Flan de cajeta (Mexican goat milk caramel custard)

Ingredients

• For the mould
• 180 ml cajeta (goat milk caramel), warmed slightly so it pours evenly; from Celaya-style producer if possible
• For the custard
• 4 eggs, whole
• 400 ml sweetened condensed milk, one standard tin
• 400 ml evaporated milk, full-fat
• 1 tsp vanilla extract, or ½ vanilla bean, split and scraped
• For the bain-marie
• as needed hot water, to fill the roasting tin to halfway up the mould
• To serve
• 60 ml cajeta, warmed, for drizzling at the table

Method

1. 1
   Heat the oven to 160 °C. Warm the cajeta in a small saucepan or briefly in a bain-marie until it is fluid and pourable. Pour it into a 20 cm round mould or six individual ramekins, tilting to coat the base evenly. Set aside. The cajeta should settle into a level, glossy layer with no bare patches.
2. 2
   Combine the eggs, condensed milk, evaporated milk, and vanilla in a blender. Blend on low speed for 30 seconds until uniformly combined. Do not incorporate excess air. The mixture should be pale, cohesive, and smell of sweet dairy and vanilla.
3. 3
   Pass the custard mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a jug. This is where the dish lives or dies: any unblended egg-white fibres that pass through the sieve will produce a stringy, uneven texture in the finished flan. The strained liquid should be completely smooth and flow without resistance.
4. 4
   Pour the strained custard gently over the set cajeta in the mould. Place the mould in a deep roasting tin. Transfer to the oven, then pour hot water into the roasting tin until it reaches halfway up the side of the mould. The water bath must be in place before baking begins; baking without it causes uneven heat and a cracked, rubbery surface.
5. 5
   Bake at 160 °C for 45–55 minutes for a single large mould (30–35 minutes for individual ramekins). The flan is done when the edges are set and the centre retains a gentle, uniform wobble when the mould is nudged — it should move as one mass, not ripple like liquid.
6. 6
   Remove the mould from the water bath and allow it to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours, or overnight. The custard is ready to unmould when it feels firmly set and pulls very slightly away from the mould wall when the tin is tilted.
7. 7
   Run a thin knife around the edge of the mould. Place a lipped serving plate face-down over the mould, invert in one decisive movement, and lift the mould away. The cajeta, now liquid from resting against the set custard, will pool around the base of the flan. Drizzle additional warmed cajeta over the top at the table.