Honey Flan

Oil & Honey Edition

Reposting a recipe because it’s so easy and elegant and perfect for a summer dessert, plus it uses honey! Last week I posted a Coconut Flan recipe using honey and coconut milk..  I enjoyed the flan so much and was so surprised at the ease in making it that I decided to try another version, this one more traditional and the perfect end to a dinner party.

When we moved to North Carolina my man Dan surprised me with a Ninja Blender!  I love my Ninja and make smoothies often but I look for other ways to use it in the kitchen too.  Last year at the BlogHerFood conference I visited the Ninja booth quite a bit and received a great cookbook from them. It’s amazing how versatile a “blender” can be, if it’s a good one.  I was happy to be able to use it to make this flan recipe go even quicker and easier than I ever imagined making flan would be.  I had in my head (pea brain) that making flan would require slaving over a pot of milk, eggs and sugar getting it to just the right stage before pouring it into ramekins for baking.  Boy was I wrong.  Last weeks recipe as well as this one, both so effortless, have turned me into a flan making woman!

This dessert is elegant and can easily be made ahead.  It is dreamy and creamy with faint floral notes and sweet honey. Orange Blossom honey is the perfect choice for this recipe but feel free to experiment with other flavors of natures golden nectar. Here is a helpful note: flans release with no trouble if you set them in an inch of warm water for a few minutes before un-molding.

Remember – local honey is not only good for you but is helping to support your local beekeepers who are doing a service by keeping bees who pollinate every third bite of food we eat!

Honey Flan

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 7 tablespoons honey, divided

• 1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

• 1 cup whole milk

• 3 large eggs

• 1 large egg yolk

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350*F.

2. Sprinkle sugar in a 3 quart saucepan; place over medium heat and cook gently shaking pan until sugar melts and turns a light golden brown.

3. Slowly stir in 3 tablespoons of the honey.

4. Stir gently until melted.

5. Remove from heat and immediately pour hot caramelized sugar into 6 (6oz.) ramekins.

6. Process condensed milk, milk, eggs, egg yolk and salt in a blender.

7. Add remaining 4 tablespoons of honey and process until smooth and well blended.

8. Pour mixture evenly over the sugar in each ramekin.

9. Place ramekins in a 13×9″ pan.

10. Add hot water to a depth of 1 inch.

11. Cover loosely with aluminum foil.

12. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until slightly set.

13. Flan should jiggle when pan is shaken.

14. Remove the ramekins from the water bath and place on a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes. Cover and chill for 3 hours or more.

15. Just before serving place ramekins in an inch of warm water for 3-5 minutes to help with inversion.

16. Run a knife around edges of flans to loosen; invert flans onto serving plates.

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