Fabulous Flan (With Variations) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 cup sugar (or up to 1 1/2 cups if you like a lot of caramel sauce)
6 eggs
1 (14 ounce) can condensed milk
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
1 cinnamon stick (optional)
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375\u00b0F.
Place cinnamon stick and milk in a small saucepan over very low heat. This step is optional but gives a nice flavor.
Meanwhile, caramelize sugar: in a small heavy skillet (preferably non-stick) without stirring, heat the sugar over medium heat until it begins to melt. Cook and stir for 4 or 5 minutes or until the sugar turns a rich brown. Be careful not to burn. Remove skillet from heat and immediately pour caramelized sugar into a round 2 quart casserole or other appropriate dish. Holding dish with pot holders, quickly rotate dish so that the sugar coats the bottom and sides evenly. Set aside to cool.
Beat the eggs in a mixer or with a hand blender. Add condensed milk, evaporated milk, heated cinnamon milk and vanilla. Mix well. Pour into prepared casserole. Take a baking pan large enough to hold the casserole and add about 2 inches of very hot tap water or enough to come about 2/3 up the sides of the prepared pan. Place casserole in water, being careful not to let water into the flan mixture. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out just barely clean i1/2 there should still be some bit of custard on it. Carefully remove casserole from water bath. Cool completely. Cover and refrigerate.
To unmold, loosen edges with a knife. Set the casserole dish in a bowl of hot water )being careful not to splash water into the flan) for about 2 minutes in order to loosen up the caramel. Invert into a serving platter with deep enough sides to contain the caramel.
Notes: For less fat, substitute low fat or fat free condensed milk and/or evaporated milk. This recipe works well in that you can reduce the eggs to 4 and still have a great custard. It needs some fat, so doni1/2t go all fat free and only 4 eggs. The key is a good balance. If you like a richer custard you can use up to 10 eggs.
If you prefer a firmer flan you can bake it without the water bath for about 35 to 40 minutes at 350\u00b0F It will cook quicker but won't be quite as creamy.
Coconut Flan: Prepare as above adding one can of cream of coconut. Use a 3 quart casserole.
Pumpkin Flan: Empty one 16 oz can pureed pumpkin into a saucepan. Add 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg and 1/4 tsp cloves (if desired). Cook, stirring frequently until the mixture is hot and slightly glossy, about 5 minutes. Add the pumpkin mixture to the egg custard as above and bake in a 3 quart casserole.
Chocolate Flan: Add 4 to 6 ounces of good melted chocolate to the custard mixture. The amount of chocolate depends on how chocolaty you want it.