Sugarlace

I can hear it now. I can definitely hear it now. Both Filipinos and non-Filipinos jumping up and down with glee… people salivating, tongues wagging, sweet tooth aching. Just the mere sound of the name sends shivers down one’s spine, the promise of a sleek, velvety dessert in everyone’s palates.

What am I talking about here?

I’m talking about the king of desserts… the royal of all royals of the Filipino sweets… I’m talking about:

LECHE FLAN!

Oh those words… those are music to the ears. This month’s Kulinarya Cooking Club theme for February pays homage to one of the best creations to come out of the Filipino kitchen: Leche Flan. The rich, sweet, melt-in-your-mouth dessert that can send you to outer space and back spoon after spoon after spoon. But this is no mean culinary feat: if you look at the ingredients, you’ll realise how heavy, rich and dare I say it, fatty leche flan can be, so better leave it alone and just enjoy the dessert.

Google “Leche Flan” and you get bombarded with recipes proclaiming to be the best leche flan recipe. Some use more than 10 egg yolks, others add extra eggs (including the whites); some add water, while others add sugar to both condensed and evaporated milk. In the end, it’s really the texture, smoothness and sweetness that will differ from recipe to recipe – what you come up with is entirely up to you. I like mine smooth, a bit rich and definitely with some bitter, almost burnt caramel.

The name Leche Flan originated from, where else, but good old Spain when the Philippines was colonised 500 years ago. “Leche” means milk and “Flan” means cake, so evidently it is a cake made of milk, eggs & sugar.

This recipe was from Mr J’s mum who makes one of the best leche flan in town, in my opinion. It’s smooth, quite on the heavy side, and not sweetened too sickeningly. It’s also easy peasy Japanesey, and yet still packs a mean punch once served as a dessert in a lunch or dinner party. This is indeed, after all, the Philippine’s unofficial national dessert.

Leche Flan

Makes approximately 16 small servings

8 egg yolks

1 can condensed milk

1 can evaporated milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Lemon/lime rind (optional)

Caramel

4-6 tbsp caster sugar

1. Put sugar in a round baking dish. Place over gas or electric stovetop on medium heat, and melt sugar until brown. Using tongs, swirl caramel around to evenly melt the sugar however do not mix or touch the caramel with spoon or other utensils. Once melted evenly, set aside. Meanwhile, prepare steamer and simmer water in medium heat.

2. Place egg yolks in a bowl. While very lightly whisking with a fork, add both condensed and evaporated milk. Add vanilla extract and rind. Slowly whisk using the fork but do not overwhisk or overwhip as it causes bubbles which makes the flan alot porous and less smooth.

3. Pour batter over the melted caramel. Cover with aluminum foil and place in steamer. Ensure there is enough water in the steamer to last for the whole cooking process, and that the water is simmering, not boiling. Put lid on and cook for 20 minutes.

4. Remove baking pan from steamer, set aside to cool. Refrigerate for a few hours.

5. To remove from pan, slice the edge of the flan away from the baking pan in by sliding along the end of the pan in circular way. Place a flat plate on top of the baking pan, turn over, which would have release the flan out of the pan. Slice and serve cold.

So, have we tickled your sweet tooth enough yet? Are you now in dire need of some sweet, sweet caramel and rich milky custard?

Call it a creme brulee or a creme caramel… Leche Flan is one of the best dishes the Philippines has to offer and there’s no denying it!

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Kulinarya Cooking Club was started by a group of Filipino foodies living in Sydney, who are passionate about the Filipino culture and its colourful cuisine.

Each month we will showcase a new dish along with their family recipes. By sharing these recipes, we hope you find the same passion and love for Filipino Food as we do.

If you’re interested in joining our Kulinarya Cooking Club, please feel free to drop by our foodblogs and leave a comment – we would love to hear from you!

Say hello to the other members of the Kulinarya Cooking Club!

Olive http://latesrecipes.net

Caroline http://whenadobometfeijoada.blogspot.com/

Peach http://www.thepeachkitchen.com/

Cusinera http://busogsarap.com

Asha – http://forkspoonnknife.blogspot.com

Malou - http://www.impromptudiva.com/

Cherrie – http://sweetcherriepie.blogspot.com/

And of course… Kath of A Cupcake or Two and Trissa of Trissalicious!