Flan de Queso with a Crunchy Honey Roasted Caramelized Base

Bakeware Needed:

• 9 inch round cake pan
• Large rectangular aluminum pan (large enough to hold the 9 inch round cake pan comfortably)
• Small metal pot

Ingredients:

• 8oz of cream cheese (softened)
• 6 egg whites or 3 eggs
• 14 oz of Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 12 oz Of Evaporated Milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Honey Bunches of Oats Crunchy Honey Roasted Caramelized Base:

• 1 cup of Sugar
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1 cup Honey Bunches of Oats Crunchy Honey Roasted (Smashed)

Directions

1. Add 2 cups of water to the large rectangular pan. Place pan inside the oven. Heat to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix cream cheese and eggs.
3. Add evaporated and sweetened condensed milk, as well as the vanilla extract to the same bowl. Mix well and set aside.
4. Add sugar and water to the small metal pot. Over a medium flame, stir sugar and water till thoroughly blended. Let boil for about 10 minutes or until sugar mixtures turns golden brown.
5. Once sugar/water mixture is golden brown, immediately add it to the cake pan. Swirl it around to cover the entire base of the pan.
6. Let it cool/harden slightly, then add the smashed cup of Honey Bunches of Oats to the top of the sugar base. Press down gently (Be careful not to burn yourself!). The hardened sugar base will hold the cereal that is pressed down. Once sugar base has completely hardened any excess cereal can be shaken out of the pan.
7. Pour the cream cheese mixture you set aside in step 3 into the cake pan. Cover with aluminum foil. IMPORTANT: If you are not adding the crunchy base, make sure to let it cool/harden fully before adding the cream cheese mixture!
8. Place cake pan into the large rectangular pan. Water in the rectangular pan should cover the bottom half of the cake pan.
9. Bake on 350 for approximately 1 hr. The Flan de Queso is done when a toothpick inserted into the flan comes out clean. NOTE: Oven time varies based on oven and altitude. my oven is older so it takes approximately 1 hr; however, you should check the flan after 45 minutes to ensure it does not burn.
10. Remove flan from the oven. Run a knife around the rim to loosen the flan from the pan. Let cool and invert the flan so the base is on the top before removing from pan.

TIP: Flan de Queso is a great after dinner treat, particularly around the holidays. It goes well with coffee, tea or Coquito!