Caramel Custard /Caramel Pudding/ Flan - many names; one feeling. This is a favourite for many with that sweet tooth. What makes it more lovable is that it not only is heavenly, melt-in-the-mouth and classy but one of the easiest yet to make. Let's get started. You will find the traditional flan and a also a desi variant here. Inspired by some cake I happened to see somewhere, I have tried a gulab jamoon caramel custard which turned out to be yummilicious .
That's for your cheat day 😍 Enjoy guilt-free. You have been enough strict with your diet and you deserve it. You may try replacing sugar with brown sugar to try making it healthy. Otherwise, it's a steamed dish and absolutely healthy.
Note: It contains eggs. If you are looking for an eggless one, do leave your choice in the comment and I will try to get back to you.
A word of caution:
If you are new to cooking and if you are too young to be experimenting in the kitchen, you need to be extra cautious when you work on the caramel. Please do it under the guidance of an elder/experienced person.
Good luck !
Put on that apron and get started.
Ingredients:
For the caramel:
sugar : 4-5 tablespoons
water : 3 tablespoons
For the pudding:
milk : 1 cup
sugar : 3/4 cup
eggs : 4
vanilla essence : 1 tsp
Recipe:
Caramalise 4-5 tablespoons of sugar with 3 tablespoons of water.
Place a thick bottomed pan on the stove,
spoon in the sugar
add water and let it work.
You may use a wooden spoon/spatula to mix initially. Once the sugar starts melting, leave aside the spoon and mix it by just tapping/swirling the pan.
Be very careful when you work on caramalising the sugar. Avoid going too close to the pan, the heat may affect your skin and eyes if you come into close contact.
In the meanwhile, keep ready your pudding mould , or any container you wish to shape your pudding into . If you don’t have one, you may use any steel container. Any dish, that can stand the heat of the caramel and can fit in your steamer may be used for this.
Once done remove the caramel off the flame and immediately transfer the caramel into the dish and coat the base and sides by swirling. (I have coated a smaller mould as well for the gulab jamoon pudding)
Do not use a spoon to do this. Also, if not done immediately, the sugar gets hardened in the pan, and you won’t be able to coat the base of your dish.
While the caramel sets in the mould, bring 1 cup milk to a full boil.
Get your steamer ready with water . Let the water get heated.
In a mixing bowl take ¾ cup sugar
Break in 4 eggs
and mix it up, add in the hot milk and blend it well, using an electric mixer or blender/whisk.
Using an electric blender gives a smooth thick froth. Sieve it twice to get rid of any lumps.
Sieving will give you a fine, smooth mix. Add in vanilla essence/vanilla . This is to kill the unpleasant odour of the egg. You may even add cardamom powder instead of vanilla.
By now, the caramel base would have set. Pour in the egg mix into the mould. (I have kept aside a little for the second pudding. * refer the end of this page for instructions and pictorial)
Cover with aluminium foil/lid and place it in the steamer.
Steam it for 30 minutes and the flan is done.
Use a toothpick and check .
If it is done, the toothpick comes out clean.
If it isn’t, you will find the mix, stuck to the toothpick. In that case, let it cook for some more time. Once done, carefully take it off the stove . 30 minutes is perfect time for a flan of this quantity to be cooked to perfection.
Place it in the fridge overnight .
When it is time to serve, using a knife, loosen the edges of the flan.
Take a serving dish(bigger in dimension than the pudding dish), place it on the pudding dish and inverse the dish on the plate (Tap gently if required). You will have your pudding on your serving dish now caramel side up.
You may enjoy it as such or garnish with something interesting.
A flan is best enjoyed without any topping. But if you find it uninteresting, try garnishing with sliced almonds, chopped roasted nuts or toasted coconut as I tried it this time.
For toasted coconut, heat a pan,add in 2-3 tablespoons of grated coconut with a spoon of sugar and roast them .
keep stirring with a spatula/spoon till it turns golden brown.
When it comes down to room temperature garnish your pudding and enjoy.
The crunch in the coconut makes it interesting with the melt in the mouth pudding.
For the gulab jamoon pudding, spoon in the froth of the egg mix in the mould over the set caramel.
Place a few gulab jamoons around in a circle and one in the middle of the froth( I have used tiny jamoons here as my mould is small.)
Pour in the rest of the mix very slowly so as not to disturb the placement of the tiny jamoons.
Cover with foil , steam and refrigerate as before.
When it is time to serve,follow the same instructions to demould.
Garnish with tiny jamoons. ( Just make a few tiny gulab jamoons like you roll the regular ones, and you will have them ready to garnish)
Cut into as big a chunk as you wish and relish the heavenly dessert.
Happy cooking 🍮
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