Flano Cubano

Or so we called it. Unexpectedly the renegade third contestant in the Ultimate Flanning Championship decided to walk the walk and cough up a flan. This is ostensibly the authentic Cuban flan recipe that was to overwhelm the competition had it been made for the contest.  Better late than never, I suppose.  As you can see the flan was served medium or well done on the top. These did not have to be inverted as there was no caramelized sugar syrup on the bottom. It was supplemented with fresh berries on top although pomegranate had been expected. (They are out of season.)  The flan was good, not to sweet and made from all fresh ingredients. The texture was a little less smooth than expected but that did not stop anyone from enjoying it. It did invite comparisons to the competition.

Liver Research Center Ultimate Flanning Championship

Ladies and gentlemen. Boys and girls. Children of all ages. Welcome to the LRC-UFC post-game analysis.

Now that our panel of sophisticated tasters and flan critics have carefully tasted all of the entries, the poll is open. Our experts would choose the ultimate flan champion based on presentation, aroma, texture, and overall taste. While, we await the judges' final verdict, let us review today's competition.

First, we have a Hong Kong-style flan (it is actually an egg tart, not a flan, but it is close enough). The silky smooth texture and the rich custard flavor playfully contrast against the juicy peaches and the flaky crust. Egg tart is one of the most popular pastry in Hong Kong and is highly sought-after by foreigners, including former Hong Kong Governor, Christopher Patten. A fun fact: while the egg tart is quite easy to make, the recipe calls for 10 minutes baking in a 400°C (~752°F) oven. That's hot!

Next, we have the authentic Spanish flan, in original flavor (bottom of the picture) and in pumpkin flavor (top of the picture). The magical combination of creamy custard, rich caramel topping, and perfectly balance sweetness is further highlighted by the bold, yet delightful, pumpkin flavor. These two flans represent the best fruit of our contestant's sleepless labor. In fact, a total of ten flans were made by our flan expert, and only three satisfied her stringent quality expectation. The third flan, in raspberry flavor, was briefly presented to the crowd, but was ultimately withdrawn from the competition by the contestant.

Our third contestant has, unfortunately, decided to forfeit at the last minutes; therefore, the legendary Cuban pomegranate flan will forever remain a legend.

Overall, it was a fun and exciting contest. Cake Hour turnout has reached an all-time-high. There was some discussion on possible future contest topics - pies, muffins, cookies... If you have an interesting idea for our next ultimate championship challenge, please leave a comment.

Finally, the recipes for these delicious flans will soon be posted in the Recipes section. Stay tuned.

-- Update --

The poll is over and the votes are in. The peach flan got 11 votes, the original flan also got 11 votes, and the pumpkin flan got 3 votes.

FLAN!!!!!

FLAN!!!!! My first time making it from scratch hopefully I don't get anyone sick. :)

RolfIC said...

Today's cake hour treat was a pair of flans, one plain and simple and another with coconut. Both were delicious and kudos to Vicky for her work. However, a mild controversy ensued when Vicky's recipe - of Puerto Rican origin - was sweeter than a similar flan from a Cuban recipe. It was decided that the issue would be settle by a Flan-off to take place next Wednesday! A Cuban, a Puerto Rican and a Hong Kong flan will be judged by the assembled group. The competition will be fierce!