Creamy Caramel Flan Tips
What is flan?
Flan (also called crème caramel or caramel custard) is a custard dessert with a layer of caramel sauce. Flan has been a staple of Mexican and Latin American cuisine since Spaniards brought it to Mexico during the Spanish occupation. Bake your way around the world with these other
globally-inspired baking recipes.
Can you overcook flan?
Yes, you can overcook flan. Overcooking your flan will result in a rubbery, eggy final product. A reliable way to test flan and baked custards for doneness is to gently thump the side of the pan. If the custard wobbles as one unit (instead of rippling like a stone’s been tossed in the pool), it’s ready.
How do you store flan?
You can store flan by tightly covering and refrigerating it for up to 4 days. We don’t recommend freezing flan.
Is crème brulee or panna cotta the same as flan?
Crème brulee and
panna cotta are very similar to flan in that they are all custard-style desserts, but their cooking techniques and ingredients are different from one another.
What can you serve with flan?
This
contest-winning dessert tastes delicious by itself or you can try topping your serving off with berries, nuts or toasted coconut.
Love Baking? Join
Bakeable,
Taste of Home's community dedicated to the joy of baking. Subscribe to the
Bakeable newsletter and
join the Facebook group where you’ll find recipes, tips and monthly challenges.
Sweetened condensed milk is milk with most of the water cooked off, to which sugar has been added. It’s generally used in candy and dessert recipes. Evaporated milk is concentrated in the same way, but doesn’t contain added sugar. It lends rich texture to foods without the fat. This recipe uses both types of milk.
Reviews
I have made this for a couple of holidays. Because I have some Cuban in-laws I went over the top and used a butterscotch sauce instead of caramel. Worked great. Melt 1/2 stick of butter, add 3/4 cup of brown sugar. After sugar is melted add 1/4 cup of heavy cream. Boil 4-5 minutes, until you reach 220 degrees F.
I decided to make an account just to review this absolutely incredible flan! I made this for my grandfather for Father's Day since he hadn't had flan in years. I've never made flan and was not sure if I was doing it correctly. The instruction video helped a lot and it came out wonderful! While I had some crystallized sugar stuck in the pan at the end when I went to flip the flan, it ended up being a blessing since the sugar content was good without the extra bit on the top! This flan is so wonderfully creamy and delicious. My grandfather had three slices and at the end told me, "You made my day." Thank you for this recipe!
Amazing, I simply followed the recipe and the dessert turned out to be outstanding!! Simple and super delicious, thank you!
Almost perfect! I had to cook one for my Hondurian boyfriends cookout, and I'd never eaten flan before. This impressed my bf's mom,which is very hard to do. Only complaint is that I couldn't get the sugar to cook with water, and when I did it without water it turned hard and most of it wouldn't come out of the pan. Overall, wonderful.
But, does it have to set overnight? I am making this for a birthday and the birthday happens to be today. But I still want to make it so...
I preped the mix first, and I did the caramel part after. This helped prevent the sugar from hardening too much. Recipe worked out great. Very much like a crême caramel-cheesecake hybrid.
I have a question because I am wanting to try this recipe here soon. For the dish pan, would it work if I used a cheesecake spring form pan?
Guys my Husband literally works at gw sugar.. u need water to vaporize the sugar particles.. hell tell u him self only water will get rid of sugar
Anyone trying to melt the sugar, use 1 cup of granulated sugar, and forget the water. Start at a warm almost hot setting to get the sugar heated up, then little by little increase the heat. Keep stirring until it all melts. This takes some patients and about 10-15 minutes. Careful to not have it on too high or the sugar will burn.
The caramelizing process was a bit quirky, but I found when I didn't stir and just let it hear, it worked perfectly. This flan is delicious and beautiful. First time, turned out great!