6 servings

Ingredients:

1 and 3/4 cup whipping cream

1 cup milk

pinch of salt

1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

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1 cup sugar

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3 large eggs

2 large yolks

7 Tablespoons sugar

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hot water for steaming the flan

Method:

1. Combine the cream, milk, and salt.

2. Scrape the seeds out of the vanilla bean into the cream mixture. Add the bean. Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a simmer. Turn the flame off, cover the pan, and allow it to infuse for 1/2 hour.

3. Now preheat the oven to 350°F - 180° C.

4. Get your ramekins or mold ready: place them (or it) on a baking pan.

5. Put the cup of sugar into a medium pan. Allow it to  dissolve and caramelize over a medium flame. Keep a sharp eye on it - it takes only a few minutes for the sugar to brown. Once it goes black, it's bitter and inedible. Break up any chunks with a spoon. As soon as the sugar smells only a little burnt and has a deep orange color, pour the syrup into the mold. Be very careful - burnt sugar causes painful burns on the skin. Best is to wear gloves. Now tilt the mold so the syrup coats as much of its inside as possible. Let it cool till the 1/2 hour of cream infusing with vanilla is up.

6. You'll need to fill up the baking pan with water to half-way up the mold, so heat the water up in a kettle now.

7. Whisk the eggs, yolks, and 7 Tablespoons of sugar together in a medium bowl.

8. Whisk the infused cream into the yolks, gently. Try not to make foam, which will create air holes in the texture of the finished flan (can't avoid them entirely, but small ones don't matter).

9. Pour the custard into the mold, through a sieve. Sieving removes the pieces of vanilla bean and the skin which formed on the surface of the cream .

10. Pour enough hot water into the baking pan to come half-way up the mold.

11. Bake till the center is gently set: 40-50 minutes.

When it's done, remove the whole thing from the oven, baking pan and all. Set it to cool on a rack for an hour or two, then cover and store in the fridge. Serve the flan cold.

To serve, run a knife around the inner edges. Turn the flan over onto a plate. Shake it gently to loosen it. Lift the mold carefully and watch, entranced, as the caramel syrup runs over the baked cream custard.

Coconut Flan: use 1 can coconut cream instead of the milk. Use only 1 and 1/2 cups whipping cream.

Mango Flan: Add 1 cup sieved, puréed mango pulp and 1 Tablespoon rum to the recipe.