• Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C.

For the caramel:

• **Tip: The caramel hardens quite fast, so make sure you have your baking dish near you so you can immediately pour the caramel into it!

  In a saucepan, add 1 cup sugar and cook over low-medium heat. Do not stir the sugar, but do occasionally swirl the pan while cooking until all of the sugar dissolves. Once fully dissolved and the liquid is golden, pour caramel into the baking dish, evenly covering the bottom. You can tilt the baking dish to distribute the caramel around.
• Place baking dish into a larger roasting pan, which will be used as a water bath later. While the caramel hardens, work on the flan mixture.

For the flan:

• In a medium mixing bowl, add 8 egg yolks, 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk, and 1 tablespoon vanilla extract. Whisk together until fully combined.
• Add 12 ounces evaporated milk and whisk until smooth.
• To make extra smooth flan, strain the mixture by pouring it through a fine mesh sieve right into your baking dish.
• Pour water into roasting pan so that the baking dish is sitting in 2-3 inches of water. Cover with aluminum foil or baking dish lid.
• Place roasting pan with covered flan into the preheated oven.

  Depending on the size of your baking dish, baking time may vary from 45-60 minutes. At the 45 minute mark, check if the flan is done: the center should still jiggle slightly, but the top should feel a bit firm to the touch. There should not be a puddle of liquid on the surface.

  Stick a cake tester or toothpick in the middle of the flan. If it comes out clean, it can be removed from the oven. If not, check flan every 5-10 minutes.
• Remove from oven and take baking dish out of the roasting pan. Place on a cooling rack and remove cover. Let sit at room temperature for about an hour. Cover again and place in fridge until completely chilled, at least 3 hours. It is best if it is refrigerated overnight.
• Run knife around the edges of the flan to loosen it, then invert the dish onto a rimmed tray (to catch the extra caramel) lined with parchment paper.

  Some hard caramel will stick to the baking dish—it's completely normal and happens to most people. For easier clean up, soak the dish in hot water, changing the water whenever it cools down.

To decorate:

• Use one larger circular cookie cutter to cut out the bear's head, then a smaller one to cut out two ears. Place the head and ears onto your serving dish.

  You can eat the scraps or blend them to make a custard cream :~)
• Melt white and milk/dark chocolate and pour into their own piping bags. I recommend piping the face designs on parchment/wax paper, letting them harden, then transferring to flan.

  Snip a small opening off the piping bags and use the white to make the snout, then the inner ears. Use the milk/dark chocolate to add the nose, mouth, and eyes.

  **Tip: If needed, use a scribe or toothpick to help move the milk/dark chocolate around for the mouth.