What with jetlag and my general lack of interest in dessert making, I left out the sweetened condensed milk, which seemed like a crucial element of the original recipe. I am very glad I did as I think it would have made the flan much too sweet and its absence didn't alter the texture of the flan in any way. The dessert, as they say in old novels, went down a treat.
This dessert serves 6 people rather than my usual recipe template for 4.
1 cup sugar
1 cup whole milk
1 cup cream
3 whole eggs + 3 yolks
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Over low heat, caramelize the sugar in a large pan. It will take about 8 minutes for it to turn a rich, dark brown. Do not stir the mixture as this will make for a grainy caramel, but do tip the pan and swirl the melting sugar from time to time so that it does not burn. Keep an eagle eye on this as it takes seconds for it to go from delectable caramel to burnt mess. Once your caramel is the desired color stir in the cinnamon and pour the caramel into an oven safe dish, swirling to ensure that it coats the bottom of the dish completely before setting.
Preheat oven to 350.
Off the heat, pour the milk, cream and vanilla into the pan that contained the caramel and stir well so as to incorporate any remaining caramel into the milk mixture. This will add a tiny bit of sweetness to the flan. Because the caramel is so sweet, it does not need more sugar than this.
Separate the eggs and add the whole eggs and the cornstarch to the bowl containing the yolks. Whisk together well until smooth and well combined. Measure sotme of the milk mixture ino the bowl and whisk to combine. Pour the mixture into the pan containing the milk mixture and whisk to combine. Pour gently over the caramel in the oven safe dish.
Place the dish in a roasting pan and pour boiling water half way up the sides of the dish. Place in the oven and bake for about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven when the flan is still a bit jiggly at the center since it will continue to cook a bit once it comes out of the oven. Cool the flan before refrigerating for at least 4 hours before serving.
You can run a knife around the edge of the flan and invert it onto a dish before serving which will be pretty and show the caramel off in all its glory, or you can spoon servings from the dish as I did.
Original recipe, here.
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