The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Concord woman makes flawless flan
Concord woman’s secret to a creamy custard to crave is to use a water bath
When Sonia Rodriguez of Concord Township visits her mom in Puerto Rico each year, the first thing she does is make flan. A family friend taught Rodriguez to make the creamy custard dessert when she was 12 and living on the island.
Her mom, Alicia, 85, struggled with the consistency, so flan-making became Sonia’s job.
When she moved to the mainland in her 20s, Rodriguez continued to make flan for family and friends. It’s her go-to. In fact, the teacher at Perry High School shares it with her Spanish-language students on special occasions.
The recipe can be so simple, and the Internet is rife with variations. But those who’ve tasted hers may argue none is as good as Rodriguez’s.
That’s my opinion, too, but I didn’t realize it until I chose an online recipe to make my own. My first flan was more like a caramel-sauced frittata instead of a silky custard. Mine tasted fine but was a textural fail. So I tried it again. Same result.
Rodriguez says one of my failings was the lack of water bath. A water bath means placing custard-filled pan into a larger pan, then, adding warm water to the outside pan until it measures halfway up the inner pan.
The recipe I’d downloaded lacked that instruction. In fact, it called for covering the pan with foil. (Bad idea. The cooked flan clings to the foil.)
Rather than fail again, I went to Rodriguez’s cozy kitchen and watched as she whipped eggs, sprinkled vanilla and melted sugar. She composes intuitively. I made her slow down and measure. And I captured her formula in recipe format.
The biggest challenge when it comes to composing a great flan is waiting. That’s because flan should be eaten cold. Refrigerated for at four to six hours at minimum is best. I’ve made it twice recently and failed the waiting game both time.