Crème Caramel Flan

Making this dessert is a mindfulness exercise. When making the caramel, paying close attention to the process is a must or the danger of burning it is very real. I by far prefer to use the dry method of making caramel over the wet method - adding water just seems to make it harder to get a good caramel.

This can be made in a cake pan or pie plate, or it can be made in 6 ramekins.

Note that the more egg yolk to egg white there is, the more creamy and tender the custard will be, and the more it will be difficult to serve in pretty slices. For the high yolk custards, I recommend using the individual ramekins.

Caramel

½ cup sugar

Custard

2 cup whole milk

2 tsps vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean

6 eggs (or 4 eggs and 1 yolk, OR 2 eggs and 3 yolks)

½ cup sugar

pinch nutmeg (optional)

1. Fill a dish or roasting pan (larger than what you have the creme caramel in) and fill with just enough water that it will be about a half inch below the creme caramel dish. Put this in the oven and pre-heat the oven to 325°F.
2. In a small stainless steel (for the light colour) saucepan, pour in the sugar. Shake the pan to evenly distribute the sugar - it shouldn't be too thick to allow for the sugar to heat evenly.
3. Without any stirring (!) heat the sugar over low to medium heat until it starts to melt. This will begin at the edges - because this is where it starts to melt it also means this is where caramelization starts. 
4. Be patient! DON'T turn up the heat - sugar can burn very quickly.
5. Once the sugar starts to melt around the edges, use a rubber spatula to bring the melted sugar into the middle of the pan.
6. Gently stir, just enough make sure all the sugar is dissolving.
7. Once everything has dissolved, continue to slowly cook, watching constantly and closely ('cause it can burn quickly), until you get the colour you want - light caramel colour = sweeter; dark caramel colour is more complex with bitter notes. 
8. Immediately pour the hot caramel into the cake tin or pie plate or in the individual ramekins and swirl to coat the bottom evenly. Set aside.
9. Pour the milk into the same saucepan, so that it dissolves and absorbs the remaining caramel on the bottom and sides for extra flavour. (If using the whole bean, split the vanilla bean, scrape the seeds into the milk, and add the pod.)
10. Heat the milk just to the boiling point, turn off the heat, add the vanilla, cover, and set aside to infuse for at least 10 minutes. 
11. Meanwhile beat the eggs with the sugar. Add the nutmeg, if using. Once the milk has infused, whisk it into the egg mixture.
12. Strain the custard over the hardened caramel and set the pan in a larger dish or roasting pan which has been heating in the oven. 
13. Bake until set, 45 minutes to an hour.
14. Remove the flan from the oven and from the water bath. Run a knife around the outside edge to loosen the it. Cool completely – even chill, if you like. To serve, flip the flan onto a plate, pour over any caramel remaining in the pan. Serve in wedges if in a cake tin or pie plate.