Flan is a traditional sweet of Portuguese gastronomy, present in the menu of many typical restaurants and taverns, in particular in the region of Estremadura. It is prepared in individual molds, often unmolded just before serving, or in bigger molds and served in slices. It is creamy and very smooth, delicious in its traditional version, only with eggs, milk, and sugar, but the flavoring of milk with tea, in my case with Earl Gray tea—one of my favorites, gives the flan an absolutely fantastic flavor intensity!
I used 2 tbsp of Earl Grey tea leaves. The sugar took 8 minutes to begin to color a bit, and another 2 minutes to get a dark maple-syrup amber color, so 10 minutes total is an accurate time to prepare the caramel. The time to dissolve the sugar in the egg mixture is accurate, 3 minutes. It’s important to mix the ingredients with a wooden spoon, just the time needed to dissolve the sugar, and incorporating the minimum amount of air, to get a smooth pudding.
I used an 18 cm-metal flan mold with a lid (like this one). The tea flan should bake with the lid, or instead with an aluminum foil covering the mold. It took 1 hour to bake and another hour to cool to room temperature. Then it went to the refrigerator to cool overnight. I also made them a second time, using individual molds, it took only 20 minutes to bake the flans, and about 1 1/2 hours to cool.
This pudding has a soft texture and a delicate flavor, and the tea flavor added in this recipe greatly enriches it. But what I like the most about this dessert is that sweet caramel layer on top!
It can be prepared in a large mold, or in small individual flan molds. Until recently, the flan pudding served in individual portions was part of the menus of many traditional Portuguese restaurants. Prepared in a small metal mold, about 2” by 2.75”, it was stored in the refrigerator and unmold just before serving. It has the advantage of being easier to unmold, and in addition the baking and cooling times are also smaller. In slices or in small puddings, it is a rich and delicate dessert, that is worth trying.