Creamy Chocolate-Cheese Flan with Hibiscus Sauce

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Set aside an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan (4-cup capacity), 10-inch round cake pan, or twelve 4-ounce ramekins. Have ready a heatproof dish or pan at least 3 inches deep that is large enough to hold the pan or ramekins comfortably.

To make the caramel, combine the sugar in a small pan with the water and bring to a boil over medium heat, watching carefully until the mixture thickens to look like a syrup, bubbles quickly, and turns a rich caramel color. Quickly pour the hot caramel into the cake pan (or ramekins) and swirl to coat the bottom(s) and sides evenly before the mixture hardens. Set aside and let cool while you make the flan.

To make the flan, combine the whole milk and condensed milk in a saucepan.

Add the rum, star anise, cinnamon sticks, aniseed, vanilla and almond extracts, vanilla beans and the seeds, nutmeg, and salt. Bring barely to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer gently for 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the chocolate, stirring with a wooden spoon to help it melt and blend.

Remove from the heat and let the spiced chocolate mixture cool to room temperature. When the mixture is cool, remove the vanilla bean, cinnamon sticks, and star anise with a fork or slotted spoon.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 335°F. Set up a hot water bath by having ready a kettle of boiling water and a baking dish large enough to hold the cake pan (or ramekins).

With a wooden spoon, beat the cream cheese in a large mixing bowl until softened. Beat in the yolks and whole eggs, one at a time, using a whisk or electric mixer. Slowly add the cooled chocolate mixture, whisking to blend completely. Strain the mixture through a medium-mesh strainer into the caramel-coated cake pan or ramekins.

Place the pan or ramekins in the reserved larger baking dish, slide into the oven, and carefully pour in enough hot water to come halfway up the outside of the cake pan or ramekins.

Bake the large flan for about 1 hour; bake the ramekins for 30 to 40 minutes. Don't expect the custard to be completely set in the center.

Remove from the oven, lift from the water bath, and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate in the pan for at least 3 hours before turning the flan out onto a platter (or individual dishes).

Serve with the Hibiscus Sauce.

Variation: For a creamy, rich chocolate ice cream, proceed with the same recipe. Cool the flan overnight. The following day, scoop the flan and the melted caramel into the container of an ice cream machine and process according to manufacturer's instructions. Freeze for about 1 hour for optimum flavor and a creamy texture. Makes about 4 1/2 cups ice cream.

Reprinted with permission from The New Taste of Chocolate by Maricel Presilla, © 2009 Ten Speed Press

Maricel Presilla is a culinary historian specializing in the foods of Latin America and Spain. She holds a doctorate in medieval Spanish history from New York University and has received formal training in cultural anthropology.Dr. Presilla has done considerable research on Latin American agriculture—with special emphasis on tropical crops, cacao and vanilla agriculture, and chocolate production. She is the president of Gran Cacao Company a Latin American food research and marketing company that specializes in the sale of premium cacao beans from Latin America. She has completed a comprehensive Latin American cookbook for W.W. Norton and has contributed articles for Saveur, Food & Wine, Food Arts, and Gourmet.She writes a weekly food column for the Miami Herald and is as comfortable sailing down the Orinoco to collect recipes in the field as she is cooking at Zafraand Cucharamama, her pan-Latin restaurants in Hoboken, New Jersey. Last year she opened Ultramarinos, a Latin American store and cooking atelier, also in Hoboken, NJ, where she sells Latin ingredients, prepared foods, premium chocolates and Blue Cacao, her own line of truffles with Latin flavors.