Pudim, or Brazilian Flan

Cleise Caetano, Brazil

My family's favorite dessert

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1 30

Course Dessert

Cuisine Latin American

Servings 8

⅔ cup sugar
2 large eggs plus 5 yolks
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 can evaporated milk
½ cup whole milk (half-and-half or 2% milk may be substituted but do not use skim milk)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Disaronno liquor
½ teaspoon salt

Stir together the sugar and ¼ cup water in a small heavy saucepan until the sugar is completely moistened.
Bring to boil over medium-high heat and cook, without stirring, until the mixture begins to turn golden.
Gently swirling the pan, continue to cook until sugar is a honey color. Remove from the heat and swirl the pan until the sugar is reddish-amber and fragrant, 15 to 20 seconds.
Carefully swirl in 2 tablespoons of warm tap water until incorporated – be careful as the mixture will bubble and steam. This whole process should take less than 10 minutes.
Pour the caramel into an 8½ x 4½-inch loaf pan; do not scrape out the saucepan. Set the pan aside.

Whisk the eggs and yolks in large bowl until combined.
Add the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, whole milk, vanilla, Disaronno, and salt and whisk until incorporated.
Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl to remove any bits of egg; then pour the strained custard into the pan over the caramel.
Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil.

Place the pan in the center of a 9x13-inch baking or roasting pan (preferably with high sides) to make a water bath.
Place the nested pans in the oven; then, using a tea kettle or pitcher, pour hot water around the loaf pan until it reaches about halfway up the sides of the pan.
Bake for 90 minutes. Very carefully pull back the foil (there will be steam that has accumulated under it) to ensure the custard is set around the edges but still a bit jiggly in the center.
Carefully remove the pans from the oven. Remove the foil and leave the flan in the water bath for 1 hour to cool.
Remove the loaf pan from the water bath and wipe the pan dry.
Cover tightly with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge overnight or up to 4 days.

Carefully slide a sharp knife around the edges of the pan.
Invert a platter with a raised rim (to contain the liquid caramel) on top of the flan and turn the pan and platter over.
If the flan doesn’t release immediately, let it sit inverted for a minute and it should slide out. If it still doesn't come out, try running the knife around the edges again.
When the flan is released, remove the pan.

Keyword brazil, dessert, flan