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.

Molotof Portuguese Pudding

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This is what I made with the leftover egg whites after making the biscuit pudding. I halved the  original recipe. This pudding is very very light (feels like devouring a piece of cloud)

Ingredients:
egg whites   -   10  
sugar            -   150 g. 

For the Caramel: 
Sugar            -    150 g.
Water            -    50 ml
lemon juice   -    2 tbsp.

Method:
              
Preheat oven at 180 C with a water bath(take water in a baking dish( up to nearly half mark) which is bigger than the mold being used)

To make the caramel:

          To make the  Caramel combine together  water, lemon juice and the sugar in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until brown(when it has reached a caramel like consistency)

To make the Meringue : 

1. Beat the egg-whites using a whisk or a beater and when the egg whites start to get lightly stiff add the sugar slowly and gradually while beating.
2. Add some of the caramel to the egg whites slowly until the stiff peaks are formed.
3. Grease the mold with butter and pour the remaining caramel in the mold (bottom). Empty the prepared meringue into the mold using a spatula.
4. Place the mold with the meringue in the heated water bath and bake for 10 minutes.
5. Turn off the oven. Let the pudding remain in the oven for another 30 minutes.(Do not open the oven door) 
6. After the 30 minutes remove the pudding from the oven and remove it gently from its mold and refrigerate the pudding before serving.

Kerala Fruit Cake

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Ingredients:

For soaking fruits:
Rum/brandy/wine  -      1 cup (can also use orange juice)
mixed fruit(Tutti frutti)   - 1 cup
Golden Raisins chopped   - ¼ cup
Cashew nut chopped         - ¼ cup 
Dates chopped                   - ¼ cup

For Caramel:
Granulated sugar  - ½ cup
water   - ½ cup + 1 tbsp.

For the cake:
All Purpose flour   -   1 cup + 1 tbsp.
baking powder       - 1 tsp.
Sugar  powdered   -       1cup
Butter    -      ¾c up
Vanilla extract -  1 tsp.
Egg                  - 2 nos.
Powdered cinnamon   -   ¼ tsp.
Powdered nutmeg       -   ¼ tsp.
Dry Ginger powder    -   ¼ tsp.
Powdered Cloves      -    ¼ tsp.


Method:

1. Soak all the chopped dry fruits, nuts and tutti frutti in Rum/brandy/wine at least 2 days before in a bottle in room temperature. Longer the soaking time better the flavor.
2. Combine  sugar and 1 tbsp. water in a sauce pan. Heat it & let the sugar melt. When the color of the melted sugar becomes dark brown, remove the pan from fire & add pour 1/2 cup of water very carefully to this and stir well. Set aside to cool.
3. Pre- heat oven to 350 F.Prepare the cake tins(grease the tins with butter and line with parchment paper use 3 sheets to prevent burning) and keep aside.
4. Sift the  flour with baking powder.Separate the eggs and whisk the yolks with vanilla essence in a bowl.
5. Cream butter and powdered sugar using a beater until its combined well. Add the egg yolks and the flour alternating between them and combine well.
6. Combine the spice powders(Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Dry Ginger powder, Cloves) and cooled caramel.Add the flour and fold it gently until combined well.
7. Drain the dry fruits and nuts and add half of it into the batter and fold gently. Coat the rest with 1 tbsp. of flour and set aside.
8. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks are formed and fold gently into the above batter.
9. Pour the batter into the prepared tins upto half level of the tins smooth the top and add the dry fruits and nuts tossed in flour into the batter.
10. Bake for 45 to 50 mins. Use the tooth pick to check if done.
11. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. 
12. When still warm prick the cake top with a fork and pour a tbsp. of wine on the cake top and set aside to cool completely.
13. Cut and serve.

Note:
The cake will be hard due to addition of caramel.
To soften, prepare the cake at least 2 days before and when completely cooled cover it with parchment paper and then with aluminium foil and leave it in room temperature until serving. 
Keep the cake tin on the top most rack of the oven to prevent burning.