Making the Custard

Making the Custard
Some recipes call for sweetened condensed milk while others use cream or whole milk. A flan made with sweetened condensed milk will be slightly denser than one made with milk or cream. Likewise, flan made with milk rather than cream will be slightly lighter than a cream-based custard. Experiment with different ingredients and recipes to find the one that suits your tastes.

• Place the milk, solid flavoring--vanilla bean, cinnamon stick, citrus zest--and sugar into a large saucepan. (Liqueurs and extracts are added after the mixture cooks).
• Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
• While the milk mixture heats, whisk the eggs until pale yellow. Don't over-mix the eggs: you don't want the eggs to become foamy, because the air bubbles affect the texture of the finished product.
• In a slow stream, pour the hot milk mixture into the bowl of eggs, whisking constantly.
• Pour the custard base through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl to ensure a silky smooth texture in your flan.
• Stir in extract or other flavorings.
• Divide the custard equally between your caramel-coated dish or ramekins.