Hello from sunny San Diego!!
I recently moved back to my hometown of San Diego from Los Angeles after being away for almost 8 years. It’s good to be back, and I’m settling back into life here. My social calendar is the fullest it’s ever been and I’m tirrreeed. But, I have a few collabs and pop-ups brewing on the horizon so stay tuned and get excited!
Something moving to San Diego has given me back is TIME. Gosh, it’s so nice to have real time to myself again. Time to focus on all the things I want bake chats to be. One thing I’ve wanted to implement for a while is a bake chats bake club. Now, I have the time to focus and cultivate that piece of this newsletter.
So, what is a bake chats bake club going to look like? Well, each month there will be a baking “prompt”. Just one baked good we all collectively bake and put our own twist on, very similar to bucket list bake club on IG. But, a little more interactive. For this first month we are honing in on something I’ve been loving a lot recently, flan!!
At the start of each month I’ll announce the “theme” coupled with a throughly tested base recipe for each prompt, with a few ideas/ examples of ways to switch up the flavor. Over the course of the month in the group chat I’ll be available to help guide you with any questions you may have about adapting the recipe to fit the flavor vision you have in your mind. Stumped on the best way to add banana to flan? Wondering which ingredient you could swap in for fresh shots of espresso? Well, we can talk about and tackle the process together. Other members of the chat can also chime in with their expertise and creativity to help you bring your bake club vision to life.
Ultimately, the goal of the bake chats newsletter is to encourage you to step into your own creativity and push the boundaries of what you know. I think the best way to learn is by doing and by leaning on & soaking up the knowledge that others have to offer. The aim of the bake club is essentially to overtime show you exactly how I learned to be the baker I am today.
First up is flan! I’m a girl who loves a chilled and creamy dessert. I’m gonna be frank, there are a lot of bad flans out there. A lot of the time they are over baked and eggy in taste and texture.
My base flan recipe is adapted from Andrea Loret de Mola’s. I loved her choice to use heavy cream instead of a can of evaporated milk, I use a higher ratio of cream to milk in my recipe because I really want that rich cream flavor! Lets take a look at some of the star players in flan to see what their role is:
Evaporated milk- Traditionally a key player in flan. It’s fresh milk that’s been heated to the point that 60% of the water content evaporates. Through this process the final product is a little sweeter and a little creamier than fresh milk.
Why I prefer using Heavy cream- for it’s higher fat percentage. Fat is flavor and fat is texture. Heavy cream has a fat percentage of 36% while evaporate milk is 6.5%. Heavy cream also has a lower sugar content than evaporated milk making it a little less sweet in comparison.
Whole Eggs: When using whole eggs the whites provide additional protein without the added fat from using 100% egg yolks. These proteins are what give the final flan a firmer almost bouncy consistency. Over all when using whole eggs the flan is lighter in color and flavor.
Egg yolks: Using all egg yolks on the other hand, provide fat and richness with a smooth, creamy texture. Though the lack of whites means losing the structure their proteins provide. While yolks are not completely devoid of proteins they do not have nearly enough to have the same effect using whites would.
Combination Yolks + Whole: Using a combination is the best of both worlds, getting enough structure from the presence of egg white proteins plus added fats from the yolks for texture. I find 3 whole eggs + 6-7 yolks to be my sweet spot. Though think about the final texture you want in your flan? If you want something firmer opt for more eggs over yolks!
When making the swaps for eggs you have to go gram for gram. So if you want to sub egg yolks for whole eggs, instead of subbing two yolks for two eggs. You’d sub about 2-3 yolks for 1 egg. Because each yolk weighs 15-20 grams whereas a whole egg weighs 50 grams.
Flan made with more whole eggs will tend to bake faster than a flan with more or all yolks. Egg whites coagulate and set at a lower temperature (140F) than yolks which coagulate at (150F). It’s not until the internal temp of the flan reaches either of these temps that the flan will begin to set. The whites needing to set to a lower degree is what speeds up a whole egg flans bake time.
SALT!!- Do not skip out on the salt. EVER. It is so important to season your bakes! Theres a lot of really sweet things going on here from the caramel layer to the sweetened condensed milk. Salt is going to mellow out and balance the sweet while bringing forward the milky notes of the cream.
Baking the perfect flan:
Water bath: a non-negotiable for flan and custard baking. Using a water bath moderates and ensures even direct heat while baking. The water bath keeps the heat from spiking helping to avoid over cooking.
We bake this baby LOW AND SLOW 275-280F for 2-3 hours. *times may vary depending on your oven and the size/shape vessel you bake in* Baking at lower temps promotes even baking. This gives the flan a chance to bake evenly without the outer edges over baking and becoming bubbly or eggy.
Over baking flan, overheats the egg proteins causing them to push out water, breaking their structure. Baking the flan at too high a temp without a water bath will essentially cause the flan to boil, pushing out the water content and creating bubbly, too stiff, eggy tasting flan. Not ideal and NOT what I want to eat.
T H E B A S E R E C I P E!!
as always an easy to view + printer friendly recipe card is available to paid subscribers at the end of the post xx
Makes 1-9” flan. You can also bake in an 8” pan for a thicker flan or a 10” pan for a thinner flan. Adjust bake times according (thicker flan, bake LONGER. thinner flan, bake LESS). Should you use a larger pan, you’ll need more granulated sugar to ensure the pan is evenly coated as well.
Ingredients:
175 grams granulated sugar
140 grams egg yolks (approx 7 large egg yolks, just weigh ‘em though, you already have the scale out)
150 grams whole eggs (approx 3 large eggs)
1 teaspoon diamond crystal kosher salt (use 1/2 if using morton’s!)
570 grams heavy cream
330 grams whole milk
1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 275F. In a kettle/pot bring some water to a simmer for the water bath.
Start by making the caramel. Heat a pan over medium high heat. Allow the pan to get hot before adding any sugar. Add the 175 grams granulated sugar 1/4th at a time. Allow the sugar to melt completely and begin to darken in color before adding the next addition of sugar.
Use a wooden spoon or heat proof spatula to stir the caramel as needed. Allow each addition of sugar to fully melt into the the caramel before adding more. This helps to avoid major sugar clumps and speeds up the overall process.
After the last addition of sugar, continue to stir the caramel until it becomes medium to deep amber in color. This will be based on personal preference, the lighter the caramel the sweeter it will be, the deeper in color the flavor will lean more complex and bitter.
Once the caramel reaches your desired color pour it into a 9” cake pan. Using oven mitts to hold the pan, swirl the caramel carefully to evenly coat the bottom and sides of the pan,
Set aside while you prepare the custard.
In a bowl whisk together 140 grams egg yolks, 150 grams whole eggs, 1 teaspoon kosher salt until homogenous.
To the eggs add 570 grams heavy cream and 330 grams whole milk. Whisking carefully until combined.
Finally, adding in the 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk. Whisking until incorporated.
Strain the custard through a sieve into the caramel lined pan.
Place the flan into a larger baking vessel of at least the same height whether it’s a hotel pan or another larger cake pan.
Place in the oven BEFORE adding the hot water from the kettle from earlier. Once in the oven add the hot water to the outer vessel until it comes up to about 3/4 of the way up the flan.
For a 9” flan it’s about 1 and a half hours to 2 hours to bake. It ultimately depends on your oven, this is a good point to start checking. You’ll know the flan is done when the center is set enough to jiggle like jello rather than ripple like water. If still not set when you check, add ten minutes at a time until the flan is set.
Once done baking immediately remove the flan from the water bath to allow to cool before wrapping and storing in the fridge until the next day. (MINIMUM 4 hours but you should really let it rest overnight)
NEXT DAY: Run a knife or off set spatula around the edge of the flan. Place a plate, preferably one with a good lip on it to catch all the delicious caramel, on top of the flan. Invert the whole situation and wait for gravity to do her thang, don’t shake it, just let her come out naturally.
Keep refridgerated until you’re ready to slice, serve up and enjoy!
Now, get creative as you want with the flavor! Here are a few ideas and methods to help push you in the right direction!
Cajeta/Dulce de Leche flan: You can use house made cajeta/DDL or get the La Lechera cans from the grocery store. Either way, replace the sweetened condensed milk in the recipe gram for gram with cajeta/DDL. This gives a more caramelized depth of flavor to the flan.
Dulce de Leche flan from a Love Island Reunion viewing party a few weeks ago lol Thai Tea flan: Before making the custard, bring the milk and heavy cream to just before a simmer. Add 2 Tablespoons of thai tea leaves. Cut the heat and allow to steep for 30 minutes before straining and making the flan as usual. Make sure to reweigh the milk and cream mixture and top off with more milk to meet the original recipe weight if needed. You could use any tea leaves too! Don’t feel married to thai tea (-;
Goat’s milk flan: Switch it up with the milks, I’ve seen camel milk in Mother’s market so you know get mf’n CRAZY if ya wanna. Infuse with cinnamon, anise and orange peels for added flavor
Go out and spend the month dreaming up every flan flavor you can handle. Think of flavors that pair well this those milky caramel notes.
Utilize the hive mind of the group chat!! Don’t be afraid to ask “hey, I’m thinking of making _____ into a flan, what’s the best way you think to add this ingredient/flavor?” and don’t feel tied to adapting and riffing on this recipe, though I’m tooting my horn and letting you know, it’s a really good flan. If you already have a favorite recipe apply some of the same flavoring techniques to that!
Just have fun and be creative! I can’t wait to see all the flans you bake this month <333 And let me know what future themes you’d like to tackle in the bake club!