Shared by Ilan Stavans
Shared by Ilan Stavans
Poppy Seed Flan
Yield: 8 servingsTime: 15 minutes, plus chilling, plus 45 minutes baking time
Poppy Seed Flan
Yield: 8 servingsTime: 15 minutes, plus chilling, plus 45 minutes baking timeFamily Journey
Poland and BelarusMexico CityNew York City
Amherst, MA
For Friday night dessert, professor and cookbook author Ilan Stavan’s family would enjoy poppyseed flan, with toasty, nutty poppyseeds suspended in a creamy vanilla pudding. Be sure to cook the caramel until amber colored, but pull it off before it burns — the deeper colored the caramel, the more flavorful it’ll be.
Read more of Ilan’s family story in “A Mexican Shabbat With Yiddish Songs Find a New Home in Amherst” and get his recipes for sopa de tortilla (tortilla soup) and pollo con mole y arroz (chicken with mole and rice).
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 1½ tablespoons poppy seeds, plus more for topping
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 4 large eggs
- ½ packed cup light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1½ cups whole milk
Preparation
Step 1
Heat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease or spray eight 6-ounce ramekins and arrange them inside a large baking dish (or two baking dishes if they don’t all fit in one).
Step 2
Add the 1½ tablespoons of poppy seeds to a spice grinder or coffee grinder and briefly grind until cracked but not floury. Set aside.
Step 3
Stir together the sugar and water in a medium-size heavy-bottomed saucepan set over medium-low heat. Let the mixture cook, stirring as little as possible, until it begins to bubble and caramelize, and an amber-colored caramel forms, 10 minutes. (Watch carefully so the caramel doesn’t burn.)
Step 4
Immediately divide the hot caramel among the ramekins, swirling to ensure the caramel coats the bottom of each with a layer of caramel.
Step 5
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, and ground poppy seeds.
Step 6
Heat the heavy cream and milk together in a microwave in 30-second increments, or on the stovetop over medium heat, until just steaming but not boiling. Whisking constantly, gradually add the heated milk mixture to the egg mixture. (Add just a tablespoon at a time at first, to temper the eggs so they do not scramble.)
Step 7
Divide the custard evenly between the ramekins. Carefully pour enough water into the baking dishes to reach halfway up the ramekins. Cover the baking dishes with aluminum foil and bake until the centers of the custard are just set, 25–35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool, then cover each ramekin and let them chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours before serving.
Step 8
To serve, run a knife along the outside of the custards and unmold by inverting the ramekins onto serving plates. Sprinkle each with more poppy seeds, if desired.
