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#FlanFridays: A Royal Wedding Edition Celebrating Traditions & Culture w/An Earl Grey & Thyme Flan


The Royal Wedding just occurred a few hours ago. I woke up and watched the entire madness, which I thoroughly enjoyed and tweeted like no other event. If you watched it, then you know it was all the pomp and circumstance expected from the Queen’s land. Even with a “commoner” now bearing the title “Princess,” (or she a Duchess first?) the ceremony was beautifully and flawlessly executed.

It was the quintessential picture of old world traditions. The kiss, however boring, was right on point with Will & Kate’s seemingly  coy and private personas. 10 years of dating would yield endless media but somehow they’ve managed to keep papparazzi away until last November when they announced their engagement. Since then, everything they’ve done has been documented and even slightly scrutinized.

Why all this wedding chatter on #FlanFridays? Well, because it’s been a few weeks since I’ve presented you lovely readers with a new flavor, it was only appropriate that I bring it back with a regal combination of style, flavor and tradicion!

Naturally, and with timing on my side, today’s flan is inspired the by century long traditions and culture of the British. The Brits are known for their devoted tea times, sipping on designer brands with their pinky’s gracefully tucked behind fancy and intricately designed tea cups;  eating biscotti and scones while chatting about who knows what and my favorite, donning fabulous hats to just about any soirée.

The elaborate and way over-the-top spectacle caused  me to think about my own practices and traditions as a Latina, specifically a cubana.  I quickly pondered, half asleep, what would be considered our biggest ceremony garnering all the public attention in the world. Other than Fidel Castro being announced dead,  I can’t really think of any. Not because we don’t celebrate huge occasions in flamboyant manner (because if you know a real cuban, you know we do it big!), rather because we party for any and every announcement or desaroyo. And, each one those celebrations is just as significant as the other. We celebrate our culture every way and when ever possible. It could be in the way of a morning café con leche visit from our neighbor. Kinda like afternoon tea time, only not as fancy or highly classified.

Royal or not, that’s pretty much a testament to how I live my life as a Latina.

Back to my flan. In keeping with traditions and things that help define us as a people, I thought an Earl Grey flan was the most obvious choice  for this revered moment. To fancy it it up a bit, I added a dash of fresh thyme and a slither of fresh squeezed lemon juice. The idea was to interpret a cup of an English breakfast tea that most of that country enjoys into a traditional Latin custard that is enjoyable, refreshing and light enough for a breezy day.

Smart, right?! I’m in love with it, especially since I put extra good loving in it at 2 am!

Aromatic and sweet with a lightness from the infused tea and great touch of savory herbs made this flan a top notch option for the tea party I’m going to host on Sunday!

I’ll serve up the traditional English cookies and biscuits, but having  flan is necessary to properly highlight and continue the emphasis of my love affair with desserts, especially Latin desserts. Flan particularly resonates with me because of the role it played in my family as a child (mami made two: one for papi and the other to be divided among the 5 of us). However, but not for my use of the pressure cooker, I’d probably not make it as often. This is when I thank my mami for teaching me all the ins and outs of being in a Cuban kitchen, what to use, what not to use, how to pair ingredients, how to fix mistakes and ultimately how to be a great hostess.

So, while I’m not a commoner even on Kate’s former level, let alone royalty in the British sense of the word, I am full of wealth in traditions, customs, history, cultura and family! And, am proud of where I come from. In fact, I thought it was fantastic and quite modest when the officiating Reverend today said “Every wedding is like a royal wedding,” suggesting that the royal qualifiers are exhibited  in the act of sealing a loved relationship through vows witnessed and celebrated with your loved ones.

And for me, that’s what counts the most — celebrating your own sense of royalty with family.

All that being said, I’m happy to share that for the next few months, I’ll be chatting up what being Latina Smart is all about in my world and how it deliciously impacts my work in and out of Flanboyant Eats. I’ll dive a bit more into why it’s important I maintain and carry on the flavorful traditions and culture my phenom parents have instilled in this chica!

Kate is smart, but can the pretty lady cook!! 🙂

Happy #FLANFRIDAYS!


Eat well, love unapologetically, pray with true intention, and take care of yourself.

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Enjoy

EARL GREY & THYME FLAN

Ingredients:

  • 2 eggs
  • 10 oz sweetened condensed milk
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup Earl Grey tea, brewed and chilled
  • 1/8 cup milk
  • 1 splash vanilla extract
  • 3 sprigs of fresh Thyme, parted
  • juice from 1/4 lemon wedge

Method:

Whisk eggs in a medium sized bowl. Add and combine sweetened condensed and regular milk, Earl Grey tea, vanilla, lemon juice and leaves from 2 thyme sprigs. Set aside. Add sugar to an 8″ non-stick skillet and caramelize on medium-high heat until it is golden color, stirring constantly. Make sure not to burn sugar.  When sugar is fully melted down, carefully pour into each ramekin, coating the entire sides (I suggest using a brush if you are not experienced in handling extremely hot caramel).  Add mixture to each ramekin and cover with aluminum foil.

Add 2 cups of water to a 4 or 6 qt. pressure cooker. Gently place ramekins in cooker and close lid. Place jiggler on lid. If your pressure cooker jiggler has different PSI settings, set it to 10. Cook on high for 6 minutes, or until pressure cooker starts hissing. Turn off heat and allow all of the pressure to release itself, or for another 2 minutes.

Remove from pressure cooker after all pressure is released. Refrigerate for 8-9 hours or overnight for best taste. Remove from refrigeration 30-45 minutes before serving to loosen some. To serve flan, loosen the sides of the ramekins all the way around using a butter knife. Take a dessert plate, place upside down on top of flan and flip. Be careful not to waste any of the caramel sauce. Garnish with thyme sprigs or  dried tea leaves.

Enjoy thoroughly!

Yields 3.

 

67 thoughts on “#FlanFridays: A Royal Wedding Edition Celebrating Traditions & Culture w/An Earl Grey & Thyme Flan

  1. Wow!! Your so creative. That flan looks great. Props to Mami for showing you the ins and outs of the Cuban kitchen.

  2. Ooh!! Awesome! Going to try this soon!!! I have all the ingredients at home and even similar plates to showcase and serve this beautifully creative flan in!! Love it

  3. I loove that you celebrated the wedding by making such a decadent dessrt to match the event! The flavors sounds distinctive enough. Nice job.

  4. me gusta ese flan se ve rico que lastima que no estoy cerca de ti para ayudarte a comerlo muy bella presentacion .la decoracion con mucho gusto asi sabra de rico felicidades

  5. Dullah: aww, thanks babe. you need to have one since I made 3! 2 are untouched and still fresh!

    Rosa: thanks lovely lady! It was good.

    Merari: girl you need to make this asap. you’ll love it, really. so refined, like Rosa said.

    Debbie: I had to! It was so perfect. I couldn’t help but watch everything! It was so fabulous!

    Yaime: estaba riquisimo… unos sabores deliciosos y refinados. y los colores!? que me dices de eso? 😉 gracias por la visita.

  6. yet another stunning flan…each flan you post is better than the one before. I foresee an ice cream version of this flan….:)

  7. Enjoyed reading your impressions on the wedding of the century and on the Cubans party-all-the-time traditions! I also loved the twist on the classic flan with earl Grey and the thyme; My favorite place in Paris is a teashop called Mariage Frères and they always offer pastries and sweets flavored with teas. This flan should be enjoyed with a fine brewed Earl Grey, what a delightful moment!

  8. Thank you for the thought that we Cubans also have our own high tea-ish celebration — el cafe with la vecina.

    And for sure, when The Bearded Dictator kicks it, we will have a celebration bigger than the Royals just had. Epic proportions. (I do hate to say I will celebrate the death of a person, but in this one case, it cannot be helped…)

    As for the flan, you are a mad genius! I want to make it now, during our beautiful Tennessee spring.

    xo

  9. Earl Grey Tea…incredible combo. You’re really making it hard for a girl to request a favorite flan! Splendid post wrapping up your tradition and the “Wedding of the Century”!

  10. What a terrific flavor profile with the earl grey & thyme for this awesome looking flan! Perfect for the royal wedding celebration!

  11. Sounds like another great flavor Bren. Can’t wait to try it!

  12. Carrie: Thank you for reading it and recognizing it, too! It’s so important we do those things that keep us true to ourselves. If I were to tell you what my father plans on doing cuando el no este en poder! You’d be on the floor! haha.

    Joi: Thank you! I do have to say it was great. In fact, I think it’s inching up to be one of my faves so far. The thyme really took it to another level!

    5 Star Foodie: Thanks, Natasha! It was soooooo yummy. I had another one last night! 🙂

    Rather Unique: Hi first time visitor, I think! Welcome. Looks like you been eyeing the flans! Thanks! 🙂

  13. Carrie: Thank you for reading it and recognizing it, too! It’s so important we do those things that keep us true to ourselves. If I were to tell you what my father plans on doing cuando el no este en poder! You’d be on the floor! haha.

    Joi: Thank you! I do have to say it was great. In fact, I think it’s inching up to be one of my faves so far. The thyme really took it to another level!

    5 Star Foodie: Thanks, Natasha! It was soooooo yummy. I had another one last night!

    Rather Unique: Hi first time visitor, I think! Welcome. Looks like you been eyeing the flans! Thanks!

  14. Oh my…. I had the pleasure of tasting the earl grey flan and it was surprisingly great… I mean, I knew it would be good but I figured the best is coffee or caramel… who knew earl grey and thyme would be so amazing. This is definitely one of the best… if not the best. May I just say WOW! And I’m a sucker for a well presented dish.. oh how cute with the thyme on top 🙂

  15. I must confess that I didn’t watch it. I really can’t relate to those kind of events at all. But, I can relate to this beautiful and delicious flan. Hmmm you really know how to catch my eye. Hehe.

    Cheers my friend!

  16. i love all flavor flan and i bet this one i have to add to my fav flans.. of all time.. lol

  17. I watched and taped the Royal Wedding. I wish I was in London that week. What a beautiful flan for this occasion. 🙂

  18. Love the addition of Earl Grey! How perfectly festive and creative. I will admit that I didn’t expect to get sucked in by the royal wedding, but I still did!

  19. Bridget: so glad you had some and liked it. i was tickled by the thyme garnish, too. plus it just made the flan smell so amazing while eating it.

    Ben: I mean mijo! Who doesn’t love flan!?

    Priscilla: Glad you’ll add it to your list of faves. It’s def. worthy of that!

    Helene: I watched it all at 5 am to much my own surprise and then again in the afternoon. Total nerd, I know but it was so beautiful and I wanted to capture that in the flan.

    Kelly: It was incredibly divine. And wedding mayhem had a way of getting us all sucked in! 🙂

  20. Love the fusion Bren and how you celebrate being Latina. The wedding also made me think about how incredible our culture is and how I wouldn’t give it up for anything in the world!

  21. Thank you for the flan! It was delicious!!! Making it with Earl Grey tea was so smart and appropriate.

  22. Looks great as usual!! Hope you plan to make this when you come home!

  23. Srivalli: Taking me forever to respond, but thanks. I’m going to be making it soon again. it was so rich and perfectly balanced.

    Eliana: Exactly! Entiendes the way I intended to express!

    Dullah: It was, right! So good.

    Amanda: I know I owe you one! Next time.

    Melanie: Thanks, dear. I have to make it for you! It’s so fabulous. I need to find the right occasion again! Actually, no I don’t.

  24. What a lovely flan, Bren! You know me so my choice would have been a flantastic spin on banoffee. I’m crazy about bananas and caramel. Think you could make a caramel banana custard for the flan?

  25. I don’t think your a commoner at all. You are the essence of a delicately choking steam in a bewildering marketplace, the kind that wrings out the lungs and sows them with distant wild flowers.

    I think your secret is food. It is your cloak, your dagger, your smoke and mirror. Designed to allure and obfuscate the many suitors at your door, whose slathering tongues and heaving propositions lay wasted on the rocks of that steamy exotic sauna.

    I fast. So I can see you more clearly. I do not taste your senses so I can maintain my wits.

    But the aroma is enticing. So, very enticing.

  26. Calling every wedding a royal wedding is a sweet, sweet thing to say. Every celebration–no matter how big or small–is important and memorable when shared with the right people! Another good flan flavor of course. The thyme sets it off!

  27. Girl this looks so delicious! I watched the news but not the actual wedding. I’m sure they would have loved it; it’s so decadent looking!

  28. Reggie P: Yes it was, sir. Thanks.

    AJ: Uhm, we were supposed to do that last time I was home, no? We’ll have to make it happen!

    F. Castro: I appreciate your poetry, friend, whomever you are. Thanks for visiting my blog and paying such lovely compliments! 🙂

    Matthew Hound: Thanks, dear!

    Duo Dishes: Well, it’s true! I want my wedding to be just as Royal! 😉 😉

    Michele R: Ooh, you missed a great event! 😉 Glad you like the flan.

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