Irish Cream Flan

Psst! My mom and grandmom are visiting. I need to drastically reduce my (ahem) alcohol reserves. It was all logical in the beginning. Of course, I've used Grand Marnier and Sherry in various baking projects. Wine and beer are for sharing with my guests. But how to explain my tendency to add a spash of Bailey's Irish Cream in my coffee or hot chocolate?! I've decided to destroy the evidence, so to speak! Goodbye you handsome devil, I will miss you :-)

Of course, I'm kidding. Now that I've made the Italian Chocolate Almond Torte a few times, I often have egg yolks on hand. While I like the occasional brulee, I'm too lazy to indulge in cream and a blow torch! And, so I turned to something a little more simple...

Heres what I did:
1. Scald scant one cup milk. I had skim milk on hand so thats what I used.
2. Dissolve one quarter cup muscovado sugar. I suspect brown sugar will work just as well.
3. This is the all-important secret ingredient: add a pinch of nutmeg.
4. Take off heat and stir in two thirds of a cup of Bailey's Irish Cream.
5. Whisk seven egg yolks. Do not cook them or incorporate too much air. I found these instructions very useful. The goal is to get the mixture creamy and cooked.
6. Divide into ramekins. Cook at 350 degrees F in a water bath for about 20-25 minutes till the centers set. Cool, chill for at least 2-4 hours before serving.

The verdict:
Delicious light eggy smooth dessert. The nutmeg adds fragrance as well as flavor. I am not a big fan of milk and so I quite liked the subtle Irish Cream flavor melding with the nutmeg. I prefer muscovado or brown sugar in this flan, it adds a sort of butterscotch dimension to the Irish Creme - Nutmeg theme. Utterly scrumptious!

The best things to do with left over egg yolks:
1. Bailey's Brulee, Custard or Flan
2. Alice Medrich's Low Fat Lemon Curd
3. Sabayon or Zabaglione
4. If only I could hold off on eating these Saffron-Sherry Flans just long enough to take pictures! I pared the recipe down and only used skim milk, egg yolks, saffron, sherry and lemon zest. Sigh. They were wonderful! Soothing and luxuriant, beyond fabulous!
Note: If you're concerned about raw egg yolks, there are quite a few blog posts about how to judge when the yolks are cooked without scrambling them.

My little Irish Cream Flans are on their way to Aparna who is hosting "Think Nutmeg"! Enjoy!