Flan de Mangó
The Caramel:
Scant 1/4 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)
The Flan (custard)
5 eggs, room temperature
1 can evaporated milk (12 oz.)
1 can sweet condensed milk (14 oz.)
1 cup mango pulp (3 or 4 mangos, depending on size)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Deep baking dish, 1 1/2 to 2 quart capacity
Method: The Caramel:
Place the water, sugar and lemon juice in a small heavy saucepan. Put on medium-low heat and boil until the color becomes a clear golden brown. During this process, occasionally swirl the saucepan over the heat. When it has reached the desired color, immediately pour this caramel into the baking dish that you’ll be making the flan in. This prevents further cooking of the caramel plus the bitter taste of overcooked caramel. Completely cover the bottom and a bit of the sides of this baking dish. Set aside.
Method: The Flan (custard)
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Peel and cut the mangos into pieces. Use a blender to purée the pieces. Put this purée through a sieve to separate and remove the fibers. Set the mango purée aside for now.
In a large mixing bowl, stir the eggs together with a whisk until blended. Add the evaporated milk and the sweetened condensed milk. Stir again with the whisk until blended. Pass this milk mixture through a sieve into another large mixing bowl. Add the mango purée and the vanilla extract. Blend completely, meaning there are no streaky colors.
Pour this flan mixture into the baking dish. Place the baking dish into a larger baking pan. Carefully add super hot water (from the faucet) to that pan, until the water reaches about half-way up the sides of the flan baking dish.
Place the pan into the oven, and set your timer for 1 hour. After 1 hour, check for doneness by inserting a dinner knife or a toothpick into the center of the flan. If it doesn’t come out clean, give it about 10 or 15 minutes more, checking every 5 minutes.
When done, remove the flan baking dish to cool on a wire rack. When the flan has cooled down to room temperature, place in the refrigerator.
This dessert tastes best when refrigerator-chilled. When you’re ready to serve it, first run a dinner knife all around the sides, to loosen it. Then place a large platter over it, take a deep breath, and turn the whole thing around. Remove the baking dish. In fact, if you have some leftover mango, you could use it sliced, as a topping for the individual flan servings.
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