Simple recipes...Chef Laura shares her sweet, velvety Flan dessert

Laura Arredondo and her family have been cooking and sharing delicious Spanish recipes for generations. Everyone in the family cooks and traditional recipes are a staple of the family from Uruguay. Chef Laura's techniques are easy to follow and the result is the consistency of the bake and the flavorful bite.  

Flan or 'flat cake' in Latin is a traditional Latin-American dessert. First created by  Ancient Rome almost two thousand years ago, the Romans borrowed some of the Greek cooking techniques and created egg-based recipes. 

In Roman times, it was considered a 'healthy choice'. The Romans shared  recipes as they conquered Europe throughout the first few centuries. And although the Roman empire fell in 476, the flan survived. Throughout the Medieval Empire, the recipe was adapted and sweeter versions emerged. It was the Spaniards who first topped the Flan with caramel sauce.

Directions for the Flan: 
5 egg yolks
2 whole eggs
1 can evaporated milk
1 can condensed milk
1/3 cup milk
1 tbsp. vanilla
1/3 tsp salt
Mix together with a whisker

Directions for the caramel:
1/4 water
2/3 cup sugar
When the caramel is ready, add 2 tbsp. of hot water from the faucet (so the caramel doesn’t get hard).

Cover a flan pan with the caramel and pour the mix. Put the flan pan in a bigger oven tray filled w hot water and cover with aluminum foil. That's a Bain Marie cook or water bath. Cook in the oven at 300 degrees for and hour and 15 minutes until the temp inside the flan is 180F.

Let it cool uncovered in the Bain Marie and then put in the cooler.

When you're ready to eat turn upside down in a nice dish, you can eat it as is, or with whipped cream. Another way to add more flavors is to try with dulce de leche that's like a caramel. You might try Nestle that comes in a can or make your own.