STEAM LECHE FLAN

One of my favorite desserts. Whenever I feel alone, stress or depressed, I find myself crave to eat sweets. I love to eat sweet foods such as chocolates, ice cream, etc. They say I have a sweet tooth. And leche flan is one of my best sweets that I really love to eat. It makes me feel happy and satisfied, and kind of it gives me energy and alertness after eating. If my friends have plans to have a get together party held only at one of my friend’s house, I see to it that I can share this to my friends...

 And now, I like to share it here. Hope that if someone will try to cook it, they will also love it!

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Estimated cooking time: 1 hour

·    1 can (390g) evaporated milk

·    1 can (390g) condensed milk

·    10 egg yolks

·    1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or lemon essence

For the caramel:

·    1 cup sugar

·    3/4 cup water

·    In a saucepan, mix the sugar & water. Bring to a boil for a few minutes until the sugar caramelize.

·    Pour the caramelized sugar into aluminum moulds - you can use any shape: oval, round or square. Spread the caramel on the bottom of the moulds.

·    Mix well the evaporated milk, condensed milk, egg yolks and vanilla by hand or blender.

·    Gently pour the mixture on top of the caramel on the aluminum moulds. Fill the moulds to about 1 to  1 1/4 inch thick.

·    Cover moulds individually with aluminum foil.

·    Steam for about 20 minutes (the traditional way to make Leche Flan is by open-air steaming on either an open cooking fire or stove top) OR

·    Bake for about 45 minutes. Before baking the Leche Flan, place the moulds on a larger baking pan half filled with very hot water. Pre-heat oven to about 370 degrees before baking.

·    Let cool then refrigerate.

·    To serve: run a thin knife around the edges of the mould to loosen the Leche Flan. Place a platter on top of the mould and quickly turn upside down to position the golden brown caramel on top.

·    You can tell when the Leche Flan is cooked by inserting a knife -if it comes out clean, it is cooked.