Fall Spice Leche Flan

Infuse the evaporated milk. The day before making the leche flan, infuse the evaporated milk. In a medium liquid measuring cup, whisk together the evaporated milk, cardamom, cinnamon, orange zest, nutmeg, and cloves. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Prep the oven and pan. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Bring a quart of water to a boil.

Make the caramel top. Sprinkle the sugar over the surface of a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, swirling the pan occasionally, until the sugar starts to melt. Continue cooking and swirling the pan until the sugar completely melts into a caramel and turns into a golden amber color. Immediately pour into a 9-inch round cake pan.

Make the flan. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, then, whisk in the sweetened condensed milk.

Place a fine-mesh sieve over the bowl and pour the evaporated milk through the sieve to remove the spices (discard the spices). Whisk in the evaporated milk.

Pour the mixture into the cake pan with the caramel.

Bake and chill the flan. Place the cake pan in the center of a large roasting pan and pour the boiled water into the roasting pan until water reaches halfway up the sides of the cake pan.

Bake the flan in the water bath for 45 minutes, or until the edges of the flan are set but the center wobbles slightly. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Once cool, loosely cover the pan with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least four hours, preferably overnight, until the flan is set and chilled.

Serve and store. When ready to serve, run a butter knife or offset spatula around the edges of the flan to loosen it. Place an inverted plate over the top of the cake pan and flip the pan and plate together to turn the flan out onto the plate. Serve chilled. The flan will keep, loosely covered in plastic wrap in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days.