Honey Flan

1/2 cup orange blossom honey to caramelize the ramekins* 3 eggs 11/2 cups half and half, or light cream 3 tablespoons orange blossom honey* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 Granny Smith apple 2 Red Delicious apples 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 pint strawberries 3 tablespoons butter 2 teaspoons orange blossom honey* 18 whole blackberries 6 sprigs fresh mint * Orange blossom honey gives this recipe a special flavor but you can use any honey you like.

TO PREPARE THE RAMEKINS: Heat a medium sauté pan, over high heat, or until very hot. Add the 1/2 cup of honey and cook over medium heat until the honey is a dark brown. Pour the honey into six 1/2 cup porcelain or oven-proof ramekins. With a pot holder to protect your hands, tilt each ramekin so the honey coats the bottom and sides. Preheat the oven to 350° F. TO MAKE THE FLAN: In a mixing bowl combine the eggs, half and half, 3 tablespoons honey and vanilla. Ladle this custard mixture into the prepared ramekins and set the ramekins in a baking pan filled with enough hot water to reach half way up the outside of the ramekins. Bake for an hour or until the flans are set and no longer wobbly. TO MAKE THE FRUIT GARNISH: While the flans are baking, core, peel and cut the apples into 1/4-inch dice. Toss them with some lemon juice so they do not discolor. Stem the strawberries and cut them into quarters. TO FINISH THE FLANS AND GARNISH: Remove the baking pan from the oven and remove the flans from the baking pan. In a 10-inch skillet over high heat, heat the butter. When the butter turns golden brown, add the apples and sauté over high heat for about a minute or until the apples take on some color. Add the 2 teaspoons of honey and remove the skillet from the heat. Toss in the strawberries and stir to combine. With a knife, loosen the edges of the custards from the ramekins and turn each one, upside down, in the middle of a dessert plate. Not all the caramelized honey will come out. Spoon the apples and strawberries around the flan and set 3 blackberries over the fruit. Garnish each flan with a sprig of mint.