During the winter months in Australia we can enjoy sweet and delicious citrus fruits. Oranges are in season and they are relatively cheap compared to many other fruits and vegetables, that are pricey during winter. My advice is to buy seasonal and local fruits and vegetables, as they are generally cheaper.
This luscious, rich, and velvety French dessert reminds me of Paris, which to me is the only city on earth that is truly romantic. In fact my husband asked me to marry him in this wonderful city. I can say that in these winter months there is so much pleasure in the simple things, head to the kitchen and make this delicious flan to share with your loved ones.
Ingredients
- 400 ml full fat milk
- 200 ml pouring cream
- thinly peeled rind of 1 orange
- 50 ml orange juice
- 50 ml Cointreau
- 6 eggs
- 4 egg yolks
- 160 gm caster sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamon
Ingredients for the Caramel
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1/4 cup of strained orange juice
- 1/4 teaspoon of lemon juice
Method for the Caramel
- Pour the orange juice, lemon juice and sugar into a medium size pan over medium heat.
- Bring to a simmer and swirl the pan every so often until the sugar dissolves.
- Increase the heat to medium-high, and cook until the mixture is a deep golden caramel. DO NOT STIR, always swirl the pan.
- Once the caramel is a deep golden colour turn off the heat and immediately pour it into the cooking tin.
- Let the tin cool and the caramel harden.
Method for the Flan or Creme Reverse
- Preheat the oven to 160C.
- Bring the milk, cream, orange rind and orange juice to the simmer (do not boil the mixture) in a saucepan over medium heat, remove from the heat.
- Add the Cointreau and stand to infuse for 1 hour. Then remove the orange peel.
- Whisk egg, egg yolks, sugar and cardamon in a bowl.
- Add the milk mixture, and whisk to combine.
- Strain into a jug, then pour into the caramel-lined tin.
- Place the tin into a roasting pan lined with a tea towel or kitchen paper towel.
- Pour enough boiling water to come half way up the side of tin.
- Cover the tin with foil paper and bake until the custard is set, but still has a slight wobble in the centre (50 to 60 minutes approximately).
- Remove the tin from the water bath, remove the foil paper and cool the flan to room temperature.
- Once the creme reverse is cold, cover with cling film and then refrigerate overnight.
- To extract the flan from the tin, stand the tin in a kitchen sink filled with five or six centimetres of hot water. Once the caramel starts melting in the tin, run a knife around the sides of the tin and place a serving plate on top. Invert tin and plate, the flan will slide out onto the plate.
- To serve, slice the flan into medium size slices and sprinkle with ground cardamon.
Tips
- Strain the flan mixture. The flan will be like silk.
- Creme reverse is the French word for a flan caramel.
- Do not stir the pan when making the caramel, just swirl it. Otherwise the orange caramel will crystallise.
Perth to Paris Recipes 