Flan

This dessert, also called chocoflan, gets its name from a magical thing that occurs in the oven. You cover the mold with some cajeta, pour in the chocolate cake batter, pour a layer of flan on top, and cover it lightly. It goes into the oven in a bigger dish with some hot water, and when you check whether it’s done a little while later, you find that the flan is hidden somewhere and all you see is chocolate cake! You wait for it to cool, unmold it, and there is the flan! This is a sticky, rich, sweet dessert that is not for the faint of heart. Although you can make it in individual ramekins, there is something quite exciting about slicing a full-size one. It never ceases to amaze me.

During my research, I visited some friends in Chihuahua. We made a family recipe for flan that required raw milk, took ten hours to bake, and sat in the fridge for two days before unmolding! It was, I have to say, the best flan I’ve ever tasted, but for practicality, I chose a recipe that doesn’t require three days of preparation—not to mention living or traveling to a state where raw milk is legal. The types of flans that exist are endless, and choosing one basic one was no easy task. I could write a whole book on flans (hey, there’s an idea!), but, inspired by the gentle patience required by the one in Chihuahua, I chose to do an old-fashioned one. Old-fashioned in the sense that I didn’t want to use any canned milk, powders, or artificial flavorings. I also wanted to make a flan that was not too eggy because that is a common complaint with these kinds of flans, so I used half-and-half instead of milk to help thicken it.

Although this is not one of the most traditional recipes, I have seen it in different areas of the country, probably because it combines two of our favorite things: corn and flan. Most of the corn flans I have tasted are made with condensed milk, so I’ve tried to recreate that flavor and texture. Make this with white corn at the peak of the season to ensure that the flavor really comes through.

Although the original recipe calls for making your own chestnut purée, I like to use the chestnut purée from Spain or France to make this custard because it has a wonderful nutty flavor and silkiness. I met a nun in Puebla who told me they coated the mold with a bit of butter and sugar and topped the flan with apricot jam. I took this idea and made an apricot caramel to cover the bottom of the pan, and it turned out to be an unexpectedly pleasant combination that showcased flan in a whole new way.

Flan is the quintessential Latin dessert. I love how using two different milks (literally, dos leches) produces a creamy, velvety custard. This rendition is not only smooth and delicious, it is incredibly simple. The only “complicated” step is making the caramel. But you will see that it really isn’t difficult. Just do it once and I promise you will be a pro!

Many countries have a version of caramelized custard turned out of its mold for serving—from Mexico’s flan to France’s crème renversée. No border seems to be a barrier to the migration of this universally popular dessert. Cardamom is rather an exotic spice, but it is sometimes used in classic American coffee cakes and other familiar baked goods. Do not buy preground cardamom because its flavor dissipates quickly and you’ll miss the wonderful aroma released by cracking the seeds yourself. Oftentimes, cardamom seeds are sold still in their papery husks or pods, which should be peeled away to reveal the seeds within.

Some people might consider it overkill to mix caramelized sugar with the lush flavor of butterscotch. But since the beauty of being an adult is that we can do pretty much as we please, I don’t feel the need to apologize for mixing the two in one cool custard. If you want to ramp up the flavor of the butterscotch custard with even more flavorful molasses notes than dark brown sugar can supply, try using one of the unrefined brown or cane sugars that can be found in natural food stores. Look for ones that are dark and ruddy, since they tend to have the most flavor.

This quick passover-flan recipe came recently to Paris with North African Jews and has stayed. A quick dessert usually made with canned pineapple, it is even better with fresh. Because it can be prepared two days in advance, and left in the mold until serving, the flan is popular for Sabbath-observant Jews.

This amazingly creamy nondairy flan has two stealth ingredients: almond milk and orange-flower water. The former adds richness but no strong almond flavor, which allows the orange juice and zest to shine. A smidgen of the latter boosts the fragrance of the fruit, but most importantly, it slips in something a little exotic that makes this dessert an absolute knockout.

The creamy, butterscotchy goat's-milk caramel called cajeta makes this flan delicate and earthy all at once. Whipped cream balances the sweetness.

Flan is amped up with holiday spices and a crispy cookie crust.

Instead of being baked in one large dish, this version of the traditional Latin dessert is made in individual ramekins.

Quesillo de Coco You could buy a ticket to the Tropics—or you could simply make this flan. Heady with rum and sweet flaked coconut, this incredibly easy, super-delicate dessert will transport you straight to a table in the sand, under the swaying palms. If only every recipe could be this straightforward and rewarding.

Baking flan slowly in a water bath gives it a silky, confection-like texture. Be sure to begin making this recipe one day ahead so it has time to chill overnight. For optimal flavor, remove the flan from the refrigerator at least 20 minutes before serving to allow it to come to room temperature.

Here's a mellow way to flavor this creamy and comforting Spanish custard dessert.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Fonda San Miguel: Thirty Years of Food and Art, by Tom Gilliland, Miguel Ravago, and Virginia B. Wood. Flan is one of the most traditional desserts in the entire Hispanic-influenced world — from Spain and Portugal to Cuba and Puerto Rico, all the way to Mexico and Central and South America. It comes in a variety of flavors and textures, depending on the local tastes and agricultural products of each different region. When Fonda San Miguel opened in 1975, few, if any, Mexican restaurants in Texas offered flan as a dessert option. In the early days of the restaurant, a loyal customer named Ana María generously shared her family's heirloom recipe from the Mexican state of Guanajuato, and it has been a customer favorite ever since. It's very dense and creamy, balanced by a crunchy almond crust on the bottom.

This recipe is adapted from Argentine chef Francis Mallman. Mallman also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. Dulce de leche, a dense, creamy caramelized milk "jam," is Argentina's favorite homegrown postre (dessert). As an accompaniment to a simple peeled banana, it is Argentine childhood incarnate, and its appearance at the table is sure to trigger Proustian flights of memory and rapture in adults. Flan de dulce de leche is a classic recipe that tends to be permanently bookmarked in kitchen-scarred copies of El Libro de Doña Petrona, the scriptural cookbook that is Argentina's equivalent of Fannie Farmer. Richer than any flan you've ever had, here it is, as interpreted by Francis Mallman.

This is one of actor Andy Garcia's favorite dishes; the recipe comes from his wife, Marivi. For more of his favorite foods, see "Feedback" in the May 2006 issue of Bon Appétit.