Neapolitan flan

The origin of flan dates back to the Romans, who prepared it both sweet and savory. The sweet version was much sweeter than what we know, since it was sweetened with honey. Initially pepper was added, yes, pepper as you hear, until pepper was replaced by the current caramel.

The best-known flan is the basic egg, milk and vanilla one, but there also exists a more enriched version, with three types of milk and cream cheese, which is the Neapolitan Flan, which we are going to prepare now. This is a firmer flan than the traditional one, because it uses 1 or 2 more eggs, but it turns out very creamy thanks to the addition of cream cheese and condensed milk.

It is cooked like all flans in a bain-marie, and if you use a mold with a lid like the Kitchen Craft mold, it becomes very practical, since the lid prevents water from coming into contact with the custard during cooking, and being non-stick, it unmolds very easily.

Let's go with the recipe.

Kitchen Craft flan and pudding mold and Pallarès carbon steel knife

Ingredients

• 6 eggs "L"
• 400gr of condensed milk
• 200gr of cream cheese
• 200gr of cooking cream 18% m.f.
• 200gr of evaporated milk

For the caramel:

• 5 tablespoons of sugar
• A few drops of lemon
• A few drops of water

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 175ºC top and bottom heat, with a baking dish with water inside it. The water inside our dish should reach, when placing the flan mold, at least 1/3 of the height of the mold.
2. Prepare a not-too-dark caramel with the sugar, the drops of lemon and the water in a frying pan about 20 cm and over medium heat. Let the sugar dissolve, without touching it or it will turn into a lump of hard sugar. When it has taken the desired golden color, remove it from the heat and pour it over the base of the mold. Watch out, once caramelized it changes very quickly from light golden to dark, so be careful as if it gets too dark it can become bitter.
3. Mix all the ingredients in a mixer until you obtain a liquid custard. In my case I did it with the KitchenAid machine and the paddle attachment. For the custard to be well homogenized and all the ingredients well dissolved and integrated, I recommend beating the cheese first to soften it. Then add the condensed milk and integrate. Next add the eggs one by one, not incorporating the next until the previous one has been integrated into the custard. Then add the cream and lastly the evaporated milk.
4. Pour the custard into the non-stick flan mold over the caramel that will already have solidified. Place the lid and put it inside the dish with water and from there into the preheated oven.
5. Bake in a bain-marie for 50 minutes.
6. Remove the mold from the oven and let it cool completely before unmolding. You can put it in the refrigerator to cool it faster, but I recommend enjoying it the next day, to give time for the flavors to settle.
7. When unmolding, if you see that when turning it over onto the serving plate it does not detach, because it is a firmer flan than the traditional one, return the mold to its initial position and give it a few gentle taps against the countertop, trying to detach it from the walls. Turn it over onto the plate and ready to enjoy.

Kitchen Craft flan and pudding mold and Pallarès carbon steel knife

This is a simple and absolutely delicious dessert, a flan with a firmer texture than the traditional one but very, very creamy. Since you can have it prepared in advance, it will not create last-minute logistical problems and served as is or accompanied by fresh fruit and whipped cream you will be sure to succeed.