My grandma loves flan, so, of course, the companies stopped making the kind she likes. That’s when I decided I should learn how to make fresh flan. Honestly, I was not prepared for the amount of trial and error involved in this recipe.
The First Attempt
I began my baking adventure with a recipe for Spanish Flan linked here. I tried everything according to the recipe. The flavor and syrup turned out great, but the texture was similar to cold scrambled eggs.
The Second Try
I did some research and found the best way to get the smooth texture is to give the flan a water bath. Now, I ran into another problem.
I don’t have a steamer at my house. I used the same glass pan I had and placed it in a larger plan filled with water and the texture and taste turned out perfect, but the syrup stuck to the bottom of the pan.
Instead of melting the sugar by itself like on the first try, I mixed it with water to try out a different process. The steam from the water bath crystallized the sugar on the bottom of the pan, so I ended up with plain flan, but it was still delicious.
The Final Triumph
The journey wasn’t over. I used the same recipe and pan again, except this time I melted the sugar dry. I gave the flan a water bath as it baked and set it in the fridge overnight. While I was waiting for the dessert to cool, I researched how to flip a flan.
The trick is to set it out a room temperature for a while and then place the flan pan in a shallow dish of hot water to loosen the caramel syrup. Flan likes to go sliding everywhere, so make you have a large enough plate when you flip it. See the final result below.
This dessert is a lot of work for someone who doesn’t like the taste, but through the process, I learned some tips and tricks to help me in the kitchen. It’s helpful to remember that much of what we take for granted is a result of mishaps. As a home baker, I find that I learn much more from failing at a recipe than succeeding on the first try. Learn to bake beyond the recipe and bring inspiration to your kitchen game.
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