Aran Goyoaga: Amama Miran's Flan
James Beard Award Finalist Aran Goyoaga is a Seattle-based author, food stylist, and photographer. Born and raised in the Basque Country, Aran conveys the emotions of food and everyday life through visual stories and recipes. Her recipes are so personal and meaningful that it feels like eating someone’s diary. In a good way.
I’ve followed Aran’s blog, Cannelle et Vanille (now a best-selling cookbook) since 2009. When my family spent the summer of 2013 in Seattle, Aran and I became fast friends. One afternoon, Aran set out a picnic blanket under a tree in her backyard and served up a beautiful, homemade cake, highlighted just so by the dappled light through the branches. Our kids played in the grass. It was just perfect. I had the opportunity to illustrate Aran for New York Magazine. The relaxed warmth and elevated style of Aran’s work line up perfectly with the experience of knowing her.
For my first Art Basil post, I asked Aran to share a recipe with personal significance, and she shared Amama (grandmother) Miren’s Flan. I think it’s the perfect recipe to launch Art Basil and post before Mother’s Day, as both an homage to her family matriarch and for you to add to your cooking adventures.
“There was always milk simmering in a large stock pot in our family’s pastry shop,” Aran told me. “Raw milk came from the dairy up the street. It had a handful of cows that produced enough milk to drive down the hill and into town in large metal canisters. My grandmother would pasteurize the milk in the morning and use it to make custard the next day. Day in, day out. There was little waste, but on the days there was leftover milk, my grandmother made flan.”
Here’s a photo of Aran, and one of her beautiful Amama (holding her mother).
Here’s Aran and Amama’s recipe. If you make it, let us know how it went, share a photo and your thoughts!
Instructions: Bake the flan in a large dish like a loaf pan, or individual ramekins or molds. Baking time will vary depending on the vessel, so pay attention to how the custard sets in the center. When the center isn’t jiggly anymore, it’s ready.
Flan is best served chilled. Plan on making it several hours before serving. It keeps in the refrigerator for a few days.
Serves 6
1 1/2 cups (300 g) sugar, divided
2 cups (450 g) whole milk or oat milk
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped
1 cinnamon stick
1 lemon
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
Preheat oven to 300F. Place the oven rack in the center. Boil water and set aside.
Make the caramel: Heat a medium stainless steel sauté pan or saucepan over high heat.Sprinkle 1 cup (200 g) of the sugar evenly in the pan and wait until the sugar starts to melt. Continue cooking until sugar starts turning light amber. Stir it with a wooden spoon to distribute any uneven clusters of sugar. Cook until the sugar turns a deeper amber color and immediately pour the caramel into the molds. Swirl the caramel around so it coats the bottom of the mold. Set aside. Steep the milk.
Cut strips of the lemon zest using a vegetable peeler, then combine it with the milk, vanilla pod seeds, cinnamon stick, and salt in a medium saucepan. Warm the milk over medium heat until it begins to appear frothy but do not let it boil. Remove pan from heat and steep for 15 minutes so flavors infuse.
Make the custard. Whisk together the eggs, yolks, and remaining sugar in a large bowl. Pour in the warm milk and immediately whisk together until smooth. Strain the custard through a fine strainer into a clean bowl (preferably a bowl with a spout or a large measuring jar). Pour the custard into the molds.
Bake the flan. Set the molds inside a deep baking pan and place in the oven. Add boiling water into the baking pan so it reaches halfway up the mold. Cover the top with aluminum foil, then bake until the flan is set in the center and doesn’t jiggle when lightly shaken. Time will vary depending on the size of the mold you are using. For 8-ounce ramekins, it will be somewhere around 30-40 minutes, but a large loaf pan will take up to 55 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, then carefully lift the molds out of the water bath, and discard the foil. Let the flan cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours until set.
To serve, gently loosen the sides of the custard with a knife. Make sure you have a serving dish deep enough to hold the caramel sauce. Place the serving dish on top of the mold, invert it, and gently tap it down once until you hear the flan release from the mold. Lift the mold off letting all the caramel run on top and onto the sides. Slice the flan with a knife and spoon some of the caramel on top.