# Flan carmel sticks to dish?



## hubba17 (Aug 25, 2016)

Hi! I'm a high school student who loves baking and wants to be a chef! I tried making flan for the first time and I followed this recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/20979/spanish-flan/

Except I used 4 eggs and whisked the mixture by hand. when caramelizing the sugar I used medium heat and once it started caramelizing I stirred the sugar until it was all liquid.

The problem is that when I try 'inverting on to a serving plate after cooling completely" like the recipe says. Part of the flan flops out while big chunks of it stick to the pan still. Some of the caramel has hardened too ( I think that is what is making the flan stick).
I tried 2 different cooling times already. Should I not let it cool at all before inverting it or it the problem with how I made the recipe?


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## kbbq (Aug 26, 2016)

It is likely that cooling the flan is not the cause of your flan sticking, since in my experience it has worked perfectly fine after completely cooling.


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## Iceman (Jan 4, 2011)

[justify]That is a really decent standard recipe. Try running a small knife around the sides of your finished pan. This will make sure the sides don't stick. Then let the pan sit in another shallow pan of warm water for a minute before inverting it. This will make sure the caramelized sugar will be released from the flan.[/justify]_"We work in kitchens ... It ain'te rocket surgery."_​


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## flipflopgirl (Jun 27, 2012)

My PC security won't let me open the recipe so will just toss out a few things (although I am thinking the custard stuck in one place so Iceman's tip about the knife would be the answer).

Why the extra egg (altho doubt that was your problem as only a portion stuck.).

Did you use a glass baking dish?

Whisking by hand is ok as long as you know what the batter should look like when it is ready for the oven.

Your oven could be running hot.

Oven thermometers are cheap so pick one up and check your oven calibration.

Adjust if necessary.

mimi


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## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)

You might be trying to turn it out too quickly. After cooling they like to rest in the refrigerator for a while (overnight) for the caramel to continue liquefying.


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## laurenlulu (Sep 9, 2012)

It is also possible that you are putting too much caramel on the bottom of the pan and the layer is too thick to be penetrated enough to fully liquify


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

BrianShaw said:


> You might be trying to turn it out too quickly. After cooling they like to rest in the refrigerator for a while (overnight) for the caramel to continue liquefying.


I think this is because the flan weeps some more liquid which the caramel absorbs. It is an important step.


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## chrislehrer (Oct 9, 2008)

Watch Pépin do it. He discusses a number of the issues involved. I have never, not once, had a Pépin recipe, slavishly followed, not work.

http://blogs.kqed.org/essentialpepin/2011/09/11/flan-a-la-vanille-with-caramel-cognac-sauce/

My guess is either (a) you didn't rest it long enough, or (b) you didn't put enough caramel in the bottom. The usual problem is that it weeps, not that it sticks!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## mamaofthree (Jun 21, 2017)

I'm guessing that the mistake was that you didn't bake your flan in a pan of water. That recipe doesn't give instructions on how to bake the flan. Put the flan mixture in a pan. Then place that pan in a rectangular pan. Place it in the oven and add an inch of hot, boiled water into the rectangular pan.


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## flipflopgirl (Jun 27, 2012)

mamaofthree said:


> I'm guessing that the mistake was that you didn't bake your flan in a pan of water. That recipe doesn't give instructions on how to bake the flan. Put the flan mixture in a pan. Then place that pan in a rectangular pan. Place it in the oven and add an inch of hot, boiled water into the rectangular pan.


Hey mama.... thanks for the contribution!
I see you are new to the site and wanted to say hey and welcome!
Looking forward to "hearing " more from you.


mimi


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## mamaofthree (Jun 21, 2017)

Thanks flipflopgirl!


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