Flan

This Mexican desert is a simple and easy to make desert that never lets you down. I always liked this desert as a kid and remember making it with mom at home. However the one we made at home had a slightly different recipe than this and we called is caramel pudding. 

FIFA Finals was the perfect excuse to make this and it indeed went well with the fabulous BBQ spread at Sen's place. Though the match did not turn out to be as exciting as a final should have been; neverthless we enojyed our day with some scrumptous spreads. Needless to say when bengalis get together no matter what the reason is, how happy or sad they are food is still the main focus. So here is the not so hush hush secret to this amazing desert.

 

Ingredients:

8 eggs
1 can condensed milk,
Same amount of regular milk or same size can evaporated milk
1 Teaspoon Vanilla extract
1 and 1/2 cup of sugar

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degree
2. Caramelize sugar and pour it quickly on a baking pan and let it crystalize. To caramelize sugar pour 1 cup sugar in warm pan over medium heat. Constantly stir sugar until it is brown and becomes caramel.
3. Mix eggs and half cup sugar with a beater. Add both condensed milk, regular / evaporated milk, and vanilla. Mix well with a beater or in the mixer.
4. Pour on the Caramel and bake it for 45-50 minutes or until set. 
5. Remove and let cool.
6. Run a knive through the sides of the flan and refrigerate after cooling covered wih a cling wrap.

Tips:
For a better result bake the flan with a water bath. To do so bake it by putting it on a bowl of hot water rather then baking it directly. This reduces the chances of the caramel  getting burned. Also I use anything between 5 - 12 eggs depending on the number of people I am making it for.

Serving:
Let the flan cool in the refrigerator for an hour before serving. To serve turn the flan on the serving dish and let the caramel flow from top and enjoy.

Fresh Strawberry Upside Down cake

I love berries and as I was thinking what quick desert to make for FIFA 2010 inaugral party and to celebrate a friends birthday this recipe came in my mind. Easy to make and extremely delicious. I particularly used strawberries for this one but it can be substituted with any other berry. The original idea comes from one of the most famous and widely made desert called Pineapple Upside down cake.

As I worked on this cake I discovered two very important parts of the recipe that you can *not* overlook:
1) Use fresh strawberries. It's a completely different taste and texture when you use fresh fruits.
2) MASH the strawberries. I used a potato masher and mashed the strawberries in a bowl to extract the juice out.

Now let's get down to the actual recipe

Ingredients

1-1/3 cups crushed fresh strawberries
2/3 (6 ounce) package strawberry flavored gelatin mix
2 cups miniature marshmallows
2/3 (18 ounce) package yellow cake mix, batter prepared as directed on package

Directions

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Spread crushed strawberries on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking pan. (I use bunt pan as I like the look of the cake that way)
Evenly sprinkle strawberries with the dry gelatin powder, and top with mini marshmallows.
Prepare the cake mix as directed on the package, and pour on top of the marshmallows. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 to 50 minutes. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the pan to loosen the sides, and turn the cake out onto a serving tray. Store cake in the refrigerator for few hours for the cake to set and then serve.

Tips and Learning:

Use a bigger serving tray than the actual size of the cake. This is because when you turn the cake upside down all the juices trickle down the side and if you don't have a bigger tray to hold it then it ends up in a mess which was the case with me. The cake is super moist and yummy with the juices trickling down the sides. If you like the cake warm with the juices flowing then you can serve it without refrigerating. However I cooled the cake down for the juices to set down.

You can also serve this cake with vanilla ice-cream or whipped cream or just get innovative. It's such an easy desert to make and yet so yummy that you would love making it time and time again. So Njoy!!