The International Gastronomy

Simple & delicious

This is a series of my best “International” recipes. I say my because these are the delicacies I’ve been
preparing for years and are the ones everyone loves.
If we really think about it we realize that when we love to cook and bake, we can travel all over the world, tasting the best of the International Cuisine without living  our dinner table.
Tonight I prepared a ”Flan” for my son-in-law because it was his birthday and that’s the only gift he always ask me for. In Portuguese it’s called “Pudim”
If you go to Brazil in any state, any city, any weekend and any home, you’ll probably be offered pudim with coffee. This dessert is very popular, super delicious and easy to make.
Where did this famous Flan come from? The answer is a bit complicated because Flan is an ancient dessert prepared in different ways all over the world. So I believe no country can really claim
this dessert as their own. Each country adds their special touch to the basically same recipe.
Here is the one I make and I like to think that  it is a Brazilian Flan.

PUDIM

Ingredients for the Flan:   8 eggs-  2 cans of condensed milk-  2 cans of evaporated milk-  2 teaspoons of real vanilla extract 

Beat the eggs in the blender at high-speed, when eggs are somewhat fluffy add the evaporated milk and mix 

some more , add the condensed milk and mix for about another 10 seconds, add vanilla and mix for a second. Turn off blender and reserve.

Ingredients for the caramel sauce:  2 cups of granulated sugar.

Pour the sugar in median sauce pan and over medium heat stir the sugar until it melts completely.

Carefully pour caramel over a bundt cake pan and swirl it around slowly to cover all areas of the pan. Turn blender on again for 2 seconds to remix the flan and pour

mixture into the caramelized bundt pan.   

Get a round dish big enough so the bundt pan will fit inside of it. Fill the round dish  half way with water, put the bundt pan inside.

Cover the bundt pan with foil making sure all sides are tightly sealed and bake  in 350 degrees oven for about an hour or until toothpick comes out clean. 

Let it cool , place it the refrigerator about 2 hours, turn flan over on a large pretty round dish and serve with coffee or tea.

There are many variations to this recipe:

You can add 1 cup of real coconut milk for a lighter tropical taste or 

add 4 table spoons of Parmesan cheese for a delightful sharp cheese taste.

or you can add cinnamon sticks to the evaporated milk an hour before, remove

the sticks before mixing with the other ingredients and voila… You have Mexican flan!

I hope you enjoy this dessert as much as we have.

You can garnish with different fruits too.

If you have any questions don’t hesitate to e-mail me at myfrostedkisscupcakes@gmail.com and ask. I’ll be delighted to answer any questions concerning this recipe

Enjoy!