Recipes from Mexico :: Mexican Desserts
Caramel
Softened butter
1 Tbsp. water
1/2 c. sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Lightly butter 6 (4 ounce) ramekins or custard c.. Stir together water, lemon juice and sugar in a heavy pot over med.-high heat. Using a pastry brush dipped in water, brush sides of the pot just above the sugar every 30 seconds to prevent crystals from forming. Cook the sugar until a rich dark color is achieved.
Immediately set the pot into a bowl of ice. Spoon cooled custard into prepared c.. If the caramel becomes too thick or sets up completely, warm it over very low heat until it is pliable again. Pour 2 tsp. of caramel into each mold and turn the molds to in an even way coat the bottom.
Custard
2 c. milk
Peels from 2 ripe bananas
1 small pin. of salt
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
5 Tbsp. sugar
5 oz. milk chocolate, chopped, or 3 oz.
semisweet chocolate, chopped, and 1 Tbsp. cocoa
Preheat oven to 300 degrees fahrenheit.
Combine milk, banana peels and salt in a med. saucepan. Bring milk to a strong simmer and turn off heat. Let milk cool for at least 1/2 an hour.
Combine eggs and egg yolks in a bowl and whisk in the sugar until the mixture is blended but not foamy. Melt chocolate in a bowl over simmering water until it is just smooth. Do not overheat it. Strain milk through a fine sieve into the chocolate, pressing the banana peels with the back of a large wooden spoon to extract all of the milk. Discard peels. Whisk milk into the egg mixture to blend well. Pour custard into prepared c. and place in a water bath. Place flans into preheated oven and bake for 20 to 1/2 an hour or until firm. Carefully remove flans from the water bath and chill for 4 hours or overnight before serving.
When ready to serve, loosen flans from the edges of the c. with a sharp knife pressed firmly against the edges of the c.. Unmold individual flans directly onto their serving plates. If making one large flan, put the serving plate on top of the mold and invert them in tandem. Lift mold off carefully. Drizzle reserved caramel around, if desired, and serve at once.
