Name: Modern Mexican Chocolate Flan
Yield: Makes 8 servings
Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups sugar; 6 ounces Mexican chocolate, such as Ibarra, coarsely chopped; 1 1/3 cups half-and-half; 1 1/3 cups whole milk; 1 (1 1/2-inch) cinnamon stick, preferably canela; 5 large eggs; 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon coffee liqueur, such as Kahlúa; 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract; Ingredient info: Canela, also called true, Mexican, Ceylon, or Sri Lanka cinnamon, is a less pungent variety than the cassia cinnamon commonly used in the United States. It's available in specialty shops, some supermarkets, and online from Penzeys Spices.; Pastry brush, 8 (5- to 6-ounce) ramekins, large roasting pan

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Modern Mexican Chocolate FlanLara Ferroni

Pastry chef Jennifer Jones of Topolobampo in Chicago shared this recipe as part of a Cinco de Mayo feature on Mexican desserts. If you prefer to make one large flan, as Jones often does, use a standard pie plate in lieu of the ramekins. The process is the same, but the family-style flan will likely require 10 to 15 additional minutes in the oven. Test as you would for individual custards, inserting a knife halfway between the edge and the center—when the knife comes out clean it's time to take the flan out of the oven.

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Four desserts from pastry chef Jennifer Jones of Chicago's Topolobampo

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