Creamy and Silky Homemade Mexican Chocolate Flan

You don’t have to wait for Cinco De Mayo for an excuse to make this creamy dessert. Flan is one of my favorite desserts, because I’m such a fan of caramel. Don’t be intimidated by thinking this is hard to make. Just follow the directions, and you will have a dessert that has the flavors of chocolate and cinnamon, in a golden pool of delicious caramel.

 

Caramel is a sweet treat that makes me swoon. Seriously! All I have to see is a photo of caramel drizzled over pie, cake or ice cream and I find myself fantasizing about that buttery, creamy confection.  I’ll take caramel over chocolate any day. Guaranteed.

When you pair a creamy bite of custardy “flan” with a caramel sauce– I’m smitten. No matter how full I think I am, I can always find room for flan.  It’s a surprisingly light dessert, and I think it’s make a beautiful presentation.  It’s really not difficult to make. 

“Cinco de Mayo” is less than a month away, and this would be a great dessert for a Mexican theme.   I buy the Ibarra brand of Mexican chocolate, which is laced with cinnamon and coarse sugar. It’s really easy to find, at most grocery stores.  I thought that I’d add this chocolate to a traditional vanilla-based flan recipe– and a little added Kahlua would make this flan taste a little extra special.

I feared making caramel for a very long time. I was afraid of burning the sugar.  I finally overcame that fear when  I made a Grand Marnier Caramel Sauce for a Panna Cota  (similar to a flan, but no eggs). To make a caramel flan sauce, you need a pan, sugar and water.  The key to success is to pay attention, don’t stir the sugar and water (rather, swirl it) and watch for that amber color to happen.  I show another tutorial for a Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream recipe (one of my all time faves) here.

Once the sugar water has caramelized, pour it into ramekins (or oven-proof dishes).

Mexican chocolate looks like an interesting layer of chocolate and sugar. (Melt some in hot milk with vanilla, and you have a delicious hot beverage.)

Chopped Mexican chocolate is added to milk, and a couple sticks of cinnamon. It’s heated until everything is melted. Everything is steeped for about 20 minutes.

In a separate bowl, five eggs are whisked and then Kahlua, a little almond extract and vanilla is added.

A little bit of the hot milk mixture is whisked into the eggs (so we don’t get scrambled eggs) to “temper” it.  Then, the last of the hot milk is combined and then poured through a sieve into a spouted bowl/pitcher.

I’ve lined a roasting pan with a clean dish towel, so that the ramekins won’t slide around.  The custard filling is evenly poured into each caramel filled ramekin. We need to bake the dishes in a Bain Marie– which is a fancy way of saying to pour boiling water into the dish.  So that I don’t accidentally splash water into the custard, I leave one ramekin out while filling the pan with boiling water– then I place it back once the water is filled.  The water should come up halfway to the ramekins.

(A knife inserted halfway between the edge and the center should come out clean), 35 to 40 minutes)
Let cool in the water bath, then refrigerate to chill thoroughly.  You can make these up to 3 days in advance, before serving– but I’ve never tried that. (These babies are gone as soon as they are chilled.)

To serve these, I fill a bowl with warm water (not piping hot) and set the ramekin in it for a minute or two. Then I loosen the edges with a sharp knife and set a serving plate on top. Invert…and…

 

These delicious Chicken Mole Sandwiches on homemade Bolillo Rolls.

This homemade Salsa Verde (Tomatillo Sauce) is really easy to make– and is perfect for this sandwich, or as a dip with tortilla chips.

I love Mexican food, and I should! My father was Latino and I grew up with it.  Cinco de Mayo is a good excuse for me to make these recipes, but I love it year-round.

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Mexican Chocolate Flan

You don't have to wait for Cinco De Mayo for an excuse to make this creamy dessert. Flan is one of my favorite desserts, because I'm such a fan of caramel. Don't be intimidated by thinking this is hard to make. Just follow the directions, and you will have a dessert that has the flavors of chocolate and cinnamon, in a golden pool of delicious caramel.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr

Chilling Time4 hours hrs

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, Mexican

Keyword: Chocolate Flan, Mexican Chocolate Flan

Servings: 8 ramekins

Author: Debby – www.AFeastfortheEyes.net

Equipment

• Ramekins

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 6 ounces Mexican chocolate such as Ibarra, coarsely chopped
• 1 1/3 cups half-and-half
• 1 1/3 cups whole milk
• 1 1 1/2-inch cinnamon stick, preferably canela* (I used a regular cinnamon stick)
• 5 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon coffee liqueur such as Kahlúa
• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract

Instructions

• In a small heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine 3/4 cup sugar with 1/3 cup water and stir to combine.
• Bring to a boil over moderate heat, using a pastry brush dipped in cold water to wash down any sugar crystals clinging to the side of the pot, then lower the heat and simmer, without stirring, until the syrup begins to color.
• Swirl the pan continually until the syrup is an even, deep amber color.

  Immediately divide the caramel among the ramekins, swirling so it coats the bottom of each.
• Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325°F.
• In the bowl of a food processor, process the chocolate until it resembles small pebbles.
• Transfer to a medium saucepan and add the half-and-half, milk, cinnamon stick, and the remaining 1/2 cup sugar.
• Place over moderate heat and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, then remove from the heat, cover, and let steep for 20 minutes.
• In a large bowl, combine the eggs, coffee liqueur, and the vanilla and almond extracts and whisk to combine.
• Slowly pour about 1 1/2 cups of the hot milk/half-and-half mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly.
• Add in the rest of the hot milk and whisk to combine. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve set over a large bowl and divide evenly among the 8 ramekins. Discard solids.
• Transfer ramekins to a large roasting pan and add enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

  Loosely cover the pan with foil and bake until the custard has barely set (a knife inserted halfway between the edge and the center should come out clean), 35 to 40 minutes.
• Let cool in the water bath, then refrigerate to chill thoroughly.
• DO AHEAD: The flans can be made ahead and stored, wrapped in plastic in the refrigerator, up to 3 days.
• Just before serving, run a small thin knife around each flan, then invert onto small plates and serve.

Notes

Ingredient info: Canela, also called true, Mexican, Ceylon, or Sri Lanka cinnamon, is a less pungent variety than the cassia cinnamon commonly used in the United States. It’s available in specialty shops, some supermarkets, and online from Penzeys Spices.

 

Recipe source: Fine Cooking Magazine

Tried this recipe?Mention @afeastfortheeyes or tag #afeastfortheeyesblog!

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