Saturday 16 April 2011

LECHE FLAN CHEESE CAKE


Leche flan (creme caramel) always evoke memories of town fiestas. Although the ingredients are just eggs, milk and sugar, it is always part of the array of special fiesta fare. I don't really know if you can make just one leche flan as the recipe always makes at least two. 

Thinking about it brings a flashback of kitchen memories: stacks of flaneras (flan molds) being lined with caramel syrup in readiness for the egg custard, steamers billowing steam clouds ready to be loaded with the uncooked flans, and the best pressed glass platters being prepared to serve the flans. As a child, I always wanted to be in the hub of the preparations. I loved watching people cook. I loved being handed little morsels to taste. What I loved most was to sneak out a prepared flanera, crack the caramel at the bottom and eat the shards. What joy!


I have never lost my taste for leche flan but never get to eat a lot of it. It is because I want to reserve it for special occasions. The Kulinarya Cooking Club's theme for April is a memorable and decadent Filipino food. The theme in itself is one mouthful. So I decided to bring to the table a concoction that embodies everything I like.

I injected a touch of decadence to the classic leche flan by adding cream cheese to the flan mixture and using a sponge cake as a base. It is cross between a cheesecake and a custard cake. It has all the goodness and creaminess of an all egg yolk leche flan, mixed with cream cheese instead of just pure milk and flavoured with lime zest and vanilla. The base is soft and light vanilla sponge cake instead of biscuit crumb. The two together has an uninterrupted creamy and voluptuous texture. Caramel syrup contrasts with the cheese cake and crowns the dessert. It gives a toasty accent  to this creamy concoction. 

Note: I have made this cake several times with success and this is the recipe I've used. However, I do apologize, that because of a typographical error, the recipe fails. This has now been corrected, additional instructions supplied and the amount of caramel reduced ( to temper the sweetness).

The sponge is not as moist as regular sponge. I have tried other cake bases but this is the lightest one so far and is the only one that floats on the cheesecake base. I have seen similar cakes (called flancocho) that uses yellow cake mix as one of the ingredient for the base but I didn't use that because it comes with a warning that the cake mixture may sink into the cheesecake mixture.

This is the recipe for the above cheesecake shown in the picture and I hope you give it a try.



Ingredients for the cream cheese leche flan:


3/4 c. sugar
3 tbsps. water
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
8 oz. cream cheese (about a cup)
6 egg yolks 
1 tsp. vanilla
grated zest of 1 lime


Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 325°F /170° C. Prepare a 9" diameter cake pan. 

Put the sugar and water in a saucepan. On low heat, melt the sugar while stirring. When the sugar melts, stop stirring, and bring the mixture to a boil. Cook on medium heat until the syrup is a deep golden brown. Do not overcook.

Brush the sides of the pan downwards with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming. 

When ready, pour into a greased 9" diameter cake tin and swirl to coat the bottom. Set aside. 

Whisk the rest of the ingredients together until smooth. Set aside. 

Prepare the cake batter.


Ingredients for the sponge cake:


3 whole eggs, room temperature
1/3 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. flour


Whisk the eggs and sugar until thick and light coloured. The mixture should leave a trail when drizzled on its surface. Sift the flour over it and fold with a metal spoon.


TO ASSEMBLE:


Pour the cream cheese flan mixture into the caramel syrup coated pan. This step is important so that the cake batter doesn't sink: pour the cake batter on the back of a big spoon into the flan mixture. The batter will float on top of the flan mixture. Do not stir. 

Bake au baine marie: Fill a baking tray that's big enough to accommodate the cake pan and fill with water to reach up to a quarter of its side. Make sure that your cake pan is tight. Wrap the bottom and sides with foil to be sure. Bake for 50 minutes to an hour. Test with a cocktail stick. The cocktail stick should feel sticky when the flan at the bottom is cooked.

Leave to cool in the pan. Refrigerate. Run a sharp knife around the sides of the cake pan before inverting into a serving dish to serve. If you find it difficult to unmold. Sit the bottom of the cake pan in pan of hot water.


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This post is  for the KULINARYA COOKING CLUB theme for April 2011:    Decadent Filipino Food. 


See the posts of the other members by visiting their blogs.




You might also like
Condensed Milk Leche Flan

Easy Lime Cheesecake
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34 comments:

  1. i'm looking at your leche flan cheesecake and i hear my tummy rumbling. It's not a good idea to look at it at this time of the night.. now where will I find something as luscious and as decadent as this one? haha love your concoction Adora. you simply amaze me!
    malou

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  2. Well, lucky me that I've just had breakfast. Still, I'm drooling over here...
    It's such a nice idea to combine flan with cheese! Spectacular!

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  3. Beautiful flan, the ingredients are simple enough and the directions seem straight forward. I don't know why I haven't tried making it before now :)

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  4. That is gorgeous! Very beautiful photos...Cheese cake is one of my very favorites!

    Cheers & happy blessings,
    Tammy

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  5. Absolutely luscious flan. I love how you added a twist with the sponge cake and touch of citrus. Yum!

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  6. Whoa!! I love flan and cheesecake and this has both in one. The picture looks so beautiful and it's so hard to leave your site!

    Nami @ Just One Cookbook (http://justonecookbook.com/blog/)

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  7. Hi, thanks for stopping by and reading about my biscotti. I love comments so thanks for leaving one. Aren't kitchen Aids awesome? Mine is an 8 years old model that was used once or twice. It is amazing. Well, your flan cheesecake looks incredible. Let me know when you start shipping UPS!

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  8. Your leche flan looks very delicious. And yes it is really decadent Adora. Thanks for sharing.

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  9. It's gorgeous, or they both are, if there are actually two of them!

    Thanks for your comments on my chicken adobo. It really is one of my all-time favourite chicken dishes. And I realize I may have misspelled Filipino, spelling it more like the name of the country. My mistake, it's now fixed on my blog!

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  10. This sound great, I am hosting a linky party called Sunday Buffet, Your welcome to add these to the Buffet line! http://deedeesdelights.blogspot.com/p/sunday-buffet.html

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  11. I love flan... never put cream cheese in it, but I like the sound of it!

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  12. This looks really lovely and sweet (also literally :)). I wish I could try a slice...!

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  13. I love this 'flancocho' variation! That's what we call in Puerto Rico this tasty combination of cake ('bizcocho') with the flan on top. Flan de queso is my favorite, but as long as my sister makes them, I'll just leave it to her.

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  14. Adriana, it is nice to learn the Puerto Rican name of this concoction.

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  15. Great shots & lovely recipe!

    Oh, Luxury Haven is conducting her 2nd Giveaway, open to all regardless of when u reside :) Be sure to support & join in the fun @ Mother’s Day Handmade Accessories Giveaway!

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  16. Just wow! This looks amazing and what a fabulous cheesecake flavor to go with.

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  17. Yum this flan looks very decadent! Love that caramel on top - lovely photos too!

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  18. Wow, wow, wow, that looks fantastic. I've never heard of Leche Flan (I've been VERY deprived), but I love your take on it as a cheesecake a lot.

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  19. OMG, that looks sooooooooooooooooo decadent!!!

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  20. what were you thinking?...you're ruining my diet....:-)

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  21. two of my fave desserts rolled into one! will definitely try this wonderful recipe!

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  22. Wonderful! I'm bookmarking this and hoping to make it soon.:)

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  23. Yum!!!! Photos are beautiful and i know this taste pretty darn good;)

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  24. GIRL. That looks AMAZING. I gotta try this.

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  25. I adore your blog :) the recipes and pictures are all so wonderful, i tried some of it and it turned out pretty well. i will try this twist on the classic leche flan for Christmas dinner. Happy holidays to you!!! :)

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  26. Flan, cheesecake AND a spongecake! Purely genius!

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  27. I love your recipes and cooked many successfully. But some how this was a total failure. The cake base did not come well and was stiff. The caramel was tough too. I feel something or some steps are missing in the recipe.

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  28. My friend recommended your site and asked me to give this recipe a try. The cheesecake was good but the cake base did not come out well. It appears that the batter sank to the bottom and did not rise like a sponge cake. I must have done something wrong. I will try again using a smaller cake pan. Thanks!

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  29. Superbly done and very unique! I've never seen a recipe combining leche flan and cheese cake--my two most favorite desserts! I love your blog!

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