Feeling Lucky?

Baked custard.

Always have loved to order it out. But I have never made it myself. So tonight I looked up a recipe for baked custard, and then decided that I wanted to attempt a Caramel Flan. I checked the recip, it seemed simple enough. Mix together eggs, sugar, milk, and vanilla, and pour into a ramekin that has already had a layer of caramel put in it. The first step was to make the caramel. The instructions said to put sugar in a pan by itself and melt-without stirring, but swirling the pan occasionally. No problem. Well, my first attempt I think I had the pan on too high, because I thought the caramel smelled a little dark, and I did not want that burnt sugar taste. SO I started over, and was successful the second time.

The review? Yum. It really was easy and quite good. Andy- not so much. He doesn't think he cared for the caramel part- so plain baked custard for him next time. But he liked the custard itself, so we will make it again. I think it would make a fabulous company dessert. Very impressive, but very little effort involved. You could pop the custards into the oven just as you serve dinner, and by the time you are ready for dessert, the custards would be cooked and slightly cooled enough for eating. Here is the recipe for you, try it! You will be surprised.

Baked Custards

3 beaten eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
ground nutmeg or cinnamon (optional)

Preheat oven to 325. Combine eggs, milk, sugar, and vailla. Beat till well combined but not foamy. Place four 6 oz ramekins in an 8x8x2 inch baking dush on an oven rack. Pour egg mixture into the ramekins. Sprinkle with nutmeg or cinnamon, if desired. POur boiling water into the baking dish around custard cups to a depth of 1 inch.

Bake in a 325 oven for 30 to 45 minutes or till a knife inserted near the centers comes out clean. Serve warm or chilled.

Caramel Flan: Prepare as above, except in a heavy saucepan cook 1/3 cup sugar over medium high heat (do not stir) till sugar begins to melt; shake saucepan occasionally. Reduce heat to low and cook until sugar is golden brown; stir frequently. Divide sugar mixture among custard cups. Tilt to coat bottoms. Let stand for 10 minutes. Add egg mixture. Bake individual cusatrds as above. Remove from custard cups to serve.