Baked Flan

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  There are so many ways to prepare flan & this is the easiest method. Flan is prepared using a bain marie method or hot water bath method. For that you will need 2 baking  dishes, one in which you will be baking the flan and another dish which is big enough to hold the baking dish with the flan mixture. I used a 9 inch round cake pan for the flan and bigger square cake pan filled with hot water.

Ingredients:
Sweetened Condensed Milk            -        14 oz. (1 can)
Evaporated Milk                               -       12 oz.  (1 can)
Eggs                                                  -        3
Vanilla essence                                  -       1 Tbsp.
Granulated sugar                              -        ½ cup

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180° C.
2. For the caramel, heat half a cup of sugar on medium heat. Shake & swirl the pan until the sugar is dissolved and turn a light golden yellow in color. (Refer notes)
3. As soon as the color changes to golden yellow lift the pan above the flame (about 4 or 5 inches) & continue caramelizing until the sugar turns dark golden in color. 
4. When still hot pour the prepared caramel into a baking dish(in which you will be making your flan) & swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. I used a 9 inch round cake pan (coz. that's the only size I have). Set it aside.
5. Take a blender and blend the condensed milk(notes), evaporated milk 3 eggs and the vanilla extract until well combined (wont take more than a minute). Strain it through a sieve to remove the tiny bubbles if necessary.
6. Pour the mixture over the caramelized sugar in the pan. 
7. Place the pan with the flan mixture into a bigger pan & place it in the preheated oven(middle rack) and pour 1 inch of hot water in the bigger pan(bain marie method). 
8. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until the flan is set(insert a knife to check if it comes clean)
9. Do not over bake. (the flan should be creamy and smooth )When set remove from oven and let it cool . When the flan is still warm place a serving plate over the pan with the flan & gently flip it over. The flan will slowly fall on to the plate.
10. Refrigerate before serving.

Notes:

• Making caramel for the first time might be a bit difficult, don't  worry just follow the instruction as such.
• Do not use a spoon to stir the sugar.
• Take care not to over caramelize the sugar(it will give a bitter taste).
• Adjust the quantity of the condensed milk according to your desired taste, mine was a tad bit sweet. I will not use the whole can next time.
• I used a mixie to blend the flan mixture. I did not strain the flan mixture, may be that's why my flan had tiny holes :P
• I  had to bake for 65 minutes. Time may vary with the type of oven used.