Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Find 6 ramekins and a pan they can all fit in where water comes up at least half way up the ramekins.

2. For the caramel, put the sugar, orange juice and Star Anise Infused Maple Syrup in a small sauce pan and heat over medium flame. Let the mixture come to a low boil and cook until it is reduced by a third (or simply thickened). Immediately pour the caramel into ramekins, distributing evenly and let cool.

3. In a medium saucepan, add the zest, orange juice, vanilla and cream. Stir to combine and heat over medium flame until scalded but not boiling. Remove from heat.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar until well blended and slightly lighter in color. Slowly add the hot cream mixture in a drizzle so as not to cook the eggs right away. Continue adding all the cream. At this point you can pass the mixture through some cheesecloth to remove the zest or leave it in.

5. With a ladle, gently pour the batter over the cooled caramel in the ramekins until evenly distributed. Put the ramekins in a pan and place on the middle rack of the oven. Pour warm water into the pan so that it comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins and close the oven door. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Carefully remove them from the water bath and set them aside to cool. When room temperature, put in the fridge to chill for at least an hour.

6. When ready to serve, find a small dessert plate. Run a knife around the edge of the ramekin and place the plate upside down on the flan. Holding on to both, invert the plate and ramekin and the flan should drop onto the plate. If it remains stubborn in the dish, run the knife around the flan once more and try again. The flan should drop onto the plate with a pool of caramel around it.