National Flan Day 2016: 3 Savory Recipes To Have The Sweetest Summer Day!

As Latinos, it’s almost impossible to go to a house party or get together where food’s involved and not have a delicious flan waiting for us for dessert. It’s the quintessential dish in any gathering that makes it sweeter and fun. You can’t go wrong with flan, so that’s why, we’re celebrating National Flan Day, which falls on August 21 with three delicious recipes from La Lechera that you should start making right now!

Strawberry Flan

Servings: 12 servings

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 can (14 ounces) NESTLÉ LA LECHERA 50% Less Sugar Sweetened Condensed Dairy Product OR NESTLÉ LA LECHERA Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 2 cups chopped fresh strawberries OR 1 cup strawberry jam
• 5 large eggs
• 1 can (12 fluid ounces) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Lowfat 2% Milk
• Strawberry slices for garnish (optional)

Instructions:

PREHEAT oven to 350° F.

HEAT sugar in small, heavy-duty saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for 3 to 4 minutes or until dissolved and caramel-colored. Pour onto bottom of 9-inch-round cake pan; quickly swirl around bottom to coat.

PLACE sweetened condensed milk and chopped strawberries or jam in blender; cover. Blend until smooth.

COMBINE strawberry mixture and eggs in large bowl; whisk until well combined. Add evaporated milk; mix well. Pour into prepared pan; cover lightly with foil. Place pan in large roasting pan; fill roasting pan with warm water to about 1-inch depth.

BAKE for 1 hour and 15 minutes (if using regular La Lechera, bake for 50 to 60 minutes) or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Remove flan from water. Cool on wire rack. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

TO SERVE, run small spatula around edge of pan. Invert serving plate over pan. Turn over; shake gently to release. Garnish with strawberry slices if desired.

Coffee Flan

Servings: 12 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of granulated sugar
• 1 can of NESTLE LA LECHERA Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 5 large eggs
• 1 can of NESTLE CARNATION Evaporated Milk
• 1 to 2 tablespoons NESCAFE CLASICO 100% Pure Instant Coffee Granules
• Whipped cream (optional)
• Fresh fruit (optional)

Instructions:

PREHEAT oven to 325° F.

HEAT sugar in small, heavy-duty saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for 5 to 7 minutes or until dissolved and caramel-colored. Quickly pour onto bottom of 9-inch deep pie dish; swirl around bottom and side to coat.

PLACE sweetened condensed milk, eggs, evaporated milk and coffee granules in blender; cover. Blend until smooth. Pour into prepared dish; cover with foil. Place dish in large roasting pan; fill roasting pan with water to about 1-inch depth.

BAKE for 55 to 65 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Remove flan from water. Cool on wire rack. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

TO SERVE, run small spatula around edge of pan. Invert serving plate over dish. Turn over; shake gently to release. Serve topped with whipped cream and fruit.

Choco Flan Extraordinaire

Servings: 12 servings

Ingredients:

• Unsalted butter for greasing ramekins or molds
• 1 (15.8 ounces) Nestle La Lechera Dulce de Leche (squeezable bottle) or 1 can (14 ounces) Nestle La Lechera Dulce de Leche

Cake

• ½ cup unsalted butter, one stick, at room temperature
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt
• ¾ cup buttermilk
• ½ cup or about 3 ounces chopper bittersweet chocolate (1/2-inch squares) or chocolate chips

Flan

• 1 can (14 ounces) NESTLE LA LECHERA Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 1 can (12 ounces) NESTLE CARNATION Evaporated Milk
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans, lightly toasted, optional garnish
• 6 strawberries, rinsed and sliced, optional garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350° F with a rack in the middle. Butter twelve 4- to 5-ounce ramekins. Drizzle a generous tablespoon of dulce de leche over the bottom of each ramekin. Set aside.

To make the cake: In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the sugar and continue beating until fluffy, about 2 more minutes. Add the egg and beat until well blended.

Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. With the mixer on low, beat half the flour mixture and then half the buttermilk into the butter mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture and buttermilk, beating until thoroughly mixed. Lastly, with speed on low, fold in the chocolate pieces just until combined. Set aside.

To make the flan: Combine the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, eggs, and vanilla in a blender and blend until smooth.

To assemble: Spoon 2 heaping tablespoons of cake batter into each ramekin, filling them 2/3 full. Gently pour flan mixture on top of the cake batter, filling the ramekins to just below the rim. The contents of the ramekins will look messy, with bits of the cake batter floating in the flan mixture. Don’t worry, that’s the way it should look.

Place ramekins in a large baking pan or dish and pour enough hot water into the pan to reach halfway up the height of the ramekins. Cover the pan lightly with aluminum foil. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the surface of the cakes feels firm.

Remove the baking pan from the oven and remove the aluminum foil. Remove the ramekins from the water bath and let cool completely. Cover each ramekin with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

When ready to serve, remove chocoflans from the refrigerator and remove plastic wrap. The flans won’t look their most beautiful before you unmold them, but don’t worry! Run the tip of a knife around the edges of each ramekin, place an inverted plate on top, and flip. Give the flan a few seconds to drop onto the plate, or hold the mold and plate with both hands as you give it a nice shake. Remove the ramekin. Now the chocoflans should look and taste gorgeous!

Repeat with remaining chocoflans, garnish with chopped pecans and/or strawberries, if desired, and serve.