Mexican Flan (Flan Mexicano)
Quick prep for this Flan Mexicano - Traditional Mexican Flan recipe that results in a beautiful custard served up coated in a light caramel sauce. This is a perfect creamy dessert to serve your loved ones.
Servings 8
Calories 358kcal
Ingredients
- 150 grams / ¾ 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
- ¼ teaspoon sea or kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 150C/300F.
Caramel
- Place the sugar into a large saucepan on medium low heat and allow the sugar to begin dissolving without stirring, approximately 5 minutes.
- Once you see portions of the sugar go translucent, begin stirring until you see simmering at the edges of your pan, approximately 3 minutes.
- Pour and swirl across the entire base of an 24-25 cm / 9.5-10 inch baking dish immediately.
- Allow the caramel to cool completely.
Custard
- For the custard, stir the orange juice, vanilla extract and cornstarch into a small bowl until smooth.
- Pour the milk, sweetened condensed milk, and heavy cream into a large bowl.
- Pour in the orange juice slurry and whisk the mixture until well combined.
- Add the eggs and egg yolks and slowly whisk to break up the eggs in a folding action to avoid creating bubbles.
- Place the baking dish into a larger baking dish.
- Strain the custard over the caramelized sugar, discarding any clumps.
- Pour enough hot water in the larger baking dish to reach half way up the sides of your flan dish.
- Bake until the custard is only set at the edges, approximately 50 minutes.
- Remove and allow to cool to room temperature in the larger baking dish.
- 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.
- Place a serving plate over the baking dish and flip. When you see the caramel sauce running at the edges of the baking dish, lift the dish away slowly.
- Slice and serve up.
- Dig in and enjoy!
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. You could replace with evaporated milk, if you prefer.
- 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 it’s 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 you’ll 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.
- Baking dish: The dish used here was a ceramic tart or quiche style that is 24 cm / 9.5 inches. A great substitute would be a pie or baking dish or even a cake tin that is not a springform of similar size.
- Right caramel consistency: In order for the caramel to spread nicely across the base of your baking dish; it has to be simmering. This requires stirring the sugar once you see portions have dissolved and helping melt it before the caramelization process begins. In order to get to lightly simmering the heat must be nearer medium than low.
- Why does a flan crack?: This happens as the moisture begins to bake out of the flan, reflecting it is over baked. Though this isn’t ideal, the dessert should still be tasty and if it’s only slightly over baked, the texture should still be enjoyable.
- Avoiding a cracked flan: Baking the flan until the edges are effectively set but the remaining custard is jiggly and allowing it to cool in the baking dish ensures it’s not over baked. The top of the flan should be very pale, only slightly darker than when it’s placed into the oven so paying attention to the edges of the custard is key.
- Avoiding a runny flan: If you make the recipe according to instructions, this shouldn’t be an issue. If the recipe is changed to include more egg yolks and less whole eggs, the flan will need a longer baking time. If the flan is removed from the oven prior to the edges setting this means it is unlikely to set correctly. Lastly, flan is best cooled to room temperature and then refrigerated for at least 4 hours. Any shorter and it won’t allow it to set correctly.
- Unmolding your flan: Running a sharp knife around the edges helps break the vacuum between the custard and the dish. Running the knife around the edges a couple of times until you see sauce at the end of your knife will help it slide out of the dish smoothly with minimal effort. You want to make sure you have a firm hold on the baking dish and serving plate before flipping the dish. Removing the baking dish slowly so the sauce has time to drip off is also best.
- Best kept: Refrigerated for up to 5 days. Once unmolded, it’s best to keep refrigerated in a covered container, when not serving.
- Flavoring: Though the traditional vanilla with orange juice here is delicious. Try adding a touch of almond extract for a nutty twist, or infusing the milk with a hint of citrus zest. Infusing the milk with your favorite tea for at least 8 hours or adding instant coffee are also great here.
Nutrition
Calories: 358kcal