I tried to create a flan that tastes like cheesecake, but
ended up with a cheesecake that tastes like flan, and yet I wasn’t disappointed
in the least. While this may not have lived up to its enticing name, it was
still one of the most delicious flans I’ve ever had.

Based on a cream cheese flan, I thought the addition of
Parmigiano-Reggiano, and some graham cracker crumbs, would create the perfect
hybrid, but our caramelized sugar had other ideas. It’s amazing how such a thin
layer of caramel can dominate the other flavors, but that’s exactly what
happened here, and if we really wanted a “cheesecake flan,” we’d need to omit
that from the recipe.

Except if we did that it wouldn’t be a flan, and we’d have
to call it “cheesecake custard.” So, let’s move past the name, and simply focus
on what a great dessert this really was. I’ll probably skip the crumbs next
time, since they didn’t add much, and annoyingly soaked up the pool of caramel
on the plate. But, regardless of whether you include the crust, or what you
decide to call it, I really do hope you give this gorgeous recipe a try soon.
Enjoy!

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Makes 4 Cheesecake Flans:

Please Note: I used four 5.5 ounce ramekins, and had a
little custard mixture leftover, so you can probably get 5 out of this recipe
if you use a slightly smaller ramekin, or fill them with less batter.

For the ramekins:

1 teaspoon melted butter or vegetable oil to grease ramekins

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons white sugar, caramelized to an
amber color over medium heat

For the custard:

1/2 cup room temp cream cheese

2 tablespoons finely grated parmesan

3 large eggs, beaten

3/4 teaspoon vanilla

pinch of salt

1/2 cup white sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk

For the crumb crust:

1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

3 tablespoons melted butter

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