Baked vanilla flans

Flan de huevo a la vainilla

There isn’t a midday menu across the entire country where you won’t find some sort of ‘flan’ on offer, usually baked and made with eggs, as in this recipe. See Passionfruit flans and Coffee & cognac flans with pistachio praline you’ll also find two unbaked flan recipes I’ve created that are made without eggs and which are lighter in texture.

SERVES 6

200 g (7 oz) sugar

500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) full-cream (whole) milk

6 cm (2½ in)ch piece lemon peel

1 vanilla bean, split, or ½ teaspoon natural vanilla extract

4 free-range eggs

8 strawberries, for garnishing

To make the caramel, put half of the sugar into a small heavy-based saucepan with a small dash of water over low heat. Allow the sugar to melt without moving the pan or stirring. When you see the edges starting to colour, pick the saucepan up and carefully swish it in circles to mix the unmelted sugar with the melted sugar, then put it back onto the heat. Repeat this action a few more times as the sugar melts, until it has completely dissolved and the colour is dark golden-brown. Immediately pour a little of the caramel into the base of each of six small metal ramekins (about 125 ml/4 fl oz/½ cup). Set aside. (DO NOT touch the caramel as it will cause a bad burn.)

To make the flan, heat the milk, lemon peel and split vanilla bean to just under boiling point. Turn off the heat and set aside to infuse and cool for 10 minutes.

Beat the eggs and remaining sugar for 2–3 minutes with an electric beater. Remove the vanilla bean (reserve to garnish) and lemon peel from the milk then add the cooled milk gradually to the eggs and beat until frothy.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas Mark 4). Have the six caramel-lined ramekins on the work surface ready to fill.

Spoon the mixture evenly among the ramekins, making sure to fill each one almost to the top. Put a deep baking tray into the oven on the bottom shelf, carefully put the filled ramekins into the tray and pour in enough warm water to reach halfway up the ramekins, to make a bain-marie. Very carefully push the shelf into the oven and close the door. Cook for 1 hour. The flans are ready when you can pierce the centre with a skewer and it comes out clean. Cool in the fridge for a minimum of 6 hours before serving, preferably overnight.

Stand the base of each ramekin in hot water for a few minutes before serving. Run a knife around the inside edge of each flan and invert onto a serving plate. Garnish with sliced strawberries or your fruit of choice, and reserved vanilla bean, if desired.