Chinese flan

Surely many of you who hear this name, Chinese flan , will be thinking of a well-known brand of flan that has existed in our country since the 1950s, Mandarin Chinese Flan . Although you are right, the truth is that this is a previous recipe and with its own name. Many of the dessert recipes that you will find on the blog have a curious story and many times different from what you think.

Chinese flan is a kind of flan , a mix between a traditional egg flan and a tocinillo de cielo . It is a delicate, soft and very sweet sweet that is usually presented in small bars. What is special about this recipe is that it has a high percentage of yolks and that it is cooked by steaming. Once cold, it is removed from the mold and served in small individual portions.

Although its origin is unknown, this dessert was very popular in our country since the mid-19th century. With the appearance of the Mandarin Chinese Flan , which we were talking about before, its creator brought homemakers the possibility of preparing this sweet in a very simple way. Now, the original recipe is not comparable, in any way, with what no commercial brand can offer us. It is a very fine, soft and delicate dessert, with a high concentration of sugar, which may have followers and detractors, but what is clear is that it is a delight that I encourage you to prepare at home, it will surprise you.

Preparation of Chinese flan

1. We start by preparing the liquid caramel. To do this, in a saucepan, add 6 tablespoons of sugar and water. We put the saucepan on the fire and leave until the sugar has dissolved and the golden caramel turns. We pour the caramel into the molds that we are going to use and reserve.

1. We heat the milk and reserve it to use a little later hot.
2. In a saucepan add the water, sugar and vanilla bean. We heat until the sugar is dissolved and at that moment we turn off.
3. In a bowl we beat the yolks with the whole eggs. We add the syrup little by little, in a thread without stopping to stir until everything has been integrated. Incorporate the hot milk and continue using the rods until we have a homogeneous mixture.
4. With a slotted spoon we remove the foam that will have been created and pour the mixture over the molds that we already have prepared with the caramel. To pour the mixture we will do it by straining it, not directly.
5. We choose a casserole so that the molds that we have chosen to prepare the flan fit. We place a grid or other type of support at the base of the casserole, in such a way that we can put the molds with the flan on it and never touch the bottom. I have used some cookie cutters that I had at home but a grid would be perfect. It is about steaming the Chinese flan without it touching the bottom of the casserole or getting water.
6. Place the molds on the base that we have chosen inside the casserole, fill with water until it reaches 1 cm. Above the base of the molds and cover the flan with aluminum foil. We cook, with the casserole covered, for 30 or 40 minutes from the moment the water begins to boil.
7. After this time we allow the flans to cool down to room temperature before storing them in the fridge.

At the time of serving the custards we unmold them turning them around and we can only enjoy them as a category dessert. It is an exquisite snack, perfect to be like kings.

You can see in this step by step how to prepare this Chinese flan recipe that you will surely repeat at home over and over again.