Passionfruit Banana Ricotta Flan

Last week may not have been so hot but I definitely ended the week on a sweet note. I knew I wanted to make a flan but wanted to change it up, which is what I'm known to do. Just grab whatever you have in the fridge or pantry and work with it. I decided I wanted to take it towards a 'tropical' direction. Bananas and...hmmmm PASSIONFRUIT! Yes please. Almost forgot I had the juice in the fridge! Ooh we have ricotta. That's definitely going to add to the smoothness of the flan. It's in! And here we go with my recipe:



Passionfruit Banana Ricotta Flan

1 cup granulated sugar
Boiled Water

1 cup half and half
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 banana, mashed or sliced
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup passionfruit juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Add the one cup of sugar to a saucepan over medium heat and constantly mix the sugar untils a golden color. Pour the caramel into 8 ramekins and set aside.

In another saucepan, combine the half and half and milk and bring to a simmer over medium heat.

Add the sugar and vanilla extract. *You may want to adjust the sugar according to your taste because the passionfruit juice is sweet.

On the side, whisk the eggs (do not overmix) together. Slowly pour the milk into the eggs, while whisking constantly.

Strain the liquid mixture to make sure the flan remains smooth. (Optional. It comes out fine either way, in my opinion. I didn't strain it.).

If you are mashing the banana, make sure it is of very smooth consistency and add to the flan. If you are slicing the banana, place the banana slices over the caramel. In this case, I wanted to mash the banana. The flan will still be firm with the banana. Of course the texture is a little more smooth with the banana.

Mix the ricotta in a bowl to a more smooth consistency before adding it into the flan mixture. Make sure to thoroughly combine the ricotta into the mixture. It will be lumpy at first but smooths out with mixing.

Pour the passionfruit juice into the mixture and combine.

Divide the liquid between all the ramekins. Place the ramekins on a pan and create a water bath by pour the boiling water into the pan halfway up the ramekins. Bake the flan for about 40 minutes or until the flan sets. Allow the ramekins to warm a little until handling them and have them cool in the fridge before serving.

When read to serve, run a butter knife or small metal spatula around the edges of the ramekins. Invert a plate onto a ramekin and flip it over. Gently remove the ramekin and the flan should stand firm on the plate with the caramel flowing around the flan. What a beautiful and delicate dessert to enjoy anytime you want.



Have a fun and safe 4th of July weekend!