Bourbon Vanilla Flan
Total Time: 3hr 25min
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 1¼ cup milk
- 1 Sou Nature Bourbon Vanilla bean split lengthwise
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- ¼ cup sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Heat milk with vanilla bean halves in a small saucepan over moderate heat until hot. Remove from heat, cover, steep 20 minutes.
3. Prepare custard dishes by setting them in a dishtowel-lined cake pan. Cook sugar in a small, non-stick (ceramic) skillet over medium-low heat, swirling skillet to help sugar melt evenly, until melted and deep caramel, 1-2 minutes.
4. Immediately pour into (4) 5-6 ounce custard cups or ramekins, tilting the cups as needed to coat the bottoms. Let the caramel cool while you mix the custard ingredients.
5. Whisk together the whole egg, the egg yolk, sweetened condensed milk, and a pinch of salt until smooth. Discard the vanilla bean pod from the steeped milk and gradually whisk the milk into the egg mixture.
6. Divide the custard among the custard dishes. Fill the cake pan with boiling water until the water level is half way up the sides of the custard dishes. Cover loosely with a sheet of foil, in the middle of the oven until the custard is set, but still trembles slightly, 35-40 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and take the custard dishes from the water bath, placing them on a wire rack to cool. Chill, uncovered, at least 2 hours before serving. Unmold the flans by running a knife or cake spatula around the edges to loosen and invert onto dessert plates.
Flans can be made ahead and kept chilled in custard cups, uncovered.
8. Bon Appétit!
Tahitian Vanilla Ice Cream
Total Time: 3hr 40min
Serves: 10
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar divided
- 1 Sou Nature Tahitian vanilla bean split & scraped
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 5 egg yolks
Instructions
Making the Ice Cream
1. Heat the milk mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally, to dissolve the sugar. Continue to heat just until the mixture comes to a rolling boil.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl whisk the egg yolks with all the remaining sugar until lightened to a pale yellow. Once the cream mixture begins steaming, I add the sugar to the yolks and them whisk them together.
3. Once the cream comes to a boil, slowly pour it into the eggs while whisking constantly. Pour back into the pot.
4. Return the pot to the stove and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a silicone, until the mixture has thickened and will coat the back of a wooden spoon. The base will reach until the base reaches 85°C or 180°F on an instant read thermometer.
5. Pour through the sieve into the bowl nestled in ice. Allow to cool, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and cool at least 3 hours or overnight for the thickest, richest ice cream.
Churning the Ice Cream
1. Pour into your ice cream machine per the manufacturer’s specifications. You always want to add the base with the machine already running to avoid it freezing on the sides.
2. Continue churning until the volume increase by about 1/3 and the ice cream pulls away from the sizes and holds its shape when scooped out. In my Cuisinart this takes a solid 25 minutes.
3. Place in 1 quart container and cover in plastic wrap, making sure that the plastic is touching the ice cream to prevent ice crystals from forming or absorbing any flavors from the freezer. Refrigerate at least 3 hours but preferably overnight.
4. Bon Appetit!
