Mmmmmmm....Dessert

I had two flan recipes I wanted to try (in addition to a bunch of creme caramel recipes--basically, the same thing). I wanted to post them altogether, but I decided that rather than waiting, I would share this fantastic recipe with you now.

Follow the recipe exactly as written, and this is an absolutely delicious, easy, yet elegant and impressive dessert.

Creamy Caramel Flan

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
5 eggs
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

In a heavy saucepan, cook and stir sugar over medium-low heat until melted and golden, about 15 minutes. Quickly pour into an ungreased 2-qt. round baking or souffle dish, tilting to coat bottom; let stand for 10 minutes.

In a bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until thoroughly combined. Add remaining ingredients; mix well. Pour over caramelized sugar.

Place the dish in a larger baking pan. Pour boiling water into larger pan to a depth of 1 inch. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 50-60 minutes or until center is just set. Mixture will jiggle.

Remove dish from larger pan to a wire rack; cool for 1 hour. Refrigerate overnight.

To unmold, run a knife around edges and invert onto a large rimmed serving platter. Cut into wedges or spoon onto dessert plates; spoon sauce over each serving.

Yield: 8-10 servings.

Nutrition information: 1 slice equals 346 calories, 16 g fat, 155 mg cholesterol, 182 mg sodium, 41 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 10 g protein.

Source: Taste of Home. You can find the recipe here.

Notes: This is actually quite easy to turn over onto a serving plate. I did it quite successfully...the first time! I doubled this recipe for a family dinner. The mistake I made was that I figured I would just turn the second flan out onto the same serving plate...without washing it first ("Why waste that yummy extra caramel sauce?" I said to myself)...however, I realized that because of the caramel sauce, I couldn't turn the plate as easily to catch the flan...so I tried to use my hands to steady the flan, and then the serving plate slipped...and before I knew it I had a crumbled flan in my hand and a barely saved serving dish! My advice...if you double this, use two separate serving dishes. Ha ha!