CARAMEL AND CUSTARD

Preheat oven to 350 F. Gather a 9-inch cake pan and a large casserole or sauté pan that will accommodate the cake pan and water.

Add sugar to a small sauté pan and place over medium heat. Cook sugar, without stirring, for 8 to 10 minutes until it's amber colored. Do not look away for a second! Pour the caramel into a 9-inch cake pan and tip the pan to completely coat the bottom of the pan. Set aside.

Bring 3 cups of water to a boil.

In a separate pan, simmer milk, cream, vanilla bean and seeds, white chocolate, sugar, and lime zest until you see a whiff of steam. Turn off and cover for 10 minutes.

Remove vanilla bean and zest. Slowly whisk in egg yolks and eggs, incorporating them into the milk mixture. Pour mixture into caramel pan.

Place cake pan in larger pan and fill with boiling water until the water is about 1/2 way up the sides of the cake pan. Cover cake pan with foil and bake at 350 F for 30 minutes.

Uncover and continue baking until the custard is set and a knife can be inserted and come out clean.

Remove the flan from oven. Cool at least 4 hours or overnight before inverting over a platter to unmade it. If the flan resists this move, gently heat the flan in a pan of warm water for 1 to 2 minutes and try again.

Serve with berries, blood oranges and whipped cream (instructions below).

 

BLOOD ORANGES AND STRAWBERRIES

Mash berries with sugar and fold blood orange pieces.

 

WHIPPED CREAM

Whisk cream, sugar, and vanilla bean either with a mixer or by hand until thick and a soft peak forms.

Store leftover (as if) whipped cream, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.