Quesillo Recipe (The Venezuelan Version of Flan)

This is a recipe that is very close to my heart because it is one of the first recipes I ever learned from my grandmother! In Venezuela, we make a version of Flan that we call Quesillo and below I have shared my Grandmother's recipe for Quesillo. There is really very little difference in texture and taste, between the two but what I can assure you of is that I have never in my life tasted a Flan or a Quesillo that tasted as good as the one from my grandmother's recipe. The instructions may seem a bit intimidating, but taking it step by step its really very simple. I hope you take the chance to try it! I promise your taste buds and your friends will be seriously thanking you :)

Ingredients

For the mix:
4 eggs
1 can of condensed milk
1/2 can of milk (use the empty condensed milk can to measure this)
Splash of rum
Splash of vanilla

For the caramel:
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of water

For the pressure cooker:
1 1/2 water


The first step in the process is making a caramel that will top the Quesillo. We do this by putting the 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of sugar in a "quesillera" pan (if you don't have this you can use any round pan about 8 inches in diameter) and letting that heat up over a low to medium heat on the stove. Make sure you are watching carefully to see as the sugar and water begin to change color into a rich caramel. Be careful not to let it burn! Because this process happens fairly quickly. Once you see that the sugar and water has thickened and changed to a nice color, turn off the stove, pick up the quesillera with oven mitts and move the caramel around the pan so that it coats all of the edges. You can now set that down and let it cool, while we move onto making the mix.

Making the mix is super simple! Just put all the rest of the ingredients in a blender and blend! You will use 1 can of condensed milk and then fill that empty can half way up with regular milk and add this to your blender. Add in the 4 eggs, a splash of rum and a splash of vanilla, and that's it!

Now you can pour this mix into the quesillera pan over the caramel.

Next close the quesillera lid over your quesillera (again, if you don't have a quesillera, you can simply use aluminum foil to cover as a lid over your round pan but make sure it's sealed tight!).

Now for the baking process, we are actually going to be using a pressure cooker! Which I know might seem a bit strange to many over you, but this is the way my grandmother has always done it, and it is the way that I learned how to do it with her. :) It is also a very speedy method compared to the oven and gives the flan a very nice consistency.

Put about 1 1/2 cups of water in the pressure cooker, then place the quesillera (or round pan) into the pressure cooker. Once the quesillera is in the pressure cooker, the water inside it should reach about 2 fingers up the side of the pressure cooker wall. Place the top on the pressure cooker and make sure it is tightly secured. Turn on the pressure cooker at about 400 degrees F. Leave it this way until you hear the top begin to whistle from the steam coming out. After you have heard this happen, move the heat to 300 degrees F and leave it this way for 8 minutes. After 8 minutes, unplug the pressure cooker and let the Quesillo cool down inside the pressure cooker until you can move the top piece of the pressure cooker from side to side and hear no steam coming out. The key is that there is no longer any pressure before you open up the pressure cooker.

Now you can remove the quesillera carefully from the pressure cooker with oven mitts, taking care not to burn yourself (the sides of the pressure cooker will be hot!). Once you've removed it from the pressure cooker, you can remove the top off (or tin foil) your quesillera pan to let the Quesillo cool completely.

This is how the Quesillo should look after coming out of the pressure cooker.

When the Quesillo has cooled completely, place a plate on top of the Quesillera and carefully flip the pan over, letting the Quesillo slide out and onto your plate.

And voila! Cut a slice and enjoy :)

You've got an amazingly delicious Flan/Quesillo. Now that wasn't too hard to make, was it? :)

If you get the chance to try the recipe, please let me know how it comes out! I love hearing feedback!

Until my next recipe,

happy baking!

xx
Kismet Cooking