Blood Orange Flan Food

BLOOD ORANGE FLAN

Steps:

• Make the caramel layer: Have ready 6 four-ounce ramekins. Put sugar and 1/2 cup water in a wide saucepan over medium-high heat. Let mixture simmer without stirring until water has evaporated and sugar begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Shake pan and continue cooking until sugar is quite brown and beginning to burn. Off heat, carefully add 2 tablespoons blood orange juice. Stir with long-handled spoon to incorporate, then pour or spoon some of the caramel into bottom of each ramekin, dividing evenly. Caramel should set. (This can be done several hours ahead.)
• Make the custard: Warm the half-and-half over medium heat in a saucepan until hot but not boiling. Add lemon peel, orange peel, coriander seeds, cardamom pods and fennel seeds. Add sugar and vanilla extract and stir to dissolve. Turn off heat and let mixture steep for at least 15 minutes. Whisk in blood orange juice.
• Beat eggs in a mixing bowl. Temper the eggs by slowly whisking 1 cup of warm half-and-half mixture into the mixing bowl. Pour contents of mixing bowl back into the saucepan and combine with remaining half-and-half. Strain into a wide-mouth pitcher with spout.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Pour strained custard mixture into prepared ramekins, filling each to the top. Place ramekins in a roasting pan in a single layer and add hot water to the pan to reach halfway up sides of ramekins. Cover pan with foil and bake until custards have set, 30 to 45 minutes. To test custards, insert a paring knife. It should come out clean, and custard should not be wiggly. Remove from pan and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate ramekins, covered with plastic wrap, for at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Make the blood orange caramel sauce (if desired): Simmer sugar and 1/2 cup water in a wide saucepan over medium heat. When water has evaporated and sugar begins to brown, swirl pan until caramel is very dark, almost burned. Off heat, carefully add 1/2 cup blood orange juice and stir well to dissolve caramel. Pour sauce into a serving pitcher. Cover and leave at room temperature until you are ready to serve (or chill if you are leaving it overnight).
• Remove ramekins from refrigerator 15 minutes before serving. To serve, run a small knife around the inside edge of each ramekin to loosen custard. Invert ramekin over a shallow soup bowl or dessert plate. Carefully remove ramekin to reveal a custard topped with a caramel layer. Serve with blood orange caramel sauce, if desired.

FLAN DE NARANJA (ORANGE FLAN)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Fill a baking dish half way with hot water for the water bath.
• Heat sugar and water in a heavy-based saucepan over medium-low heat; constantly swirl the sugar mixture in the pan until sugar dissolves and turns into a golden-brown caramel syrup, about 10 minutes. Watch carefully, as sugar burns easily. Pour melted caramel into a shallow baking dish and gently tilt dish to coat the bottom with caramel.
• Mix egg yolks, condensed milk, evaporated milk, orange juice, and orange zest in a large oven-safe bowl; gently pour custard over caramel in baking dish. Cover the flan with foil to prevent a skin forming on top, if you like.
• Set bowl into the water bath and bake in the preheated oven until until flan has set but still jiggles slightly when moved, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Allow flan to cool to room temperature, then remove foil, and place flan in the fridge to chill, about 2 hours.
• Run a knife around the edges of the flan to loosen from dish; turn flan onto a rimmed serving plate to release custard and let caramel sauce flow over the flan.

FLAN MEXICANO (MEXICAN FLAN)

Steps:

• Place sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar melts and turns a golden amber color, about 10 minutes. Watch carefully once syrup begins to change color, because it burns easily. Carefully pour the melted sugar syrup into a flan mold. Let cool.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Pour whole milk, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, egg yolks, orange juice, orange peel, vanilla extract, and cornstarch into a blender, and blend for a minute or so, until the mixture is smooth. Pour in the cream, and pulse several times to incorporate the cream. Pour the mixture over the cooled caramel syrup in the flan mold.
• Line a roasting pan with a damp kitchen towel. Place the flan mold on the towel, inside roasting pan, and place roasting pan on oven rack. Fill roasting pan with boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the center of the flan is set but still slightly jiggly when moved, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let the flan cool, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours. To serve, run a sharp paring knife around the inside of the mold to release the flan. Invert a plate on the mold, flip the mold over, and gently remove the mold to unmold the flan and reveal the syrupy caramel topping.

ORANGE FLAN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a bowl whisk the eggs, egg yolks and sugar together, then add zest, orange juice, heavy cream, and salt, and whisk to combine. Strain the mixture and fill caramelized lined ramekins. Put ramekins in hot water bath and bake in the preheated oven for 18 minutes or until firm.
• Allow to cool to room temperature then refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours.
• Caramel:
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• Put the sugar and water in a saucepan, and bring to a simmer without stirring. Cover the saucepan with a lid for 2 minutes, them remove and simmer until mixture is an amber color. Pour caramel into ramekins to cover the bottom, and swirl to coat 1/3 up the sides of ramekins.
• Yield: enough to coat 4 to 6 ramekins

FLAN DE NARANJA/ORANGE FLAN

Steps:

• Preheat oven 350 degrees.
• Make Caramel, melt 1/2 cup sugar, water, lemon juice, cayenne over low heat 8-10 minutes without stirring. Gently tilt pan off heat to distribute color evenly as sugar caramelizes. When Sugar reaches a uniform color golden brown/light amber immediately remove from heat.
• Pour caramel into 4 individual custard cups, tip the molds side to side until there is an even coating of caramel over the bottom and half up sides.
• Grind almonds in food processor.
• Add remaining sugar, zest, eggs. Process until smooth.
• Add cream and OJ, process to mix.
• Let the froth subside before pouring into cups.
• Bake in water bath, covered until flan is set. Test by inserting blade of knife into the center of the custard. If it comes out clean -- done.
• Set aside to cool before unmolding.