Christmas Leche Flan

There's really nothing "Christmassy" about this flan, except that I made it on Christmas Eve and got to enjoy it on Christmas Day. In fact, we had it for breakfast because I thought I want to start the day with a sweet note.

Leche is Spanish for milk. It is one of the main ingredients of the recipe, aside from eggs. Flan is defined as an open-topped pie, usually savory but mostly sweet. I personally think it is just a glorified version of custard. :-)
What you need:

• 6 egg yolks
• 14 oz evaporated milk
• 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup of sugar

What to do:

Put 1/2 cup of sugar in an 8-inch round mold or cake pan. Place the pan on a burner on very low heat and let the sugar melt. The time it would take to caramelize would depend on how thick your pan is. Better keep an eye on it. If it reaches a runny consistency, swirl it around to coat the sides of the pan. Remove from heat and cool.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the egg yolks, evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract. Mix gently, don't use a whisk as it will create bubbles in the mixture. Use a strainer while pouring it into the pan with the hardened sugar. Cover it with aluminum foil to prevent the steam from escaping while cooking. Put it on your steamer and steam in medium heat for one hour.

Leche Flan pre-flipping

Remove from the steamer and let cool. Run a bread knife on the sides to loosen it up, then flip it on a plate large enough to hold the flan and the caramel. Enjoy!

Tips, Tricks and Tweaks:

1. Add some lemon zest in the egg mixture for an extra zing to the flavor.
2. Add a few drops of water to the caramelized sugar while stirring to prevent it from burning.
3. Hardened caramelized sugar will crack upon cooling so don't fret if you see this happening.
4. If you want more caramel with your flan, increase the amount of sugar to caramelize.
5. To flip it correctly, hold the pan in an upright position and cover it with a big-enough plate face down. Hold both tight, then very gently but with one quick swoop, flip it. If you didn't coat the sides enough with caramel, you might have to give it a little jiggle before it drops to the plate.