“It was the first Monday in December, and Lisa and I were in the coffee shop at The Cookie Jar. It was early, an hour before we were due to open, and we were decorating for Christmas. We were almost finished when everything started to happen. . . .”

CHOCOLATE FLAN WITH CARAMEL WHIPPED CREAM

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

For the Chocolate Flan:

1 and ¾ cup whole milk

1 cup (6-ounce by weight bag) semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli)

4 large eggs

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk (I used Eagle Brand)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon salt

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chocolate curls for a topping are optional (Make them by scraping them from a dark chocolate bar with the blade of a sharp knife.)

For the Caramel Whipped Cream:

1 cup whipping cream

5 Tablespoons caramel ice cream topping (I used Smucker’s)

Select a round glass casserole that’s approximately 10 inches in diameter.

Locate a baking pan with 4-inch or taller sides that is large enough to hold your glass casserole with at least an inch and a half of space on all sides.

Set the casserole you’ve chosen inside the baking pan. Eventually, this baking pan will hold hot water to “bathe” the outside of your flan casserole. This water bath, or bain marie, will keep your flan from baking too rapidly and becoming hard around the edges.

Spray the inside of the glass casserole with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray.

Hannah’s 1st Note: Don’t use anything called “baking” spray on the inside of your casserole. It contains flour and you don’t want flour on the outside of your flan.

Put two potholders or oven mitts out on the counter where they will be handy.

Heat the cup and three-quarters of whole milk at MEDIUM heat on the stovetop in a medium-size saucepan until it almost comes to a boil. You’ll be able to tell this is going to happen when bubbles start to form around the edges of the saucepan and steam begins to escape from the milk.

Pull the saucepan with the milk over to a cold stovetop burner and stir in the cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Stir until the chips are melted and the mixture is a uniform color. If this doesn’t happen, your milk was too cold. Put it back on the burner and stir constantly for another minute to make sure the chips are melted. Then pull it off the heat and turn off the stovetop burner.

In a large bowl on the counter, whisk the 4 large eggs until they’re light-colored and fluffy.

Hannah’s 2nd Note: You can also do this in the bowl of an electric mixer.

Add the can of sweetened condensed milk, the vanilla extract, and the salt to the bowl with the eggs.

Whisk the contents until they’re well incorporated.