Maple Flan

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Pour the maple syrup on the bottom of the casserole dish or divide evenly between the ramekins.

Place the eggs and the additional yolks in a medium bowl and beat with a whisk until well-blended.

Heat the milk over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until it begins to steam. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar until dissolved.

Carefully drizzle the sweetened milk into the yolks, whisking continuously. It is important that you drizzle rather than pour in this step to avoid scrambling the eggs.

Whisk in the vanilla.

Pour the mixture through a metal sieve into the casserole (or divide between the ramekins).

Place the dish (or ramekins) into a larger, deep, oven-safe dish and pour boiling water into the larger dish so that it comes up halfway the side of the mold holding the custard.

Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour for the large dish (20 minutes for ramekins), or until a knife plunged into the center of the custard comes out clean except for some clean, oily film.

To serve warm: remove the custard from the hot-water bath and place it into a dish filled with cold water for approximately 20 minutes. Slide a knife all around the custard to cut it away from the sides. Cover the dish with a plate and invert the custard quickly but carefully onto the plate. Serve with extra maple syrup.

To serve cold: keep the custard in its mold and chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours and up to a day. Unmold and serve as above.