Custard Flans with Assorted Toppings

Custard Flans with Assorted Toppings

Makes 8

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
6 eggs
Assorted jams, preserves or dessert sauces (blueberry jam, apricot preserves, butterscotch or hot fudge topping)
Boiling water

Directions:
1. Heat the oven to 350°F.
2. In a small saucepan, bring the milk, half-and-half, vanilla and sugar to a bare simmer over medium-low heat.
3. Place 1 to 2 tablespoons of topping in each of 8 custard cups.
4. Separate 3 of the eggs, reserving the whites for another use. Whisk the remaining whole eggs and the yolks until slightly thickened and lighter in color.
5. While whisking, drizzle in about a quarter of the hot milk, then whisk the tempered eggs back into the saucepan.
6. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl with a spout.
7. Set the custard cups in a roasting pan and divide the custard among them.
8. Place the pan on the middle rack and pour boiling water into the pan to just under the level of the custard.
9. Bake about 40 minutes, until the flans wobble slightly.

Make Ahead:
Freeze the leftover egg whites in ice cube trays, then transfer to freezer bags for up to a year.