Recipe: Double Caramel Flan (and Caramel Powder)

DOUBLE CARAMEL FLAN

1/3 cup sugar
2 cups milk
2/3 cup caramel powder (recipe follows)
6 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a 10- to 12-inch nonstick frying pan, frequently shake sugar over medium heat until all is melted and the color is deep amber, 3 to 5 minutes. Immediately pour into an 8- to 9-inch diameter straight-sided baking dish or pan (at least 1-qt. size). Quickly rotate dish to coat bottom.

In a 1- to 1 1/2-quart pan over medium-high heat, stir milk and caramel powder until all the caramel melts (it hardens first), about 7 minutes.

In a bowl, whisk some hot liquid with eggs and vanilla; stir back into pan. Remove from heat.

Pour mixture into prepared baking dish. Set dish in a larger rimmed pan, pour 1 inch boiling water into outer pan.

Bake in a 350 degrees F oven until center of flan jiggles only slightly when gently shaken, 35 to 45 minutes.

Remove dish with flan from water. Let cool, then cover and chill for at least 3 hours or up to 2 days.

TO SERVE:
Run a thin knife between flan and dish. Invert platter over flan; holding together, invert. Lift off pan. Cut into wedges.

Makes 8 servings

---

CARAMEL POWDER
Makes about 1 3/4 cups

Line a 10- by 15-inch baking pan with a single sheet of foil, folding up at edges.

Pour 2 cups sugar into a 10- to 12-inch nonstick frying pan, place over medium-high heat. Shake pan often until most of the sugar liquefies, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; tilt pan to mix hot caramel with sugar until all is melted and the color is deep amber, 3 to 5 minutes.

Immediately pour hot caramel into foil-lined pan. Using hot pads to protect hands (mixture is very hot), tilt pan to spread caramel in thin layer. Set aside until hard and completely cool, about 30 minutes.

When cool, lift foil from pan; peel foil from caramel. Break caramel into chunks. To make powder, whirl chunks in a blender or food processor fitted with metal blade (container must be completely dry). If you use a blender, you may need to make powder in several batches.

Use, or store airtight at room temperature for up to 1 month.

Note from soure: For years one of my favorite things has been the sheets of "caramel" that resulted when I baked a ham and the glazing ran down onto the foil lined baking pan, then set up. Never occured to me to use it in a recipe, but it did to someone at Sunset Magazine. The illustration in the magazine shows the flan garnished with crunched up chunks of the unpowdered caramel.

Source: Stephen Ceideberg
From: Sunset Magazine, March 1991