Today we’re making the best classic caramel flan!
Last week during one of the cooking demos I was doing, someone asked what some of my favorite recipes from new book “Chicano Bakes” were, and although I hate to have to pick favorites, this caramel flan easily makes it into the top 5. It’s so simple, yet so good, and the texture? Silky smooth, and so creamy.
What is caramel flan? If you’ve never had it before, it’s an egg custard with a thin layer of caramel that’s cooked in a water bath, it also goes by flan, creme caramel, and caramel pudding.
In all of my years of making caramel flan, here are a few things I’ve learned along the way:
Tips on making the best classic caramel flan:
- 1. Don’t over caramelize your sugar. When you’re making the caramel, you have to babysit. The caramel needs to be a nice golden amber shade. The caramel will start to get bitter the darker it gets, and a bitter caramel will just overpower the flan. Use a saucepan with a light colored interior so you can easily tell the color of the caramel.
- 2. Let the saucepan do all of the work! While you’re making the caramel, swirl the saucepan to distribute the color, and avoid stirring. In my experience, stirring the caramel will cause it to seize!
- 3. Invest in an oven thermometer. Many ovens aren’t calibrated properly, and if you aren’t using an oven thermometer, you won’t know for sure if the oven is heating up to the correct temperature. This is especially important in this recipe. I like to bake my flan at a lower temperature for the best texture, and if your oven is running 15 degrees hotter or colder, it can negatively impact the end product.
- 4. Ditch the evaporated milk. I prefer to use half and half over evaporated milk because again, it helps with the texture and it yields a more rich and creamy flan.
- 5. If at first you don’t succeed, try again! In my opinion, getting the caramel the right color is the hardest part about making flan. If your caramel ends up too dark, or it seizes, take a deep breath, let the pan soak in hot water, then try again!
When I was trying to figure out what I wanted to showcase on the cover of Chicano Bakes, I knew I couldn’t just give one dessert the sole spotlight, I needed to have a spread of some of my favorite desserts, and my flan needed to be front and center. It looks so smooth and glossy (and sexy?), and that puddle of caramel just looked too right. It was meant to be!
My new book Chicano Bakes is out in less than a month, and if you haven’t pre-ordered a copy yet, you can do so here!
If you’ve already pre-ordered a copy, I have a surprise for you! My virtual cooking class schedule is now live and I’ll be hosting two baking classes exclusively for folks who have pre-ordered the book, the week it comes out! We’ll be making the Spiced Pumpkin Chocoflan out of the Cakes chapter, and the Panque de Nuez (Sweet Pecan Loaf) out of the Pan Dulce Mexicano chapter, and you’re welcome to join me for one or both classes (they’re both free with your pre-order)! Make sure to click on the calendar list below, or on the “Virtual Cooking Class” tab on the menu bar to snag tickets to any of my classes.
That’s all I have for today. Give my flan recipe a try, I just know you’re going to love it. Nos vemos pronto!
Classic Caramel Flan
Ingredients
For the Caramel
- 1 Cup (200g) Sugar
- ¼ Cup (59g) Water (59 g)
For the Flan
- 1 ½ Cup (354g) Half and Half
- 3 Large Eggs
- 14 Oz (397g) Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- Pinch of Salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Mist an 8-inch (20 cm) round cake pan with cooking spray.
Make The Caramel
- In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and ¼ cup (59 g) water and set over low heat. Increase the heat to medium and cook, occasionally swirling the pan to distribute the caramelized sugar—do not stir or the sugar will seize and crystalize—until the mixture is amber in color, 8 to 12 minutes. As soon as all the sugar has turned an amber color, quickly and carefully pour the caramel into the prepared cake pan. Let this cool for 5 minutes.
Make The Flan
- In a blender, combine the half-and-half, eggs, condensed milk, vanilla, and salt and blend until smooth, 20 to 30 seconds.
- Place the cake pan in a larger shallow metal baking dish like a roasting pan. Pour the flan into the cake pan and cover the cake pan tightly with foil. Fill the larger baking dish with warm or hot water to come halfway up the side of the cake pan.
- Bake until the outer rim of the custard is firm but the center still has some jiggle to it, 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes. Remove the cake pan from the water bath, then remove the foil completely and let cool at room temperature for about 1 hour. Place the foil back onto the cake pan and refrigerate until completely cool and set, at least 4 hours.
2 Comments
Jane
October 4, 2022 at 8:35 pmSince there is no sugar in the ingredients – can I assume the condensed milk is sweetened like Eagle brand. In my region condensed milk is the same as evaporated milk.
Lorri G
September 9, 2023 at 4:25 pmExcellent!….. one less egg as other recipes called for eliminated the “eggy” taste I don’t really like and I also added Heaping teaspoon of good coconut rum with a teaspoon of vanilla
I just can’t get the care mel down correctly but it was delicious….
Thank you!