Leche Flan Recipe

Preheat oven to 180C/ 160C fan forced In a heavy thick-bottomed pan, melt the sugar over medium heat until it liquefies and turns an amber color. There is no need to stir the sugar but swirling the pan occasionally helps make a smoother and crystal-free syrup. Once the syrup acquires the color of amber, quickly remove it from the heat and pour into the ramekin (or ramekins) to cover the bottom. Caramelized sugar hardens as it cools and you need to work fast to transfer the syrup to the ramekins before it hardens in the pan. Start heating water in a steaming pot. In a mixing bowl, lightly stir the eggs yolks. Pour in the evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk. Add the salt and lemon zest. Stir until the mixture is evenly blended. Stir, do not beat nor mix too hard, to avoid forming air bubbles in the mixture. Pour the egg yolk-milk mixture into the ramekin (or ramekins). Cover the with aluminum foil. Arrange in a roasting tray. Pour water into the roasting tray until the water level reaches 1 to 1 ½ inches. Bake the leche flan for 50 minutes. The leche flan should be set and firm to the touch. Remove from the oven. Cool the leche flan then chill. Use a butter knife to loosen the sides of the flan then invert onto a serving plate or individual dessert plates.