Coconut Tembleque April 26, 2008

Tembleque is a Puerto Rican dessert, traditionally made mainly during Xmas time.   However, it can be enjoyed year round.  And it’s a special treat when you can taste it outside of Xmas… very unexpected.

The name “tembleque” comes from the verb “temblar” or “to tremble”.  The dessert is a jiggly/trembly custard made with coconut milk, sugar and set with cornstarch.  I added the word coconut in the name for the benefit of those who are unfamiliar to the tembleque dessert.  But, we do not add the word coconut in front; it would be “redundant”, because tembleques are only made with coconut milk… there are no other versions… yet. (This explanation is giving me ideas…)

We decided to make this because so many people in the Center who are avoiding wheat, spelt and dairy products so dessert options need to get more creative each time.  Plus, this would be a good accompaniment to other true Puerto Rican delicacies such as Arroz con Gandules and Alcapurrias.

It’s easy and super delicious…  check it out.

 

 

 

COCONUT TEMBLEQUE

Makes about 24 servings

 

12 cups of coconut milk

1 ½ cups of brown sugar

6 cinnamon sticks

1 ¼ cup cornstarch, diluted in some reserved coconut milk and ½ cup water

Ground cinnamon, to garnish

 

1. In a large pot, pour about 10 cups of coconut milk, sugar, cinnamon sticks and bring to a simmer.
2. In a small mixing bowl, mix together the remaining coconut milk, the cornstarch and water.  Whisk together well and pour into the simmering coconut milk. 
3. Whisk in the whole coconut milk mixture until it thickens slightly.
4. While it still hot, CAREFULLY (because it can burn you - I speak from experience), divide in individual servings, about  1/3 - ½ cup each.  
5. Garnish with a sprinkle with ground cinnamon on top.
6. Refrigerate for about 2-3 hours.  Serve cold.

Carrot Cupcakes April 24, 2008

It’s Spring, or as we say here in Puerto Rico… Summer’s here!!!!   The heat is blazing already, the humidity is rising and I am in the mood to bake cupcakes.

I learned this recipe from Mr. Alton Brown, one of my culinary teachers from the Food Network.  I love this cupcake recipe because I do not need a mixer.  It’s super easy to make and super reliable.  I always make them to raise funds for the Yoga Center… people can’t get enough of them.  They’re moist, chewy, and taste delicious.  I usually make them without the traditional cream cheese frosting because of all the dairy-free people at the center.  But I will make some with cream cheese frosting and share the recipe with you.

Also, these cupcakes are the 1^st recipe I am making for my “catering/baking” business.  I am looking to understand if my next serious career move should be something regarding my cooking and selling these cupcakes are a start…   The picture is from the dry run I did before I actually go out and sell these to people.  I know I still need to make them larger, so I am playing around with quantities… but for your personal enjoyment, the measures in the recipe work very well.

 

 

 

CARROT CUPCAKES

Adapted from an original recipe from Alton Brown

2 ½  cups, whole-wheat or spelt flour
About 5 medium carrots, grated medium
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
½  tsp salt
1 ½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
4 ½ tsp egg replacer mixed with 6 tbs of water
6 oz plain yogurt
6 oz vegetable oil

½ cup raisins

½ cup chopped walnuts

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Measure the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk to sift and combine.  Add the carrots to this flour mix and toss until they are well-coated with the flour.
3. In the bowl of the food processor or in a blender, combine the sugar, egg replacer, vegetable oil and yogurt.   Pour this mixture into the carrot mixture and stir until just combined.   Add the raisins and walnuts and stir one last time to combine.
4. Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners and pour about ¼ cup batter measure per cupcake.   Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 45 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees F and bake for another 20 minutes.
5. Remove the pan from the oven and allow cake to cool 15 minutes in the pan. After 15 minutes, take the cupcakes out of the pan and allow them to cool completely.

Dorie’s Perfect Party Cake - DBC March 2008 March 30, 2008

I was very excited to receive the recipe for March 2008 Daring Bakers Challenge - a cake!!!  That is definitely something I can do.   This month’s challenge is hosted by Morven at Food, Art and Random Thoughts and the original recipe comes from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours.  So thanks Morven for such a nice recipe.  I was so excited about this recipe that I actually tried it twice - the first time I made it with whole wheat pastry flour and the second time I tried it with spelt flour.  As you’ll see, spelt yielded better results overall.  What I loved most about this challenge was that Morven gave us the flexibility to change ingredients and presentation as long as we followed the basic recipe components - the cake, the frosting and the fruit preserves.  The rest, was up to us, the creative daring bakers…

I was faced with 2 other challenges for this recipe… First, I do not own any round cake pans - as I mentioned in my last DBC post, I am not a “baker” per se, so I have never attempted to do any layered cakes before and second, I could not find lemon extract anywhere.  My solutions to these dilemmas…  to use my cupcake/muffin pans and to double on the lemon zest and add the juice of the lemons to get the lemony taste.

 

So here’s the Karma-Free version of Dorie’s Perfect Party Cake…

For the Cake:

2  ½ cups spelt flour

1 tbs baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 ¼ cups buttermilk

6 tsp egg replacer diluted into 8tbs water

1 ½ cups brown sugar

Zest of 2 lemons (about 4 tsp)

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

The juice of 1 lemon

For the Sweetened Whipped Cream frosting:

1 pint heavy cream

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla powder

For Finishing:

2/3 cup seedless raspberry or strawberry preserves stirred vigorously or warmed gently until spreadable

1. Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour your pans - I used 2 cupcake/muffin pans. I also used cupcake liners and worked great too.

To Make the Cake

    2. Sift together the spelt flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

    3. Whisk together the egg substitute and buttermilk. Set aside.

    4. Whisk together the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant.

    5. Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light.

    6. Beat in the lemon juice, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed.

    7. Beat in half of the milk-egg sub mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated.

    8. Add the rest of the milk/egg sub mixture beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients.

    9. Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated.

  10. Divide the batter in your muffin/cupcake pans.

  11. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cupcakes are well risen and springy to the touch - a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean

  12. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then take them out of the pans to fully cool.
 

To decorate the Cake

I made a Sweetened Whipped Cream Frosting just because I do not particularly like the taste of buttercream.  So, to make the frosting:

1. Using both a chilled bowl and chilled beaters, beat the cream until frothy.
2. Add the brown sugar and vanilla gradually while beating.
3. Whip until light and a thick enough consistency to spread as an icing.
4. Use immediately.

Here are my renditions of these lovely cupcakes… 

    

This first picture is the whole wheat version.  As you can see, the tops cracked and the color was a bit paler.  The picture on the right, are the spelt version, with much nicer color, top texture and flavor too.

As you can see, I still have a lot of ways to go in terms of decorating techniques… but the flavors were spot on.

    

     

This recipe is super easy to make.  After you’ve done it once, the following tries are much, much easier… and everyone who had the chance to taste them were impressed by the lemony taste and the crispiness that the bundt muffin pan imparted to the outside…  aren’t they cute?

My favorite way to eat them was to leave them plain, without any decorations, and just spread some of the preserves to a morsel of cupcake and pop it in my mouth.  Delectable!!

Storing
The cake is best the day it is made, but you can refrigerate it, well covered, for up to two days. Bring it to room temperature before serving.

                        

Roasted Pears - A Deux March 7, 2008

I am on a pear thing…  it started because I wanted to do a pear butter, which I have not gotten around to do.   But I learned to make last year these poached pears and I decided to take the pear desserts a few steps further. 

This recipe is even simpler than the Poached Pears I posted recently…  less ingredients always scream easier to me.  The basic recipe for these roasted pears was given to me by Diane Carlson, as part of the Conscious Gourmet retreat I attended.  I decided to try some embellishments of my own and they ended up being really good combinations…  check them out.  I love the first photo - my pear had a belly button - sooooo cute!!

         

 Let’s start with roasting the pears…

ROASTED PEARS

2 Bartlett pears - ripe but firm

the juice of 1/2 a lemon

1 1/2 tbs maple syrup

1. Pre-heat oven to 450F. 
2. Peel and cut the pears in half, vertically.  Core them using a melon baller - it’s the best tool for this.
3. Place pears cut side down on a glass casserole dish and drizzle the maple syrup and lemon juice.  I rub the pears a bit trying them to be coated all over with the syrup/lemon juice liquid.
4. Roast in oven for about 45 minutes.  I noticed that if pears are nicely ripen, the time can be cut to 25-30 minutes.  Just roast them until they’re cooked but still have their shape.

I think 1/2 to 1 whole pear per person is a fine portion - so feel free to double, triple or cuadruple this recipe as you need.

Now we play with the accompaniments…

ROASTED PEARS with ALMOND PRALINE

1. Serve the roasted pears with the sauce the maple syrup created in the baking dish. 
2. Sprinkle Almond Praline around it. 
3. Note: the almond praline does not need to look this dark… I walked away from the kitchen and had to live with the consequences.

ROASTED PEARS with BLUE CHEESE and HAZELNUT PRALINE

 

1.  Serve the roasted pears cut side up and in the indentation place some crumbled mild blue cheese.  I used this cheese…
2. 
3. Drizzle some of the sauce created by the maple syrup and sprinkle some Hazelnut Praline on the side.

This version also is screaming to be served for company… it tasted as if I was eating in a restaurant.  Scrumptious…  Need proof??

Hazelnut Praline March 7, 2008

I have been meaning to share with you some desserts, but I wanted to make them with Almonds.  Every-time I go to the market, I forget to buy them.  If I don’t write it, I will never remember it.

Then the other day I was reorganizing my fridge (in preparation to my upcoming trip to Costco) and I found along lost bag of shelled hazelnuts.  My dear mom helped me shell these hazelnuts I bought before Xmas and I never got to eat and they were sitting, very unassumingly, in this ziplock bag in the back of my fridge… how about Hazelnut Praline!!!  I am sure it will taste fantastic too.  It did…

                 

HAZELNUT PRALINE

1/2 cup shelled hazelnuts

1 tbs maple sugar

1 1/2 tbs maple syrup

1.  I like to start with peeled hazelnuts.  I think the taste of the nut comes across better when the little skin is taken off.  So to do this with hazelnuts, I roasted them for a little while in a 350F oven for about 10 minutes.  They’ll start to smell a bit.
2. Then place them in a clean kitchen towel and scrub them all together.  Most of the skins will come off.  Some I had to peel a bit of my hands.  Wait a bit until the nuts cool down some.  You don’t need to get your fingers burned.
3.  
4. Cut the hazelnuts in a smaller pieces.  I used a serrated knife and it worked very well.  The nuts did not fly all across the cutting board.
5. Mix the nuts in a medium bowl with the maple syrup and maple sugar.  Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in a 350F oven for about 12 minutes.  I try not to leave the kitchen because nuts tend to burn fast and remember, you may have already roasted them a bit already to skin them.
6. When they’re done, they’ll smell really sweet and nutty delicious.
7. Be careful taking them out of the oven, but transfer then to a metal dish right away to help them cool off.  I sometimes put the nuts in the fridge to help keep them away from the humidity we always have here in PR.

Snap the nuts loose and eat them alone as a snack or sprinkle them over your favorite dessert.  I particularly enjoyed them today with my Roasted Pears with Blue Cheese.

Strawberry Banana Sherbet March 5, 2008

I know it’s the middle of winter in the US… but it’s 83 degrees in Puerto Rico.  I am working without air conditioning for a few weeks now and I need something to cool off with when it gets hot.  So I decided to put together a few frozen things I already had in my freezer and see how they tasted all-together…

This is how Strawberry Banana Sherbet was born.  Nice little experiment, no?

 

STRAWBERRY BANANA SHERBET

1 cup strawberries

1 medium banana

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 to 1/3 cup fresh orange juice - nobody will notice if you use Tropicana, so don’t worry

juice of 1 lemon

1/2 cup of kefir - this will make it a sherbet, rather than a sorbet

1.  Mix all the ingredients in a blender.
2. Pour the mixture in a container to freeze up.  I used an ice tray… it’s convenient and helps in portion control too.  You could also use mini plastic cups or even place a wooden stick to serve as popsicles.
3. Freeze for about 2-3 hours until it hardens up

I used fresh fruits I had frozen myself, but you can use fresh ones if you have them around or even frozen fruits bought from the supermarket.  I am sure you can use the same method to create other nice fruit sherbets.  I will be experimenting a few more in the coming weeks.  I promise to share.

Poached Pears with Almond Pralines February 3, 2008

This is an awesome dessert…  I love fruity desserts much more than cakes or other baked goods.  And even though pears are not something you can grow here in Puerto Rico, most every supermarket has them on sale these days.  I saw some lovely Bartlett pears on sale the other day and thought it would be the perfect opportunity to re-create a recipe I had originally learned last year at the Conscious Gourmet Cooking seminar - Poached Pears with Almond Pralines.

The original recipe called for Bosc pears, but they were so much smaller than the Bartletts that I decided to go for size and beauty.  The recipe turned out perfectly, IMHO.

And the Almond Pralines - this is awesome!!!! They’re the perfect accompaniment to these pears or a great snack all by itself.  They would taste great on top of ice cream or yogurt drizzled with a bit of caramel sauce…  mmmmm!!!!  I feel another craving coming up.

 

POACHED PEARS with ALMOND PRALINE

3 cups unsweetened organic apple juice

2 tbs maple syrup

1 tsp cinnamon

pinch of ground cloves or a few whole cloves

pinch of ginger

6-8 Bartlett or Bosc pears - peeled, halved and cored

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. Combine all ingredients, except pears, in a roasting pan.  Set pears in the poaching liquid. 
3. Bake in oven for 45 minutes. 
4. Check the pears for doneness - they should be soft when pricked with a knife. 
5. Remove the pears from poaching liquid and transfer them to a separate dish.
6. Transfer the poaching liquid to a skillet or wide saucepan and boil until the liquid is reduced by half.
7. Serve by placing one pear half on a dish, drizzle with the reduced poaching liquid and sprinkle with Almond Pralines.  recipe below…

I have a confession to make… the original recipe calls for you to cover the roasting pan and bake covered.  I did not notice that in the recipe and forgot.  The results were good too…  I just had to leave them a few more minutes in and increased the temperature to 425 degrees and left them an additional 15 minutes.  They should be done by then.

ALMOND PRALINE

1 cup sliced almonds - but slivered or chopped almonds would work too

1 tbs maple syrup

1 tbs maple sugar

1. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl.
2. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. 
3. Bake in a 350 degrees oven for 15 minutes until golden brown - you can take advantage of the same oven you’re making the pears in.
4. Transfer IMMEDIATELY into a metal bowl to cool off and crisp up.

Cherry Carob Cookies January 11, 2008

I started my cooking adventures mainly by making Martha Stewart’s cookie recipes.  Most of them are easy and super delicious.

My favorite cookie by far are these Cherry Carob Cookies… they’re an adapted version of Martha’s Torie’s Cherry Chocolate Chunk Cookies.  I have made these cookies, the original recipe and the new adapted version, to give as gifts for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Xmas, and even Birthdays.  I always get requests for them.  This time around I made them for my dear friend Choy, who makes the most awesome vegetarian egg-less cheesecake. 

Hope you enjoy them as much as we all do…

 

CHERRY CAROB COOKIES

2 1/4 cup organic whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 sticks of unsalted butter

1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla powder

equivalent of 2 eggs from egg replacer

1 cup carob chips

1 cup dried cherries

1 cup toffee chips

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a bowl whisk together the flour and baking soda.  Set aside.
3. In another bowl, beat together the butter and the sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed, until light and fluffy.
4. Mix in the salt, vanilla and egg replacer. 
5. Add flour mixture in 3-4 batches.  Mix until just combined.
6. Stir in the carob chips, cherries and toffee chips.
7. Drop heaping tablespoon-size balls of dough 2 inches apart in a cookie sheet lined with a silplat or unbleached parchment paper.
8. Bake until golden around the edges. about 10 -12 minutes.
9. Remove from oven and let them cool on the baking sheet.  After a few minutes, transfer warm cookies to a cooling rack to  cool completely.
10. Store cookies in the fridge for up to 1 week in a tightly sealed container.

But don’t worry, they will not last long.  They are eaten best with a tall cold glass of milk. 

Strawberry Kanten December 23, 2007

This is a recipe I learned from Diane Carlson while at a cooking retreat called the Conscious Gourmet back in April of this year.  I made some wonderful friends and learned some awesome recipes, this being one of them.  Among the wonderful friends, my friend Kathleen from Kathleen’s Vegetarian Kitchen.

 I learned this is called KANTEN because that’s another name of the agar-agar in the recipe. It’s an easy recipe, but you need time to make it… you’ll see why…

 

 STRAWBERRY KANTEN

4 cups apple juice - Knudsen’s organic brand is highly recommended

1/4 cup agar flakes

1 tablespoon roasted almond butter

dash of lemon juice

pinch of sea salt

2 cups strawberries

1 tablespoons maple syrup or to taste

1. Place apple juice and agar flakes in a medium saucepan.  Set aside for 15 minutes so the agar flakes start to dissolve a bit in the juice.  Bring liquid to a boil, lower heat and gently simmer for 5 minutes or until agar is completely dissolved.
2. Pour the hot kanten into a metal bowl or metal baking dish and place in freezer until very firmly set.
3. Slice 1/2 cup of strawberries for garnish.  Puree the remaining strawberries in a blender with maple syrup and salt.  Strain the strawberries through a fine sieve to remove as many seeds as possible.
4. When the kanten is fully solidified, break it up into a food processor.  Add the almond butter, lemon juice and salt and puree until smooth. Layer kanten and strawberry sauce in parfait glasses.  Garnish with remaining strawberries.

It’s important to use the metal bowl to help the kanten solidify faster.  Depending on how cold your freezer is, this part will take at least 2 hours.

 The color of the apple juice you use will definitely affect the color of your kanten.  The Conscious Gourmet version was made with Knudsen’s apple juice.  The version I did on  my own was made with Mott’s Natural apple juice, therefore, this latter version was beiger, while the Knudsen version is pinkier.

 

Carrot Burfi December 20, 2007

This is another of the dishes I made with my friend Rosani.  This is actually her recipe, and she’s super excited to be published via this blog.

This is a very nutritious and healthy dessert she had originally on her first trip to India.  It’s traditionally made with carrots, ghee and powdered milk.  Our version is trying to be dairy free, and I say trying because we ended up adding evaporated milk for the mixture to get the consistency we wanted.  And I will be TRUE to the recipe we actually did, which ended up super delicious.  I guess you at home can follow our example of just go with the dairy-free version… I’ll tell you where to adjust.

 Again, we did this for a crowd… so I am using a recipe I found on the Internet to guide me with the quantities.

CARROT BURFI

4 medium-sized carrots, finely shredded

2  cups of sugar

1/2 pint of soy creamer

1/2 carton of evaporated milk

2 tablespoons of ghee or clarified unsalted butter

1/2 cup of shredded coconut

1 teaspoon of cardamom (optional, it’s traditional, but we didn’t use it on our version)

               

** If making the recipe dairy-free, use 1 pint of soy creamer and omit the evaporated milk all-together.

1. In a large skillet, cook the grated carrots and sugar, covered for about 20 minutes.
2. Add the grated coconut, soy creamer and evaporated milk, if using.  Stir often to avoid it to sticking to the bottom.
3.  
4. Stir in the ghee and mix in the cardamom, if using.
5. 
6. Cook over medium heat until the mixture has absorbed most of the liquid and when a spoon is scraped across the mixture, you can see the bottom of the skillet.
7. Spread in a baking dish to cool off.
8. Spoon into dessert dishes and enjoy.

Brown Rice Krispies Treats December 19, 2007

This is my Xmas present to all my vegetarian friends.

I’ve always been a fan of Rice Krispies Treats but they’re made with marshmallows, which are made with egg whites. This version is a mixture of a bunch of recipes I found on the Internet. And I even made a few adaptations of my own.

I hope you and the rest of my friends enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making them.

 

BROWN RICE KRISPIES TREATS

1 cup light corn syrup with brown sugar (Karo brand)
1 cup almond butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
6 cups brown puffed rice krispies
1 cup carob chips

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, mix together the sugar, corn syrup and almond butter until their all pretty warm, mixed together and syrupy.
2. Remove from heat and pour in the puffed rice cereal. Stir well until all the cereal is covered in the sticky mixture. This is where going to the gym will some in handy…
3. After all the mixture is combined, stir in the carob chips. They’ll melt a bit, but that’s part of the charm, in my humble opinion.
4. Pour mixture into a greased 9 x 13 glass dish. I greased using my Canola Oil Spray.
5. Spray your hands with the Canola Oil Spray too and press flat.
6. Let cool for 1 hour before cutting into squares. Don’t put in the refrigerator, it gets rock hard there. I had a tough time cutting it.

Makes 18 nicely sized squares.

Cranberry Preserves December 12, 2007

This is the most delicious and easiest recipe for cranberry jelly or preserves you’ll ever encounter.  My uncle loves cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving and I wanted to see if I could get him to eat the real thing, not the jelly that comes from a can.  It just looks too unappetizing…

I can’t remember well where I saw this recipe, but I have tried a Cranberry Chutney from Martha Stewart which called for orange juice and orange rind, and while it was delicious, the orange rind made it quite bitter for my taste.  This recipe is sooooooo easy that you’ll be able to recite it to your friends when the rave about how delicious this is. 

 I also learned yesterday this might also be called Cranberry Butter…  however you prefer to name it, please make it and enjoy.

 

CRANBERRY PRESERVES

1 bag of fresh cranberries

1 cup apple juice

1 cup brown sugar

                                             

1.  Wash the cranberries.  Go thru them and throw away all the ones that have gone soft.
2. Place all ingredients in a large heavy saucepan.
3. Bring mixture to a boil.  I cover it so it comes to a boil faster, but watch it, as it can boil over.  After it starts boiling, uncover, reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.
4. The cranberries will begin to pop on their own.  Stir it every few minutes, and as you stir, pop the cranberries that might be still whole.  It’s the pectin inside the cranberries that helps the sauce thicken.
5. After the cranberries are cooked.  Remove from heat and let cool.  Be careful, the mixture is VERY HOT and will burn you.
6. Transfer to  smaller jars or plastic bowls.

You can have this cranberry preserves with crackers as a jam, in a sandwich, as accompaniment to mashed sweet potatoes and even as a topping for ice cream.  It’s so versatile and soooooo easy.

Hope you make it this Holiday season.   

Sweet Potato Flan November 26, 2007

This is a recipe to dissipate any myths that good desserts can only be made with eggs.  This is an egg-less flan full of flavor and smooth texture.

 I use the sweet potato with an orange-colored flesh, which are also called yams.  In Spanish, or at least in Puerto Rico, we call these “batata mameya”.  I included some pictures for reassurance.  These, I find, are tad less sweet than the white sweet potato. 

            

SWEET POTATO FLAN

1 medium sweet potato, baked - about 1 cup of baked flesh

1 carton evaporated milk

1 can condensed milk

1 pack of cream cheese - you can use 1/3 less fat version

2 tablespoons vanilla extract or vanilla powder

3 tablespoons cornstarch

strip of lemon rind or grated lemon zest

3/4 cup brown sugar - for caramel

1. Bake the sweet potato in a 400 degree oven for 30-45 minutes.  I encourage you to do this ahead of time.  Just cut the ends of the potato, pierce it with a fork all around and bake.
2. After baking, remove the flesh from the skin and mash it well with a fork.
3. Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees. 
4. Place brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Mix a bit of water and  carmelize about 10 -12 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, mix in a blender or food processor the baked sweet potato flesh, milks, cream cheese, vanilla and cornstarch.  You’ll also mix in the grated lemon zest, if using.  If using a piece of lemon rind, don’t put it in yet.  If you feel the blender is too full, just mix the milks first.  Take some out, blend the sweet potato with the remaining milks and then put it all together.  It will fit.
6. Drizzle the caramel in a glass dish and twirl making sure you cover the whole bottom of the dish with caramel.  Careful if using a metal baking dish… the caramel is hot and heats the metal FAST.
7. Pour flan mixture on top of the caramel.
8. Drop in the piece of lemon peel.
9. Place baking dish in a water bath. 
10. Bake in oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour.  You’ll know it’s done when the top is browned and a knife or wooden skewer comes out clean.
11. Take out of the water bath and chill in the refrigerator for about 2 hours.
12. When ready to serve… Release over a dish  so the caramel side is on top.

If you rather make a traditional vanilla flan, just omit the sweet potato and only use 2 1/2 tablespoons of cornstarch.