These individual flans are like spicy cornbread, but more moist and less bready. A delicious accompaniment for a Mexican meal.

Ingredients

* 4 ears corn
* 2 C. milk
* 2 tsp. butter, more or less
* Salt
* 2 eggs
* 1 egg yolk
* 1 tsp. chili powder, preferably ancho
* Pinch cayenne

Directions

Strip kernels from corn. Combine them with milk in a blender, and blend. (Mixture will not be perfectly smooth.) Pour into a saucepan, and heat gently until steam rises, about 5 minutes. Cover, and steep 10-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oven to 300 degrees and set a kettle of water to boil. Grease bottoms and sides of four 6-oz. ramekins with butter. Strain corn-milk mixture into a large bowl, and discard contents of strainer. Add salt to taste to the milk in the bowl. (Over-salt just a bit.) In a small bowl, beat eggs and yolk together, and add a little of the strained milk to warm. Pour the egg-milk mixture into the milk. Add spices, and pour into ramekins.

Put ramekins in a deep roasting pan or an ovenproof skillet, and add boiling water about halfway up their sides. Bake about 20 minutes, until barely set (still quite jiggly in the middle). Leave flans in ramekins or remove them by inverting each over a plate about 15 minutes after they come out of the oven. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

Yield: 4 servings

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