Mexican Flan

Yield:  12 4-oz or 6 8-oz portions

Ingredients

• 1 cup and 1/2 cup sugar
• 6 large eggs
• 1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 x 13oz cans evaporated milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. You will need 6 ramekins or other specialty flan cook ware and a large baking pan to put them in.
2. Pour 1 cup sugar in warm pan over medium heat. Constantly stir sugar until is browns and becomes caramel. Quickly pour approximately 2-3 tablespoons of caramel in each ramekin [or 1-1½ T if using small ramekins], tilting it to swirl the caramel around the sides. Reheat caramel if it starts to harden.
3. In a mixer or with a whisk, blend the eggs together. Mix in the milks then slowly mix in the 1/2 cup of sugar, then the vanilla. Blend smooth after each ingredient is added.
4. Pour custard into caramel lined ramekins. Place ramekins in a large glass or ceramic baking dish and fill with about 1-2 inches of hot water. Bake for 45 minutes in the water bath and check with a knife just to the side of the center. If knife comes out clean, it's ready.
5. Remove and let cool. Let each ramekin cool in refrigerator for 1 hour. Invert each ramekin onto a small plate, the caramel sauce will flow over the custard.

Notes:

• Very sweet; next time I would reduce the sugar.
• You can caramelize the sugar in the microwave as follows; much less work and easier cleanup:  
• Put 1c sugar in a 4-cup pyrex measuring up
• Add ⅓ c water and cover tightly with plastic wrap.  
• Poke a couple holes in the plastic with a sharp knife, and then microwave for 5 minutes, and then for 30-second intervals until sugar turns medium brown color.
• Be careful not to overcook; the sugar continues to darken after removed from the microwave.   

Variations:

• Add a teaspoon of cocoa or instant espresso to the custard mix before pouring into ramekins.
• Add a tablespoonful of blueberries or diced peaches to the ramekins before pouring in custard. 

Source: http://mexicanfood.about.com.