#FlanFriday: It’s a Pear and Brandy Creme Kind of Thing

#FlanFriday. You thought it was a thing of the past, didn’t you? It was, truthfully. I love me some decadent desserts, flan topping the list, but even I got a bit “bored” with developing a new custard recipe each week. But, it’s been a good year since I’ve indulged us all with this luscious, creamy, and decadent postre. Goodness! A full year. Where does the time go? All I can say is that my book as occupied ever bit of my creative time, leaving me wonderfully depleted of conjuring up other goodness– at least for that time being. I finally received Modern Pressure Cooking yesterday. Holy wow. After 16 months of blood, sweat, tears, weight gain and more, my book is finally done. I won’t digress any more because we have this flan to talk about, but do check out my Facebook Page to see the excitement of receiving my very first book. Surreal.

But this flan. While I took a very extended break from sharing flan recipes with you, I’ve not stopped from exploring all the different ways in which I can take my flan to another level. I won’t say this very pear flan with a lovely pear and Brandy creme sauce one is it, but it’s definitely one of the newer ones I’ve been enjoying this fall.

Most fruits survive just one season. Pears are one of the few that have varieties that make their cameos at different times. While the ever ubiquitous Anjou is around all summer, Bosc and Comice pears staring peeking in the very tail end of summer, entering fall and staying available through all winter. How sweet is that. It’s also one of the few pears I really enjoy in different styles: pear juice is a winner; stewed or poached pears are crazy perfect with ice cream or on their own — oh, yes, I have a recipe for that in the book — but if you can’t wait, check out a version in this post; sliced raw in salads is glorious; and now in a sexy dessert.

The idea to caramelize a few pears wasn’t planned, like most things in my personal musings. It was very much a situation where my mother called to tell me she had a huge crate and needed to part ways with a few. Sure thing, momma. I monied my way to her casa and ate one. That’s what initiated this flan.

A good and mildly sweet bite of a Bosc turned into buttering two up in Mami’s skillet and later puréeing a decent amount into a velvety creme infused with a spirit for the topping.

One of the nice things about cooking at my mom’s house on the fly is grabbing and clipping anything she has at arm’s reach. Like a beautiful pot of fresh lavender — my favorite herb.

And so that made its way into the creme sauce, too.

In the end, I pressure cooked a beautiful and simple yet well-rounded custard my family enjoyed. The really splendid yield was the coming together of the fragrantly delicate pear Brandy sauce with the rich caramel. It was a perfect consistency and combination of textures and flavors. Mami’s never had anything like it, and much like the pear nectar she grew us up on, she’s added this to her litany of dessert requests.

Fall is officially here. Fall harvests are finally abundant and my creative flow is back in full effect.

From my cocina to your palate, enjoy! Happy #FlanFriday!

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