Almond Orange Flan
Kitchen Tested 
- Yield 10 servings
Caramelized sugar, crunchy almonds and creamy custard—a perfect make-ahead dessert.
Mark Boughton Photography / styling by Teresa Blackburn
A rich egg custard is baked over caramelized sugar, then inverted for this Spanish dessert. Using a water bath during baking protects the eggs from overcooking and ensures a creamy flan.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 4 eggs
- 4 egg yolks
- Finely grated rind of 1 orange
- 2/3 cup whole blanched almonds, toasted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F.
- Heat 1 cup sugar in a nonstick pan over medium heat until sugar becomes light golden brown (about 10 minutes), stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Pour immediately into the bottom of a 9-inch metal cake pan with 2-inch sides or metal flan ring, coating the bottom evenly.
- Combine milk, vanilla, almond extract, nutmeg and remaining ½ cup sugar in a saucepan. Place over low to medium heat and cook until almost simmering, stirring occasionally. Do not let mixture boil. Remove from heat.
- Meanwhile, beat eggs and egg yolks in a large bowl. Strain milk mixture, 1/4 cup at a time, through a fine-mesh sieve into eggs, whisking well. Stir in orange peel.
- Place cake pan in a large roasting pan. Pour milk mixture into cake pan; carefully place roasting pan on middle rack of oven. Pour enough hot water into roasting pan to within 1 inch of the top of cake pan. Cover cake pan with a pie plate or foil.
- Bake about 60 minutes, until custard is just set (mixture should jiggle slightly). Remove from oven. Remove cake pan from water bath; let cool. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight.
- To serve, run a thin spreader or knife around the edge of flan in dish. Place a large serving plate (must overlap flan dish by at least 1 inch) on top. Invert flan onto plate. Sprinkle toasted almonds on top. (Note: Some of the caramelized sugar will stick in the pan.)
Recipe by David Feder.
For a complete menu featuring Almond Orange Flan, along with 11 more simple menus for year round entertaining, check out our Supper Club Menus Recipe App for the iPad on iTunes.
