Dear Howard: one shd. Never
attempt FLAN in an unfamiliar and very bad oven – so forgive me if
these are full of the unforgivable holes .. .I do hope you’re feeling
better – Much love -
— Undated note from Elizabeth Bishop to Howard Moss
Have you ever made flan?
I have, many times. Flan is a light custard dessert that
makes a great finish to a heavy meal. Flan isn’t difficult to assemble — there
aren’t many
ingredients (at its most basic, there’s milk, sugar, and eggs) and the
method
is straightforward — but a lot can go wrong in the baking.
If you leave it in the oven for too long or if the temperature is off its mark, the
mixture can end up resembling scrambled eggs.
If you take it out of the oven too soon, you’ll have an unappealing
puddle of soup. I’m not sure of what
could have caused the holes in the version Bishop delivered to Moss, her friend and editor at The New Yorker, but given her
characteristic modesty, I have a feeling that Moss was quite happy with his get-well
gift.
Through the magic weirdness that is Facebook, I caught this update on
poet Gabriel Gudding’s page: “Gabriel received the flan
and warm smiles and t-shirt from Didi just now on the porch in the marmalade
light and snow.” Now there’s a lovely line, yes? Bishop's spirit lives on in more than her writing! The Didi Gabe refers to is poet Didi Menendez, editor of
MiPoesias, Ocho, and Oranges and Sardines. She and Gabe are neighbors. Lucky him.
Didi
was happy to pass along her recipe (below the jump), but
notes that credit goes “to an aunt of a cousin I visited in 1979 in
Naples Florida
although the almond extract part is my version and not part of the
original
recipe. Also the cheese variation comes from my mother Salome and I am
not sure
where she picked it up — possibly on a bus on her way to work or back
from
working in the factory when we were kids.” Didi's recipe is my
favorite kind – it assumes that the cook has a certain amount of
comfort and experience in the kitchen. It's the kind of recipe
exchanged between friends and family who know each others' habits.
I can't wait to try it:
— sdh
Cuban Flan, by Didi Menendez
Blend one
can of evaporated milk, three eggs (medium size is fine), one can of sweetened
condensed milk and the dash of almond extract. Set aside.
In a tin
loaf pan, melt about 1 cup of sugar until it is caramelized. Make sure it
spreads to the edges of the pan.
Place loaf
inside a bigger pan filled with about 2 cups of water so that the loaf pan is
not directly placed in the over rack otherwise the caramelized sugar may burn.
Fill loaf
with blended ingredients and place in preheated 350 degree oven for about 45
minutes or until you see the top of the flan is a nice light brown color.
Take out of
over and let cool. Refrigerate overnight or for a few hours. Whichever comes
first.
Turn over
flan on a nice plate and serve so that the caramel is now the top.
Variations
on the above:
Instead of
almond extract use vanilla or another flavoring of your choosing.
Add 8oz of
cream cheese the recipe above and you have made Cheese Flan.
(ed note: this post originally appeared on December 20, 2008)