Um. Do I really have to convince you to make this recipe? Thought so. The other day Whole Foods had a sale on figs and holy cow did I stock up, $5 for 2 baskets!? Yes please. Once they were in my house, I needed to use them in every single possible way, which included the classic combo of blue cheese on baguette and on salads. But this, this recipe by the coco pineapple family (that’s me and my peeps), is just a bit unreal; it’s definitely thicker than a regular flan, almost like cheese! The original recipe has vanilla and pecans, so I decided to jazz it up a bit with some creamy figs and a bit of bourbon.

Ok, I’m gonna zip it so we can jump to the kitchen to make this mouthwatering Bourbon Fig Flan. (say that 3 times, fast).

READ THE FULL RECIPE AFTER THE JUMP!

Bourbon Fig Flan
Makes around 6

Ingredients

– 1 can of sweetened condensed milk (300ml ish)
– 1 can of evaporated milk (395ml ish)
– 1 vanilla bean split in half
– 1 1/2 tablespoons of bourbon
– 4 large eggs
– 1/2 cup of sugar
– 8 large figs
– 5 tablespoons of milk

Make it!

–Heat up: Start by making the caramel. Add the sugar and a tablespoon of water to a pot and place on the stove on medium heat. Let it bubble and swirl every now and then. Once it starts to turn brown (you’ll notice thick bubbles forming), remove from heat and pour a bit at the bottom of each mould (just enough to coat it). Let them cool down completely. NOTE: if you want, you can add a few slices of fresh fig as garnish before pouring the caramel.

– Infuse: In a pot heat up the 5 tablespoons of milk and the vanilla bean split in half (scrape the seeds from the bean and dump them in the milk), simmer on low heat for about 5 minutes until the milk is infused. Remove from heat and let it cool down. (Remove the beans once it’s cold, you can lightly rinse them and use them to infuse your morning coffee!).

– Puree: Remove stem from figs AND before you do anything else try them – are they sweet or do they leave a bitter aftertaste? (some black figs do). If the latter, then remove the skin so your flan doesn’t turn bitter. If they’re nice and sweet keep them as is. Chop yo figs, dump them on a food processor and puree until smooth.

– Mix: In a bowl mix the condensed milk, evaporated milk, bourbon, vanilla infused milk, fig puree, and eggs (yes, the whole egg!). Whisk until they’re combined.

– Dish up: Once the caramel has hardened, pour mix in the moulds (leave a bit of room at the top so they don’t spill).

– Bake: Now, this is where some peeps will freak out because I’m not using the regular “water bath” method, ain’t nobody got time for that! My mama placed all the moulds on a tray and baked them as is and that’s why they turned out so damn thick and cheese-like. Either way, bake flan at 300F for 25 min (40 if in water bath). Take them out and let them cool completely (about 4 hours). Refrigerate overnight.

You can serve it directly on the mould or you can remove the flan by submerging the moulds half-ish way in hot water until the edges come apart – flip on a plate and serve.

There you have it. SO GOOD. I ate about 3 while I was taking these photos and was bouncing off the walls. Yes, it’s quite a sugary treat, but hey, we are allowed to cheat every now and then, right?! What about you? Are you a fan of flan?

Buen provecho!

Styling and Photos by The Artful Desperado