Smooth and thick caramel flan cakes - Recipe

A perfect flan cake is smooth, soft, and without hollows or honeycomb inside the cake. Of course, honeycomb is a tough thing to do with, and there are many people, who love flan cakes are struggling with this problem. 

Many recipes said that there are 2 reasons to cause the honeycomb. First, when you whisk the eggs, you should whisk them gently. Otherwise, bubbles will appear, and they cause the honeycomb. Second, when you bake or steam the cakes, do not cook them with high heat because the cake will be boiled itself, and it causes honeycomb in it. In other words, a low heat is a good way to do with it. 

However, you are not doing what they said. All you need to do is mixing or whisking the eggs as hard as you can. If you whisk the eggs gently, you might waste your time and your eggs when you strain it. How about the heat? Don't worry! I have the way to do with it. Just continue to read! Hehehe

When you know the ways to do with honeycomb, what are you waiting for? Let give it a try.

Ingredients: for 3 9- inch ramekin molds

Flan

2 eggs*

35-gram sugar

250 ml milk

* If you want your flan soft not thick, just reduce a white egg. 

Caramel

40-gram sugar

1 tbs water

Direction:

Preheat the oven to 325 Fahrenheit degrees. 

Preparing the caramel:

I am sure, you will say that the caramel is not easy to make it. Yes, of course, it is. It might be tough, bitter, and dry before you pour it into the flan mold. Do not worry about it. Here is the best way to make the caramel. Thanks, Ms.Thy, the owner of hocnauancooking.com for sharing the way to make the caramel. I am sure that you are gonna love it.

Put the sugar into a small saucepan over medium-high heat, the sugar will melt by itself. Sometimes, shake the saucepan a little bit to help all sugar is melted. Do not use a spoon to stir it. When the sugar is melted, and the color of the caramel is golden brown not dark (your caramel will taste bitter when it is dark), but not light (your caramel will taste sweet, and you could not taste the taste of coffee in it). Pour water into the saucepan, and shake the saucepan. Turn off the heat, and place the pan on the stove. Shake it several times to help it dissolve.

As my friend asked me how to know when the caramel is ready to pour water into it. I tried several times, and here is my tip.

When the sugar is totally melted, it suddenly brings to a boil. It is time to pour water into the caramel. Be careful! It is really hot.

Quickly pour the caramel into the mold, I use the 18-inch circle pan to bake the flan. Set it aside to dry the caramel.

Meanwhile, you will prepare the flan. Mix the sugar and milk in a pot as well on medium-high heat. Stir it sometimes to prevent burning at the bottom of the pot.

Whisk the eggs as well while you are heating up the milk.

Don't worry about bubbles when you whisk the eggs. Believe me, you will not regret this. After whisking a while, the eggs will turn like this.

When the milk reached 170 Fahrenheit degrees, it is time to mix it with the eggs. Pour one tablespoon of milk at a time into the eggs, don't pour too much milk into the eggs at this time because the milk is hot, so the eggs might be cooked, and you will waste of your eggs.

Mix the eggs while you are pouring the milk into it.

Using a mesh strainer to drain the egg white (if any), and the bubble forms the mixture. You have to strain the mixture 3 times to make sure there are no bubbles in it. 

Look at the bubbles in the mesh drainer.

Then, drain it again. This is the second time.

Needless to say, there is a lot of egg white in the mesh. Even though, I tried to whisk it very hard.

Before you drain the third time, use a square pan or a bigger pan that your flan pan can be placed in. Place a cotton towel on the bottom of the big pan to prevent the water from boiling.

Place the flan pan on the towel. 

Gently pour the flan mixture into the pan, this is the third time. Use your mesh drainer to drain it again.

Now there are no bubbles and egg white in the flan mixture. It is time to bake it. Look at the mesh drainer, there is some egg white in.

Pour hot water into the big pan about 2-inch height.

Let's bake the cake.

After 30 minutes use the cake tester to check the cake. 

If the tester is clean after you check, it is time to take it out of the oven. Cool it down an hour, and place it in the fridge until it is cold.

 Then, take it out of the pan, serve it. Hehehe

Note: the pictures in my post are the pictures that I took when I made a double recipe, so I use the circle pan instead of ramekin molds.

Hana