Leche Flan and Creme Caramel

First things first, I am nuts - literally, about Leche Flan - that caramel custard dessert that makes its appearance every Filipino fiesta celebrated by each town in the Philippines dedicated to its patron saint. Now each town has its own patron saint and therefore each has its own feast day. It is not uncommon that these towns are just separated by a few kilometers and their feasts separated by a few days. One can attend a marathon of them within each and nearby town literally within days.
Now the funny thing about it is that each town fiesta is not just a one day affair. On the contrary, they are somewhat a three day festivity that begins with the pre-fiesta, the fiesta proper and post fiesta holiday. I remember how the pre-fiesta begins with food and booze tidbits developing to a crescendo  as it climaxes the following day with masses, parades and more food and booze. Since everyone becomes tired with all this celebration, the post fiesta is marked by a day of rest but still with same through decreasing amounts of booze and food until everyone goes back to work with a lingering headache and post celebratory depression.

Fiesta in all its color and splendor!

Now imagine this tri-day holiday being repeated by nearby towns separated by just a few days and it is uncommon for one to “do the rounds” so to speak. Since everyone is welcome is everywhere to partake of one’s table, one can just imagine how anyone can get a free meal easily. And the boozehounds would be all over the town sprawled in some corner getting some sleep.
Anyway, as it is a time of celebration with loads of food, it is not uncommon that fiesta fare would make its appearance. Prior to celebration, almost every night one eats “survival” meals to tie each day from hunger but during fiestas, a bad habit I must admit, impoverished sharecropper families would even take huge loans just so they can have a proper jubilee, borrowing money from the rich families who may own the lands they till. This usually causes a further relationship of economic dependency sometimes for generations to come.
But it is in this spirit of grandiosity that one brings out and proves that his cooking is the best. Thus, the best lechon is judged as guests make the rounds from one household to another - just as the best afritada (a chicken stew in tomato sauce) or morcon (a beef roll with other goodies tucked in like chorizo and hard boiled eggs) or lumpia (spring rolls) or menudo (pork dish with liver in tomato sauce) or pastel (a type of chicken pie casserole) or lengua (beef tongue casserole in either cream sauce or tomato sauce depending on preference). Certain towns have a “signature dish” - like this one town in Marikina where my mom’s friends were from who dealt with selling pork in the meat market. (Now they also have a funeral parlor but that’s another business and - no - they didn’t sell meat items that came from their undertaker.) The dish is called “Pininyang Manok” which literally translated as “Pineapple Chicken” a dish that somewhat tasted a cross between chicken stew and a Pina Colada. But during fiestas in this town, one can rest assure that the Pininyang Manok would be the piece de resistance of one’s table and that there would be different ways of preparing it from one household to the next, accounting for the differences between families.

Two kinds of tables displaying various
types of food in all its different
flavors, colors and textures.

Lechon! The table simply has to have one!

This is also the case with Leche Flan. Though custard is custard and the caramel syrup is caramel syrup; each cook has its own formula which account for the differences in sweetness, flavors and texture. It is in this spirit of competition that guests would comment privately among each other, “Mrs. A’s leche flan is better than Mrs. B’s. But I think Mrs. C’s the best if you are looking for a milkier taste. Mrs D’s seems a bit rough. But A’s is creamier.” And don’t one dare taste one’s wares and not the other, lest he be targeted with an unfriendly comment, “You went to Mrs. A’s house but did not come to MY house! How could you!?!” Yes, would will be forced to visit and eat. Eat! Eat!! Eat!!!
Leche Flan, I found out is also a French dessert called Creme Caramel. Being custards, it is also related to Creme Brulee and so with custard based ice creams. The difference is the proportion of milk fats to solidifying agents whether milk solids, egg yolks and egg whites. The more egg products and milk solids, the more solid the custard and hence has more structure but this results in a tougher texture to the tongue. The more fat, the custard becomes creamier and lighter but that leads also to less structure; hence may need the container during presentation such as that in Creme Brulee.
Egg yolks and egg whites have a tendency to provide structure to custards but owing to the yolk’s fat content, the result is that of a creamy solid. However, egg whites only coagulate with scanty fat content, hence easier to whip with air - hence its role in making meringues - and in custards, it will provide structure but somewhat of a tougher quality with a bite. Leche Flan, in my experience is sweeter - hence more sugar, milkier - hence more milk solids and with more bite - hence more egg components including egg whites. Creme Caramel seems less sweet - having less sugar, less milky - using a combination of cream and milk, and with a delicate bite that glides on the tongue - most likely due to the use of more egg yolks (though some also make it with some egg white to provide more structure). If there is a point that one can take home in this discussion is that higher fat content provides flavor (as always) and texture (as in any dessert) but not structure to hold.
Consider the following. In these subsequent paragraphs,I will provide two different recipes of seeming similar dessert.
The first one is Leche Flan which is taken from the 1959 Manila Chronicle cookbook specifically mentioned in the advertisement for Milkmaid Condensed Milk. Now, this recipe is close to my heart; for one thing, it’s a great way to have a “personal sized” flan to limit the calories and to satisfy the momentary sweet tooth. Secondly, it’s the “emergency flan” if you happen to have a small can of (4 oz.size) of condensed milk lying around and you want to use it avoiding wasting it away in the garbage can. Of course, one can double or triple the recipe depending the number of guests or the size of the can of condensed milk one wants to use. The result is milkier, tastier and somewhat tougher but good. I think because it has more milk solids and sugar.
As opposed to the other, Creme Caramel has more fat and less milk solids. The sugars are relatively less as well. It has a silkier feel and a lighter flavor.  It is delicate on the tongue but less sweet and not overly milky.

An old Milkmaid Condensed Milk Ad.

The Leche Flan recipe in closer view.

Is there a proper way to make custard? This is still a matter of great debate. I would bet that Leche Flan is more attuned to the Filipino palate as the Creme Caramel would more be preferred in high end French restaurants which are more critical of textures as with the flavor (which are a bit lighter). But this is not to say that one is better than the other. I suggest that the way to know your preference is to try. And make several attempts in making these desserts for temperature is your friend as it congeals the custard, but the higher it is can result in it being your enemy for it promotes expanding trapped air bubbles resulting in a rougher texture. The point is custards are a labor of love and thus patience. Slowly made with a moderately lower temperature would result in a creamy, smooth and addicting dessert.

Leche Flan
(Milkmaid ad recipe from 1959 Manila Chronicle cookbook)

• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 4 oz. condensed milk
• ⅓ cup water
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

1. In a metal custard pan, combine sugar and 2 tablespoons water. Carefully let the pan directly sit on medium heat until the sugar begins to melt, bubble and caramelize to a golden brown. While it is in its syrup stage, tilt the pan to evenly distribute the caramel. Set aside.
2. Mix together condensed milk with ⅓ cup of water. Meanwhile in a separate bowl, crack the egg and let it pass through a sieve. Using a spoon, slowly break the yolk and mix with the white as this passes through the sieve. This will result in a scrambled egg mixture that is free of bubbles and ensuring that the solid part of the whites are broken up. (Solid parts of the white would cause a whitish streak in the custard which is tough and unpleasant to look at.)
3. Slowly stir the milk water mixture taking care not to beat it avoiding a whipping action and production of bubbles. (Bubbles in raw custard would create a bubbly solis custard which gives a rough texture.) Flavor with vanilla.
4. Pour carefully in the prepared custard mold and bake in a moderate 300 degree F oven for about thirty minutes on a pan of water (bain marie). To test, one may place a knife in the midle of the custard which if it comes out clean, it is ready.
5. Let rest until room temperature and chill afterwards in the refrigerator for about a day. During this time, the water content of the custard would be drawn to the caramel sugar, dissolving it once again into a syrup.
6. Release the custard by passing a knife by the sides of the custard pan and putting a plate on top, invert both instantly loosening the custard onto the plate “upside down”.

Creme Caramel.

• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup water (or more)
• 12 egg yolks
• 3 cups half and half (or 1 ½ cup whole milk mixed with 1 ½ heavy cream) - Important: DO NOT USE fat free half and half.
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla

1. In a saucepan, mix ½ cup sugar and ½ cup water. On top of medium heat, dissolve the sugar then turning to high to bubbling. This would caramelize the sugar until golden brown. If the sugar begins to crystallize prematurely without caramelizing, add more water. Once brown (not burnt) pour into a quart sized pyrex dish. Let the caramel solidify as it cools.
2. On top of low fire, gently heat the half and half until barely steaming. Be careful not to let it boil. As a modification of this recipe and is the traditional way of making it, you may choose to steep a vanilla bean pod in the warming milk and once soft, open the pod to scoop the seeds into the milk.
3. Combine the sugar with egg yolks and using a wire whisk, gently mix well.
4. Getting about a cup of the warm half and half, gently pour into the egg sugar mixture stirring slowly not to create a mot of bubbles. Once mixed, pour this into the remaining warm milk and mix further, again taking care not to make more bubbles.
5. Pour the raw custard into the prepared pyrex dish. The bubbles would float on the top. Using a spoon, slowly skim most of these leaving a smooth surface. Discard the foam.
6. Bake at 300 degree Fahrenheit with the dish sitting on a pan of water (bain marie) for two hours.

Tips:

• In both cases, gentle mixing is a must to create less bubbles which when baked into the custard makes the texture rough.
• Baking should be done in a low temperature. This prevents any unavoidable bubbles in the raw custard expanding so much that it is baked in the final product producing a rough texture. While the taste is not affected, the texture is reminiscent of scrambled eggs which should not be the case.
• The easy way of making the caramel crust is in the Leche Flan method which employs tin pans and is most common in the Philippines. However, because the tin is sitting on top of direct flame, the heat is unevenly distributed and may cause burning of some of the sugars. If one is not careful, there could be black specks of burnt sugar baked into the custard. This presents a rather unattractive product and may affect the flavor becoming bitter.