This Flan Mexicano - Flan recipe is smooth and creamy and itโs all topped off with a light caramel sauce that slides right off the top of it. This classic dessert is a delightful combination of rich custard, caramelized sugar, and a hint of orange.
Table of Contents
Flan is deceivingly simple and requires little effort, except there are a few essentials to getting a flan that is smooth and doesnโt result in a crack. Itโs all in the water bath you bake it in and wrap the baking dish in a tea towel which is the only way Iโve ever had a flan that didnโt crack.
What is Flan?
Flan is a classic dessert known for its smooth and creamy texture. It consists of a baked custard made from a mixture of eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla. The dessert is typically served with a caramel sauce that adds a sweet and caramelized flavor.
Ingredients and substitutions for Flan recipe
- Sugar: Superfine or caster sugar caramelizes perfectly here without adding additional flavor. You could replace with plain white sugar in equal measure.
- Milk: Whole milk was used here for itโs rich creaminess, but you could substitute with a non dairy milk - ideally a thicker one such as oat or even coconut milk.
- Sweetened condensed milk: The milk adds creaminess, sweetness without the moisture you get from simply using milk which helps set the baked custard and results in the creamy flavor.
- Orange juice: You only need a little, but this helps give our flan a really beautiful subtle flavor alongside the vanilla extract.
- Eggs: As well as adding structure and richness to the flan, the eggs will bind everything together and give our dessert itโs nice thick texture.
- Cornflour: Acts as insurance to ensure your flan sets here.
- Heavy Cream: The heavy cream helps add a nice texture to our flan and helps cut through the sweetness of the sweetened condensed milk.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make Flan recipe:
Step 1: Make that caramel: Caramelize your sugar slowly and steadily, and keep stirring.
Step 2: Pour: Pour into your dish and spread as much as possible.
Step 3: Custard: Place the remaining flan ingredients into a blender mix until smooth.
Step 4: Strain: Pour the custard over the caramelized sugar.
Step 5: Double dish: Place the baking dish into a larger dish lined with a tea towel and pour enough boiling water half way up the sides of your dish.
Step 6: Bake: Until only slightly jiggly in the center. Cool and refrigerate for several hours.
Step 7: Run a knife: Carefully run a sharp knife alongside the edge of the baking dish to loosen the flan.
Step 8: Invert and serve: Invert onto a serving plate and allow the caramelized sugar syrup to run over and serve.
Step 9: Enjoy: Dig in!
FAQโs for the best Flan recipe
Yes you do! The water bath or Bain Marie helps evenly cook the custard through without the eggs curdling and helps avoid the top drying out during the baking process.
This one requires a little patience as you want the flan to cool completely post baking and then refrigerate it for several hours or preferably overnight to ensure it properly sets.
The eggs help thicken the creamy ingredients, creating our baked custard so it is essential to use the amount laid out in the recipe.
Absolutely! While the classic Flan recipe calls for vanilla, you can customize the flavors to suit your taste. Try adding a touch of almond extract for a nutty twist, or infusing the milk with a hint of citrus zest for a refreshing flavor. You can also experiment with different toppings, such as fresh fruit or a drizzle of chocolate sauce, to add a unique touch to your Flan.
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Flan recipe
Ingredients
- 150 grams / ยพ cup superfine/caster sugar
- 240 grams / 1 cup milk
- 414 milliliters / 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 165 grams / 3 large eggs room temperature
- 54 grams / 3 large egg yolks room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 30 grams / 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 8 grams / 1 tablespoon cornflour
- 227 grams / 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180C/350F.
- Place the sugar into a small saucepan on medium high heat and stir constantly, cooking until the sugar dissolves and begins to caramelize, approximately 8 minutes.
- Remove from the heat as soon as it begins to caramelize as the sugar will begin to burn swiftly.
- Pour into your flan mold or baking dish immediately and spread across your baking dish as much as possible.
- Place the milk, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, egg yolks, vanilla extract, cornflour and heavy cream and blend until well combined.
- Strain the custard over the caramelized sugar.
- Place a tea towel into the base of a large baking dish and sit the flan dish on top.
- Pour enough boiling water in the larger baking dish to reach half way up the sides of your flan dish.
- Place in the oven and bake until the custard is only slightly jiggly in the center, approximately 50 minutes.
- Remove and allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.
- To serve, carefully run a sharp knife alongside the side of the baking dish to loosen the flan.
- Invert onto a serving plate and allow the caramelized sugar syrup to run over before pulling your baking dish away.
- Serve up immediately.
- Dig in!
Notes
- Sweetened condensed milk: The milk adds creaminess, sweetness without the moisture you get from simply using milk which helps set the baked custard and results in the creamy flavor.
- Orange juice: You only need a little, but this helps give our flan a really beautiful subtle flavor alongside the vanilla extract.
- Heavy Cream: The heavy cream helps add a nice texture to our flan and helps cut through the sweetness of the sweetened condensed milk.
- Milk: Whole milk was used here for itโs rich creaminess, but you could substitute with a non dairy milk - ideally a thicker one such as oat or even coconut milk.
- 2 baking dishes: The dish youโll bake your flan in and a larger dish your flan dish will fit within as it bakes in a Bain Marie is needed for this dessert.
- Size of dish: The dish used here is 21.5 cm / 8.5 inchs which is around average, though a substitute would be a pie or baking dish of similar size.
- Tea towel: This might seem to be the oddest equipment for a baked dish, but placing a clean tea towel in the deeper baking dish helps to insulate your flan and ensure it bakes evenly without cracking.
- You do need a water bath for a great flan: The water bath or Bain Marie helps evenly cook the custard through without the eggs curdling and helps avoid the top drying out during the baking process.
- Adapting your flan: While the classic Flan recipe calls for vanilla, you can customize the flavors to suit your taste. Try adding a touch of almond extract for a nutty twist, or infusing the milk with a hint of citrus zest for a refreshing flavor. You can also experiment with different toppings, such as fresh fruit or a drizzle of chocolate sauce, to add a unique touch to your Flan.
Nutrition
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