Cuban Flan

Some of you have had the pleasure of enjoying this already. For those who haven't, this is one of the greatest desserts and really easy to make. Recipe was given to me by a Cuban grandmother, so each flan comes with its own Certificate of Authenticity.

ITEMS NEEDED:
9x5 bread pan
large baking dish to hold bread pan in water bath

INGREDIENTS:
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 6 Eggs
- 1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
- 3 or 4 oz of Cream Cheese (depending on how thick you like it - I recommend 4)
- 1 Can Evaporated Milk (as far as I know only come in one size)
- 1 Can Condensed Milk

PREPARATION:

Pre-heat oven at 375. May have to adjust this depending on your oven.

Melt 1 Cup of Sugar in saucepan at medium heat. Occasionally stir gently so sugar melts evenly. Once sugar is melted to syrupy consistency, pour into the 9x5 bread pan. Tilt bread pan to coat all sides evenly with the caramel sauce. You'll have to do this quickly as the sauce will cool rapidly and harden. Set bread pan aside to cool.

In mixing bowl, combine eggs, vanilla, cream cheese, evaporated milk, and condensed milk. You can mix this with a whisk or blender. Try to make the cream cheese blend as well as possible, although you'll still be left at the end with little bits floating. THIS IS OKAY! DO NOT PANIC! Pour mixture into loaf pan and enjoy cracking sound as caramel hardens.

Fill larger baking pan about half full with water. Place the bread pan inside - the water should come up about 2/3 of the way up the side of the bread pan. Cover loosely with tin foil and bake in oven for 1 hour. Remove foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a knife - you want it to come out clean. The flan should have a spongy consistency, but not jiggly.

Remove from water bath and allow flan to cool to room temperature. Use knife to loosen around the edges and flip flan into serving dish, letting all the syrup drizzle over top and puddle around it. Refrigerate for at least one hour to chill. Slice and serve, drizzling syrup over top.