Flan Recipe
This flan recipe will help you make a is a creamy custard dessert that will quickly become a favorite. Cream, eggs, and sugar are combined to create a caramel-flavored flan recipe you’ll devour by the spoonful. You’ll be amazed at how simple this dessert is, and how luxurious it feels to enjoy!
If you are a fan of custard desserts like this flan recipe, you may also enjoy my panna cotta with strawberry sauce, this incredible classic creme brulee, or this coffee and chocolate pot de creme.
Easy Flan Recipe
Flan has become a favorite dessert in our household. If you are wondering what flan even tastes like, imagine a creme brulee without that crystalized top. Flan is basically a custard type dessert similar to creme brulee in texture, but it’s made by adding the caramel to the bottom of the baking dish, then adding the custard on top and baking the two together.
The custard on the bottom of this easy flan recipe melts as the flan bakes and allows this custard dessert to be unfolded by inverting it onto a platter with the caramel now being on top of the flan. Yum!
The other big difference between this easy flan recipe and crème brulee is that flan is a bit more firm (but only slightly).
This easy flan recipe also happens to be one of the best ways to use up egg yolks. If you are making a dessert that only calls for egg whites, like my lemon blueberry pavlova or hazelnut meringues, keep those yolks and use it to make this easy flan recipe (or vice versa!).
The other thing I love about this dessert is how quick it is to put together. While you do have to give it a few hours to set in the fridge before you can enjoy this luscious, silky custard, it only takes minutes to actually prepare.
Tips for Making the Best Flan Recipe
- To make the initial caramel flavor make sure to keep the sugar water mixture on low heat. If you let it get too hot, you’ll end up with dried crystals which you can’t use in the recipe.
- Line the baking sheet with towels. A kitchen towel will help keep a barrier between the baking pan and the ramekins, allowing for gentler heat to distribute throughout the flan.
- Do not overcook the flan. Overcooking it will make it turn out rubbery and eggy instead of the creamy best flan recipe you want.
- Test the flan for doneness. To make sure the flan is ready, simply thump the pan on the side. If it wobbles (similar to jello), it’s ready. If it is not ready, the thumping will cause waves of ripples.
- Unmold it just before serving. To do so, run a knife around the edge of each ramekin. Then place a small dessert plate on top of the ramekin, with the right side down. Quickly flip the plate while holding the ramekin tightly on top, and it should come right out!
How to Make this Flan Recipe
For detailed recipe instructions see the recipe card bottom of the post.
- Preheat the oven and prepare your work surface.
- Make the caramel by whisking together sugar and water over low heat. Then pour it equally into 8 ramekins.
- Boil cream and milk together then set it aside.
- Mix the eggs, sugar, and vanilla together. Add a bit of the creamy milk.
- As you whisk continually, add the rest of the milk.
- Remove the foam on the top layer, then pour the custard into each ramekin.
- Place on a baking sheet and bake, then chill for four hours.
How to Make this Flan Recipe Ahead of Time
This a great make-ahead flan recipe as it needs to be refrigerated before you serve it. You can make this up to four days in advance. Just leave it in the ramekin, then unmold right before you serve it.
Bon appetite!
Scroll to the bottom for the full recipe and with precise ingredient amounts.
Try these other DESSERT recipes:
- Tiramisu Recipe – Delicious no-bake tiramisu dessert.
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies – Chocolate Cookies that are soft, fudgy and melt in your mouth!
- Cheesecake Danish Recipe – Puff pastry dessert filled with cream cheese.
Caramel Flan Recipe
Caramel Flan is a Creamy Custard Dessert that’s made of
cream eggs and sugar.
Ingredients
For the Flan:
- 1.5 cups heavy cream
- 1.5 cups milk w/ 2% fat
- 3 whole eggs
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
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Turn your oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with a paper towel or just a regular kitchen towel. Boil some water in a teakettle.
To make the caramel:
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In a small saucepan combine 1/3 cup sugar and 3 Tbsp water and turn the heat to medium-high. Whisk the mixture until sugar is completely dissolved. Turn the heat to low and let it cook until the caramel is amber in color
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Meanwhile get your ramekins ready. Distribute the caramel evenly between the ramekins, covering the bottom completely. Set aside.
To make the flan:
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Boil 1½ cups cream and 1½ cups milk together. Set it aside.
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In a separate bowl, whisk 3 eggs, 3 egg yolks, and 1/2 cup sugar together for a minute or so. Add 1 tsp vanilla extract and give it another whisk. Continuing to whisk, pour a quarter of the milky liquid into the eggs and mix it well together (this is to temper the eggs so that they don’t curdle).
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Whisking all the while, pour the rest of the milk into the custard, to incorporate everything together.
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Using a large spoon, take off the foam off the top of the custard. Distribute the custard among the prepared ramekins.Put the ramekins into the lined baking sheet.
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Put the baking sheet into the oven. Carefully pour the boiled water into the pan around the ramekins, letting the water come only halfway to the top of the ramekin.
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Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
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Run a knife between the ramekin and the custard to loosen it up from the walls.Cool on a baking rack to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for about 4 hours before serving.
To serve:
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Run a knife around the inside of the wall of the ramekin. Place a serving dish on top of the ramekin with the custard. In a quick motion, turn the dish together with the ramekin, upside down. Lift the ramekin to display a delicious dessert!
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I was wondering why line the baking sheet with a kitchen towel and why boil the milk & cream prior? Ive never added water to the sugar as well.
Your recipe is different than the flans ive made before so wondering what those extra steps provide.
Thansk
Hi Jenny,
A kitchen towel just keeps a barrier between the baking pan and the ramekins, allowing gentler heat to distribute throughout the ramekin and the flan.
Heating the milk before adding to the egg yolks speeds up the baking time, and prevents the flan from overbaking. Overbaked flan typically has what looks like bubbles throughout, instead of being custardy smooth. If you add it cold it takes a long time for the heat to travel from the outside to the inside, therefore the outside is overbaked (hence the bubbles) by the time the middle is baked through.
Hope this helps!
The caramel can be made just by heating the sugar until it is amber in color, or by adding some water to it to start. The water slows down the caramelization of the sugar. This helps to catch the caramel at the correct “amberness”, without burning it.
Couple of questions: how long do you cook the sugar and water before it gets to caramel? Is it 3 tablespoons? Do you have to stir this the whole time?
Hi Barb, I can not remember now, but you just cook it until it’s amber in color. No you do not need to stir it, only may be at first to help the sugar dissolve, but not after that.
Ммм мое любимое…
Очень аппетитный и вкусный блог! 🙂
Thank you! Actually, this is my second blog… that some time ago I decided to keep only in English, as opposed to my other blog that's dedicated to all of my recipes in Russian. Due to lack of time, the other one is more updated then this one, so if you ever need recipes, you're welcome to check it out.
http://crazyappetite.livevjournal.com
As to the pictures, you will find out that I pay more attention to them lately, then in the begining, when I just started this)))
OMG, i found your blog by accident and could not stop reading it. Everything looks so delicious and makes me wanna go cook, bake and eat right now. Such a great job on the pictures too. Thank you for sharing I am ready to try some of your recepies.
i eat this … very tasteeee!!!
blogresipi – well, there's always an option of making it exclusively for yourself and not sharing with anyone 😀
Oh my god! your caramel flan looks so tasty. Really want to eat it but my baby allergic of eggs. Sadly.
It looks so rich and creamy!Hope you wont mind I'd love to guide Foodista readers to this post.Just add the foodista widget to the end of this post and it's all set, Thanks!