Monday, August 30, 2010

Flantastic

Flan is one of the best desserts ever created. it;s smooth and creamy, loaded with a variety of good ingredients. It's a cool, sophisticated way to end a meal. Another plus is that it's easy to make.

Flan has been around since Roman times when the ancients had an over abundance of eggs. The recipe is a variation of a Greek pudding recipe.Early flans could be sweet and savory. There were recipes for an eel (Ick) flan as well for a honey one.The name comes from flaon meaning flat cake in Old french and Latin. The dessert took off on the Iberian peninsula where the Arab influence brought in the flavors of almond and citrus. With the Spanish taking over the New World , Spanish colonies embraced the dish. The English also loved the dessert enrobing it in a flaky pastry (Hence the custard tart).

Flan is an easy dessert to make. It involves four whole egg,s plus whole and condensed milk. it is also sweet , using usually 3/4 cups of sugar and a dash of sugar. You can also ground almonds and orange juice (cut back on the sugar if you're doing this).A variation is adding coffee for a flan con cafe. Flan does require molds and a hot bath to bake. This just needs your roasting pan half filled with water. You can add a caramelized sugar sauce to finish it off.

Flan is an easy and elegant dessert to make. It's a great way to end any meal and add a final flair of sophistication. It's cool and classic, perfect with just coffee or tea.

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