Cowboy Flan
We traveled to a historic ghost town in Nevada, to cook up some cowboy flan. But there’s a very special ingredient in it – Two Bitch Bourbon. This special product was named by the owners after their two rescue doberman pups, miss Scarlett and Sage. They are a great bunch and we joined them in Eureka, Nevada to whip up this special dish. If you’re interested in meeting the two pups and a trip around Eurka be sure to check out the video below.
Let’s Mix It Up
Step 1:
To a blender add: 1 can condensed sweetened milk, ½ can evaporated milk, 1 cup heavy whipping cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 3 large eggs (or cackle berries as I like to call them). Now, traditionally there was no cinnamon in flan, but I do like a little cinnamon, so we’re going to put a little shake in there.
Tip: always make sure that the cream and eggs that you use come to nearly-room temperature before adding the recipe. If you put a cold egg in there, it’s not going to blend as smoothly.
Step 2:
Now all we have to do is mix it together in a blender. You don’t need to whip it as a whipped cream but just make sure everything is smooth and that egg is mixed in really well. Just let that sit there while we put together the caramel sauce.
Step 3:
We’re moving to the stove and going to make the caramel that goes on the bottom of the dish. First, you need a non-stick skillet. I don’t recommend using cast iron for this because it is hard on cast and difficult to clean up.
Get it on about medium-high heat and put 1 cup of white sugar in there. We’ll let in sit there until it begins to melt to make a caramel sauce.
You want to make sure that you keep the skillet moving and swirling. You can raise it up from the heat if you think it’s getting too hot too quickly. Just keep the sugar moving so it doesn’t burn. You can also use a spatula to stir the sugar once it begins to melt.
If you notice something beginning to crystallize, give it a little mashing and stirring, and it will get back to that smooth caramel texture.
Step 4:
Now, as our sugar has melted, we will add a tablespoon of bourbon in there. With the advice of an expert, we’re going to use the Two Bitch Eureka Gold bourbon. This good bourbon will bring so much flavor to our dish. And it’s important to know that when you boil it, you’re taking the alcohol content out of it, but you’re keeping that good woody flavor.
After you’ve added bourbon, give it a good stirring over the heat for a couple minutes.
Step 5:
Evenly pour a little of this mixture into each Ramekin (the recipe makes 4). I like to reserve about 3 tablespoons of the sauce and pour that onto some parchment paper to let it cool. We’ll use that later for the topping.
Step 6:
Take the content of the blender and give it a little stir in case any of it settled, then evenly pour into the Ramekins.
You’ll then place the Ramekins into a large cake pan or casserole dish. Fill the dish with boiling water so it reaches about 2/3 up the side of the Ramekins.
This makes a fun camping recipe too and can be made outdoors in a Dutch oven. Check out our video below to learn how.
Step 7:
Place the dish in a preheated oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for about 45 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Remove the dish from the oven and leave the Ramekins in the water bath for 10 to 15 minutes, then remove from the water. Let the Ramekins cool to room temperature and then chill for at least two hours.
As the flan chills, the consistency will change slightly. I like to eat the flan after chilling about 2 hours which has a softer texture. Letting flan chill 4 hours or longer creates a more cheesecake consistency.
Step 8:
When you’re ready to serve, score the around the outside edge of the flan and invert onto a plate.
Remember that sauce we poured onto the parchment paper? Lightly crush it with a rolling pin to break into pieces and then top on the flan and serve. You can also top with a dash more of the bourbon before serving.
So, there you go! And remember to check out the video to see us cook this flan in action. Folks this is a great dish to serve for friends and family so be sure to gather around the table and enjoy.
Cowboy Flan - Cowboy Kent Rollins
Ingredients
- 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- ½ 12 ounce can evaporated milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 tablespoon whiskey or bourbon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Lightly grease 4 Ramekins.
- Let the cream and egg come close to room temperature before starting.
- In a blender, combine the condensed milk, evaporated milk, heavy cream, cinnamon, vanilla and eggs. Blend until smooth but not whipped. Set aside.
- Add the sugar to a nonstick skillet over medium heat. As the sugar begins to melt stir with a spatula to prevent it from burning until it becomes a smooth caramel.
- Stir in the whiskey and continue stirring 1 to 2 more minutes.
- Evenly pour the sauce into the Ramekins, reserving about 3 tablespoons. Pour the reserved sauce onto parchment paper and let cool.
- Lightly stir the contents of the blender and evenly pour into the Ramekins. Place the Ramekins into a large cake pan or casserole dish. Pour boiling water into the dish until it reaches about ⅔ up the side of the Ramekins.
- Place the casserole dish with the Ramekins in the oven and bake for about 45 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove the casserole dish from the oven, but leave the Ramekins in the dish for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the Ramekins from the water and let cool to room temperature. Chill for at least 2 hours. As the flan chills, it will change in consistency slightly. A 2 hour chill creates a softer flan while chilling for 4 hours or longer will create a more cheesecake consistency.
- When ready to serve, score the outside edges of the Ramekins and invert on a plate. Crumble the cooled sauce on the parchment paper with a rolling pin and top on the flan. Serve.
