Good old flan/Caramel custard

A set of ramekins were on my wishlist for a very long time.A few weeks ago,I found a beautiful set of Christmas themed ramekins at Crate and Barrel.And since Santa was busy with all the good people,I decided to buy my own present...
Look at them...Ain't they pretty?
I searched the net for all possible recipes a ramekin could hold!And lo....there came Ria with her CARAMEL CUSTARD.Thats it!Nothing could be better than this simple,humble dessert....Ria had added condensed milk to the original recipe and nothing with condensed milk in it could ever go wrong!So I made it right away.It is a really simple and quick dessert to fix except for the rather long baking time of 45 minutes.And it came out simply delicious!Enjoy it warm or chilled.Its a classic!
You can either unmould it onto a dessert plate or if your ramekins are exceptionally cute,like mine...serve it in them!

Linking this to Cakes,Cookies and Desserts event at Spice and Sugar Tales


CARAMEL CUSTARD/FLAN

2 c whole milk
1/2 c sweetened condensed milk
5 tbsp white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla flavor(Iused 1 vanilla bean)
1/2 c sugar for caramelising

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 350 F/ 180C .
In a saucepan,add milk, condensed milk,vanilla flavor and 5 tbsp sugar and bring to a boil.If you are using vanilla bean,split it open, scrape down the caviar and dump it all into the milk and boil.
Let it cool for a few minutes.
Meanwhile,in a medium bowl, beat the eggs till well blended. Drizzle hot milk into it while beating all the time.
Strain the mixture to avoid any egg white lumps in the custard.
In a pan, on medium heat, caramelise 1/2 c sugar till golden brown and pour it into the pudding moulds. Swirl to coat the sides. Pour the milk-egg mixture into the moulds.
Place the moulds into a baking tin with tall sides and pour hot water just so that the bowls are immersed halfway. Bake for 45 mins or till a knife inserted comes out smooth.Let it cool for half an hour.Enjoy!