Recipe: Easy, Simple, Elegant – Caramel Custard Cups

Think you don’t have enough ingredients to make a simple, elegant dessert?  Think again.  This recipe has seven, COUNT ‘EM, SEVEN ingredients.  It is one of my favorite desserts passed on by my Nanaw.  Now, I know what you’re thinking “isn’t that just a plain old flan?”   Well – yes and no.  My grandmother received this recipe from her mother and her mother’s mother, etc. etc. etc.  A bunch of little German women with a little bit of French thrown in there for good measure.  Hence, she called them Caramel Custard Cups.  So I was curious and punched flan in over at Merriam Websters to discover the origin and viola! – justification.  I love good old justification, especially when it comes to my daily madness.

M-W.com’s explanation of flan

Etymology:

French, from Old French flaon, from Late Latin fladon-, flado flat cake, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German flado flat cake

Date:

1846

1 a: an open pie containing any of various sweet or savory fillings b: custard baked with a caramel glaze

So she wasn’t “storying” to me – it really was German after all.  Ahhhh – relief!

This dessert is so easy and everyone thinks you’re a culinary genius because it looks so fancy-schmancy on their plate.  Give it a whirl or twirl or whatever blows your skirt up.  I think you’ll like it.

Nanaw’s Caramel Custard Cups (aka flan)

4 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup evaporated milk (skimmed)

2/3 cup water

1/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

dash salt

• Set oven at 350 degrees.
• Press brown sugar into four (4) custard cups (1 tablespoon for each cup).
• Mix eggs, milk, water, sugar, vanilla and salt.
• Pour mixture carefully over brown sugar so you don’t disturb the brown sugar on the bottom.
• Set cups in a shallow pan in 1 inch of HOT water.  (I put the pan in the oven first and add the hot water just before closing the oven door because I don’t want to end up in the emergency room with 3rd degrees burns after sloshing hot water on myself.  I avoid pain whenever possible.)
• Bake 50 minutes or until knife inserted near edge comes out clean.  Loosen edges with knife.
• Unmold on pretty serving saucer with some fresh fruit.

Ya’ll Enjoy! 

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