Puto Leche Flan fail!

I sure overshot with this one! I wanted to make a cultural recipe. Something delicious, something to share with my g-friends tomorrow while we baked cookies. This is ancestral food, the sweets of my forebears! 

For context, puto is a steamed cake from the Philippines. They are usually the size of a cupcake, and they aren't too sweet so you can eat a few and not even notice.

Leche flan, on the other hand, is a custard made from eggs, evaporated milk, condensed milk, and caramelized sugar. Also known as flan, it originated in Spain but is made and enjoyed to this day in all its former colonies. I'm pretty biased about my Lola's flan, though: No one has made it any better than hers. My talented friend Marian's comes quite close. But seriously, puto and leche flan? Together as one cake, they must be indomitably delectable.

While yolking 8 eggs and mixing in the lemon zest, I imagined posting nice pics on Facebook and tagging my mom. She was the one who sent me the link about it, and it was a baking challenge I wanted to try.

Alas, two and a half hours later, my results were a complete failure. The sugar was burnt to the point of bitterness and the cake leaked because the custard didn't set completely. I burned my fingers twice touching the hot glass bowl. It didn't even taste good--it was too salty, and I could barely taste any custard. I tossed the blob in the trash and cleaned up immediately (shame cleaning lol).

Oh well, I think this is one of those recipes that required the right tools. Using the glass bowl to bake the custard in wasn't the best of choices. And the coconut milk I used wasn't from a can but from a carton in the dairy alternative section, so it's not as creamy. I will try again next time, starting with the classic leche flan, this time with a cake pan (ideally a llanera). I have learned!

...on the bright side, I've got two days' worth of egg white omelets for breakfast.

The enticing video that compelled me to try:
Puto Leche Flan from Yummy.Ph