The second challenge in Foodbuzz’s Project Food Blog contest asks bloggers to tackle a classic dish from another culture: “an ethnic classic that is outside your comfort zone.”
After some thought, I went in search of classic Brazilian recipes, in honor of my friend Sam, who is teaching at an international academy in Brasilia. Sam and I have been friends since college; in 2006, he drove six hours to see me graduate.
May 2006
And we saw each other roughly every six months after I graduated, when he was working as a teacher in Maryland and I was a reporter in Pennsylvania. He would always stop at my place for a few days on his summer and winter tours of western Pennsylvania.
Dec. 31, 2009
So, if Sam could step so far enough outside his comfort zone to live in Brazil, then it was the least I could do to tackle a Brazilian dish. (Although to be fair, I don’t know if anything is outside Sam’s comfort zone — he once flew to Iceland by himself on a whim.) I read through several recipes for both entrees and desserts and decided on Brazilian Orange-Flavored Flan from Emeril Lagasse.
I chose flan because I knew it wasn’t a dessert I could bluff my way through. For the flan to set up correctly, all of my measurements would have to be exact (none of the “a pinch here, a dash there” from my usual cooking and baking methods) and I would have to pay close attention to the recipe’s directions (I rarely do).
I set the sugar, water and lemon juice over medium heat and anxiously waited for it to turn amber. The recipe said not to stir but to swirl the pan occasionally.
Yay! It’s working! Attempting flan made me nervous. I was so relieved when the sugar mixture caramelized. I poured it into the bottom of cake pan to cool and harden. (The recipe calls for a 10-inch pan; I believe mine is 9 inches.)
Then I beat together the remaining ingredients: sweet condensed milk, milk, orange juice, six large eggs and orange zest.
Some of the other flan recipes I read had called for whole milk; we drink 1 percent, so I used a half cup of 1 percent and half a cup of cream (which was left over from my honey nougat ice cream, and I haven’t been able to find another use for it). This recipe also said to use a stand mixer with a whip attachment, but I don’t own one (yet — hello, wedding registry) so I used my regular ol’ hand mixer.
I poured the liquid custard into the pan with the caramel on the bottom, then placed it inside another pan with hot water about half way up the sides of the flan pan.
Then the flan had to bake at 300 F for 90 minutes. Usually when I bake, I open the oven door every 10 minutes to check in and poke at whatever I’m making. It drives fiance nuts because it is so inefficient and lets so much heat escape. I decided to sit back and be patient with the flan and didn’t even open the oven until an hour had gone by.
When it emerged from the oven appearing flan-like, I was relieved.
Then, the flan went into the refrigerator overnight to set up. I was not looking forward to trying to coax it out of the pan. I had visions of a big, sticky mess, with half the flan clinging to the pan and the other a runny mess on the plate.
Thankfully, that didn’t happen. As my punster fiance said, “It’s flan-tastic!” (Heh, heh.)
I think this would be an excellent dish to make for company, especially now that I am over the intimidation factor. I really enjoyed the orange flavor; most of the time, I don’t care for flan because you can taste the egg and sugar so clearly, but the orange juice and zest really puts a whole different spin on it.
To vote for my entry in Round 2 of Project Food Blog, go here. Voting will officially open Monday, Sept. 27. Thank you for your support!
30 comments
Comments feed for this article
September 26, 2010 at 3:13 pm
Health Votes
Very nice looking dish, perfect. can’t wait to vote for it. also, just a suggestion, why don’t you optimize your images, the alt text and the file names for the images are not search engine friendly…
September 26, 2010 at 4:06 pm
Ashley
Never even thought of that! Thanks for the suggestion; I’m learning as I go. 🙂
September 26, 2010 at 3:26 pm
Holzilla
That looks absolutely amazing! I’m so proud of you! Can’t wait to vote!
September 26, 2010 at 3:46 pm
Simply Life
wow, nice work with this challenge – so impressive!
September 26, 2010 at 5:34 pm
Jean@RoastedRootsandPumpkinSpice
Wow, I never knew that flan had to be baked for that long. It turned out wonderful!
September 26, 2010 at 7:10 pm
journeytobodyzen
Looks great! Good luck!!!
September 26, 2010 at 9:34 pm
Tina
Flan does seem scary to make. Yours looks perfect. That’s awesome!
September 27, 2010 at 7:24 am
Lily @ Lily's Health Pad
You’ve officially crossed into expert baking territory. That’s one perfect looking (and time consuming!) dessert.
September 27, 2010 at 8:45 am
Anna
I’m totally intimidated by the thought of making flan– very impressive!!!
September 27, 2010 at 9:16 am
Avanika (Yumsilicious Bakes)
Just voted for you 🙂
September 27, 2010 at 9:45 am
Jennifer
Already voted for you. Good luck!!
September 27, 2010 at 10:53 am
Alicia at Poise in Parma
flan-tastic – I love it!
I just voted for you! I wish I had more time to read more entries! Good luck!
September 27, 2010 at 12:00 pm
Patti
YUMMY! Good luck…I voted for you! :))
September 27, 2010 at 1:41 pm
Lisa
We learned how to make flan at a Tapas Cooking class recently! We haven’t tried to recreate it yet though. It looks fantastic.
September 27, 2010 at 2:56 pm
dawn hutchins
What a gorgeous dish!
September 27, 2010 at 6:04 pm
Brandie @ Home Cooking Memories
Absolutely fabulous! I had briefly considered making flan for the challenge, so I am glad to see that someone else did make it. I’ve vote for you!
September 27, 2010 at 6:25 pm
Peggy
Love that you chose a dessert! Looks great! Good luck!
September 27, 2010 at 7:10 pm
fittingbackin
It IS flantastic – I can’t even imagine making something like that – you make it look easy!
September 28, 2010 at 8:30 am
Amy (Shiny Cooking)
That truly is flantastic! Got my vote — good luck!
September 28, 2010 at 12:19 pm
Katie H.
Wow, I’m very impressed! Nice work Ashley!
September 28, 2010 at 6:05 pm
Rachel Wilkerson
Very pretty! Voting for you again!!
September 28, 2010 at 7:34 pm
@lickmyspoon
Flan is challenging to make and I’m glad to see that yours turned out great! I’m sure your Sam loved it.
I think it’s so sweet that he drove six hours to see you graduate.
Good luck, you’ve got my vote. 🙂
September 28, 2010 at 9:33 pm
Lingbo
This looks amazing! So proud of you, great job! You’ve won my flan-loving heart and a vote from me!
September 28, 2010 at 10:11 pm
jacobskitchen
Great post! I LOVE LOVE LOVE flan. And yours looks perfect. I voted for you!
Good luck! =)
You can check out my PFB post at : http://www.foodbuzz.com/project_food_blog/challenges/2/view/864
September 29, 2010 at 12:09 am
@lickmyspoon
I’ve never seen a flan of that size before, I usually see it served in a small cup (which leaves me wanting another). Giant flan wins my vote, good luck moving on!
Lick My Spoon
September 29, 2010 at 1:01 pm
Susan
I’ve always wanted to try flan!! It’s never even occurred to me to try to make it. I’d be just as apprehensive as you. Wonderful post!
September 29, 2010 at 5:13 pm
Amanda (The Culinary Passport)
Looks great! I love flan.
September 30, 2010 at 6:40 pm
Ed
Great job with a tough dish to make. You got my vote!
October 7, 2010 at 8:01 pm
Nicole
Wow, you are a goddess for making that flan come out so perfectly. I feel like flan is one of those difficult foods to make, and when made correctly, it is so impressive. I will be keeping your recipe in mind.
October 8, 2010 at 7:19 pm
snackgirlgoeshealthy
You look A-mazing! You have such a pretty face, its incredible! Seriously!