So where did Moose Tracks come from and get its funky name? A Google search turned up the home site for Moose Tracks and Denali Flavors, who apparently makes ice cream products for several major grocery retailers. In their FAQ it states:

Like many brands, Moose Tracks is not meant to be a description of the product. Just like “Tide” is a brand that doesn’t describe that the product is a detergent or “Snickers” doesn’t describe a candy bar, Moose Tracks isn’t meant to describe the product it represents. It’s simply a brand name.

How was that name created? It was developed as a cute, quirky, fun name that would generate curiosity and interest in the product. This was then translated into our logo that includes both the moose (head) as well as the tracks (footprints) of the moose.

A crawl of their site reveals 11 combinations of Moose Tracks (including my Extreme Moose Tracks), 5 of which are limited availability. In Texas, Moose Tracks ice cream is branded by 4 different big-name grocers, so it won’t be too hard to find at the neighborhood store!

Despite moments when it looked like my chocolate flan experiment was doomed to the garbage disposal, the end result was fantastically yummy and delicious.

• Tripling the amount of chocolate that a recipe calls for is a sure way to make the taste buds happy
• Brown sugar doesn’t caramelize like white sugar, better to melt it on the stove top than in the oven, with less water if any
• Don’t attempt to re-melt the chocolate/milk mixture with eggs in it because the eggs will cook
• Double boiling semi-sweet chocolate chips is a long, painstaking process–use a microwave next time (remember to melt at half power)
• Use shallow dishes or single-serve dishes for flan, otherwise the flan will not descend gracefully onto its final plating

So armed with those warnings, we proceed to the actual recipe.

6oz (or less) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1-2 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
1-2 cups of milk (less milk means denser custard)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Caramelize brown sugar on stove top in a nonstick saucepan or in the oven in a baking dish. In this case I used a 5×9 glass loaf dish in a 375 degree oven…took forever, even with a little water added in. When the sugar melts, transfer to its baking dish and coat the bottom evenly. Set aside to cool and harden. Melt chocolate chips with milk until incorporated. Remove the chocolate milk mixture from heat and slowly mix 4 beaten eggs in. Add vanilla extract and stir gently. Heat the oven to 350 degrees, pour flan mixture into baking dish, then bake for 60-70 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes away clean. Remove from oven and let cool (especially if you’re using a glass baking dish). Afterwards, refrigerate overnight.

To serve, take the flan and microwave in the oven for 30 seconds or less (just enough to melt the caramel). Invert the dish on plate. Garnish with powdered sugar, brown sugar, or even mint leaves and berries for a decadent chocolatey custard. What’s the difference between custard and a flan? Not much, if you read this article on the subject.