaxing to get it out.

But once it was out and in class, everyone seemed to enjoy it. As I tried a piece myself, I could barely tell the difference between mine and Mom’s.

I know what you’re all really waiting for, though, and that’s the recipe, so here you go. But be warned, it is a labour-intensive process.

And in case that's not enough, here are some more recipes for unique variations on the custard.

Ingredients for batter:
8 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
1 package of cream cheese
1 can sweetened condensed milk,
using that can as a unit of measure for:
1 can sugar
1 can regular milk

For caramel:
5 tbsp sugar
1 small half of a lime

Mix together all the ingredients for the batter. I used a blender. Mom uses a food processor. You can use whatever mixing/beating method you prefer.
In a saucepan, melt the sugar on low heat. Sugar burns fast, though, so keep an eye on it. Once it is golden brown, squeeze the lime into the pan. This will keep the caramel from hardening in the end.
Before the caramel cools, coat the bottom and sides of your baking pan (my mom and I use a metal mixing bowl) with it. Then pour in the batter and cover the pan with aluminum foil.
Set the baking pan inside a broiling pan filled halfway with water and put them in the oven. My mom and I used cheap aluminum foil broiling pans you can get at the grocery store for less than $2.
Let bake at 350 degrees for two hours, when you test whether it is done by inserting a knife into the middle of it. My mom said it could take as long as three hours to finish.
Once it’s done, let cool for about 30 minutes. Then put it in the fridge for a few more hours (I did this overnight) still in the same baking pan.
Use a sharp knife to separate the top edges of the flan from the baking pan.
Flip it onto a serving plate, but because of the caramel, it can take as long as 30 minutes to fall from the baking pan onto the serving plate. I let the baking pan sit in hot water for about 5 minutes at this point. That did the trick. Let the caramel soak the top of the flan.
My mom usually coats the dessert with coconut and cherries. I opted not to. You can do as you please.
Enjoy!