Flan

This is my all-time favorite dessert, and my all-time favorite recipe.  After some steady nagging, my mother finally revealed to me her secret Flan recipe that kept a young Alex content for so many years.  Since I believe in sharing (a principle I also learned from my mother) I am gracing the world with this wonderful recipe.  This ingredients are suprisingly easy, the work lies in caramalizing the sugar, and making sure the oven is completely unheated before you place the flan in.  Don't worry at first if the sugar doesn't look like its caramalizing properly, keep the heat steady and it will eventually liquify, make sure you are swift in putting into the mold, or else it will reconstitute.  The water bath or bain-marie is a must, this recipe will not turn out otherwise.  I've experimented with various molds, I even used a flower-shaped mold one time and it turned out perfectly.  Once the flan has cooled (either to luke-warm or several hours of refrigeration, depending on preference) run a knife along the outside edges, give it a gentle shake to ensure the flan is not sticking to the mold and place a plate over the mold and flip! If you've done everything properly, you will have a beautiful flan.  Since you've already went through all the work of making the flan, might as well take a few extra minutes to decorate with flowers, fruit, mint leaves, anything to make the presentation even better!

Caramel Sauce:

¾ cup granulated sugar

Custard:

1/2 cup of granulated sugar
1 can of evaporated milk (12 oz.)
1 1/2 cups whole milk
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat sugar in a small saucepan on medium heat until it caramelizes, stirring all the while. Pour caramel sauce into flan mold or any oven-safe dish, it will immediately harden. Mix custard ingredients together and pour over-top of harden sugar sauce. Place mold in oven in a roasting pan and pour 1 inch of water in pan Set oven to 350 degrees, do not preheat. Bake for 1 hour. Flan can be served slightly warm or cool. To serve, run a knife around the edges of the mold, place a plate over top of mold and flip. Be careful not to spill any of the caramel sauce.