this is cool.

even though I don't know what a flan is, I like the artistic ability that you have demonstrated here. I think that flan is short for fu flux flan, but I could be mistaken.

It's a french custard dessert with a carmel sauce

thanks all...what is flan? oh thug, how can you say you've lived? i'll share my secret family recipe with you all, my dear friends. (actually i clipped it from the sf chronicle's mexican food section about 3 years ago.)

mexican flan

1 cup sugar
6 egg yolks (room temperature)
2 whole eggs (room temperature)
24 ounces condensed milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (mexican vanilla, if available)

preheat oven to 350 degrees f.

place the 1 cup sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and caramelize over medium heat at first, swirl the pan over the heat, but do not stir (this will cause it to clump). after about 8 minutes, when the sugar has begun to liquefy, stir with a heavy spoon. when the caramel turns light brown, quickly (and carefully burns are painful) pour into a 2-quart glass dish or mold. tip pan so caramel coats the bottom and up sides of mold. work fast; caramel hardens quickly.

using a whisk, beat together the egg yolks, eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla. mixture should be well-blended but not frothy. pour into the caramelized mold. cover with the flan mold with a lid. (this prevents the top from overcooking). place the mold in a larger pan (such as a roasting pan) and pour in about 1 1/2 inches of hot water.

place on the bottom rack of the preheated oven and bake for approximately 65 minutes. after 55 minutes, open the oven door and test the flan by inserting the thinnest knife you own into the middle of the flan. do not go all the way to the bottom. if large curds cling to the knife the flan is not yet done. give it about 10 minutes longer. if just a film of custard clings to the knife, the flan is done. When you jiggle the mold, the custard should shimmer in the middle but look cooked around the edge.

remove from oven and cool mold on a rack. the flan will continue to cook for about an hour after being removed from the oven. during this time it will set up. refrigerate at least 2 hours before unmolding.

unmold...
run a thin, sharp knife around the edge of the flan. move the pan from side to side to see if the flan is slipping and free from the edges of the pan. place a flat serving platter with a raised rim on top of the mold. Holding the platter and mold together tightly, flip them over. the flan should slip easily onto the platter, along with most of the caramel sauce. use a spoon to remove more caramel and spoon it around the custard. the bottom of the pan will have a hard layer of caramel still on it.

serve...
cut flan into wedges spooning caramel sauce over each slice.

serves 12

thanks all. still shy with the groovy fx tools other than the single pixel pencil.

yummy draw!

I love that steam effect. :D Cool picture, I can see this as being a cover for a halloween movie or book.

Venus de Milo on her day off, right?

thank you xiau.

This IS pretty...I like it!

I knew what it was right away ^.^ Nice perspective!

Judging by the positioning of the furniture, this could be a feng shui thing.

thanks all. R., ai ai ai, you said it, mister. this moving business really has thrown off all my feng shoes, for sure. i forgot to draw in the $200 worth of paper boxes blocking the flow of the apt's meridians.

Wonderful scratchy colour and composition.

oo I like all these wild colors together..cool pic

muchas gracias xo, a

haha, he's a wise doctor but yes, kinda frightening-looking. the stage setting looked alot like a garish hotel lobby.

Damn, you're fast. Brill!

thanks D. i'm sticking with sketching for now. those airbrush tools look great but take too long for my hasty style.

Yea 10 minutes? you sketch well! looks like john lennon and wonderwoman on their first date!

thanks davin. eight actually. the last two minutes were an added on when i posted it twice. :)

much better than the thumb which doesnt do it justice

thank cv, cmb. yeah, it reminds me of silkscreening on a mug too.