Every Time I Make This Holiday Dessert, Someone Asks for the Recipe

Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

My parents are grocers, so time away from school or sports meant doing chores at their store. My routine included negotiating a treat after reaching the end of my task list, and I often picked flan from the dairy case.

In Paraguay, where we lived, flan is sold ready-to-eat next to the yogurt. It's also packaged like yogurt, with the caramel on the bottom and the jiggly custard on top. I could eat half a dozen cups at once if my mom would let me.

It's been nearly 20 years since I've had this flan. Since moving to the U.S. where ready-to-eat flan is hard to find, I've been making it at home for special occasions (my stomach can't handle dairy the way it used to).

Though it looks hard to make, flan is easy to pull off and most of the time is patiently waiting for the custard to set in the oven and chill in the fridge. Make it a day or two ahead, and unmold it in front of your family and friends. I promise everyone’s going to be impressed. I’ve made flan for New Year’s Eve for many years and someone always asks me for the recipe. 

I’ve included tips for making the caramel sauce and custard in the recipe below (bolded if important to pay close attention to). If you run into trouble or have questions, leave me a comment below! 

Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

What Is Flan?

Flan is a sweet custard topped with a caramel sauce. It’s popular in countries with Spanish influence, like Mexico, parts of Central and South America, and the Philippines, each with their version.

The custard is made with eggs and dairy—always sweetened condensed milk, and depending on the version, evaporated milk, whole milk, heavy cream, or even coconut milk. My recipe only calls for heavy cream, for a creamier custard that doesn’t taste too milky.

The caramel sauce is just melted sugar—I add a little water to help dissolve the sugar before cooking it. Once it becomes a dark amber, I swirl it onto the bottom of a cake pan and pour the custard over it. The flan is slowly baked in a water bath to prevent it from curdling. Then it chills in the fridge—flan should be served cold—until fully set.

The last step always induces oohs and aahs so do this in front of your family and friends: Flip the flan onto a serving plate. You'll get a mirror-glazed caramel top that's hard not to be impressed by.

Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

Preheat the oven to 300°F. 

Set the rack in the center of the oven. 

Bring about 40 ounces (5 cups) of water to a boil for the water bath that you’ll use to bake the flan.

Make the caramel sauce: 

Add 2 tablespoons water and the sugar in a small saucepan. Swirl it just a bit until all the sugar looks wet. Set it over medium heat, and cook without stirring until the mixture bubbles vigorously and turns from pale to light brown, then amber to dark amber. It should look glossy and smooth, not grainy. This takes 4 to 6 minutes, depending on the strength of your stove.

If crystals start to form in the caramel, it's best to start over. There's no way to fix this.

In the meantime, have an 8x2-inch round cake pan and a kitchen towel ready. 

Carefully pour the caramel into the cake pan and working quickly tilt the pan to swirl and coat the bottom and sides. Hold on to the sides with a kitchen towel—there is nothing more painful than molten sugar. Set the pan aside.

Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

Make the custard: 

In a 4-cup measuring cup or medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks, whole egg, and sweetened condensed milk until fully combined. Whisk in the heavy cream, vanilla, and salt. The custard should be smooth and thoroughly combined, but try not to whisk it vigorously, creating too many bubbles.

Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

Prepare the water bath: 

Pour the custard through a  fine mesh strainer over the caramel in the pan. Place the pan into an oven-safe vessel large enough to hold it—a roasting pan, baking dish, or shallow braiser with straight sides, and place it in the oven.

Pour the boiling water into the roasting dish until it comes about halfway up the sides of the cake pan.

Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

Bake the flan: 

Bake the flan until the top is set and no longer wet, but a little jiggly when you gently nudge the cake pan, about 1 hour 20 minutes.

Chill the flan: 

Carefully remove the cake pan from the water bath (use a kitchen towel) and let it cool for about 1 hour on the kitchen counter. Tightly cover the pan with plastic wrap, making sure it doesn’t touch the top of the flan. Chill in the fridge for at least 6 hours or overnight.

Serve the flan: 

When ready to serve (flan should be served cold), run a small knife around the edges to loosen the flan. Flip a large, deep plate upside down on top of the cake pan. In one swift movement, invert the cake pan and plate. Give the bottom of the cake pan a couple of firm taps to help release the flan onto the plate. 

Gently lift the cake pan and marvel at your work of art. It’s okay if some caramel is still stuck to the cake pan. Soak it in water for a few minutes, and it’ll melt off.

Keep leftovers refrigerated for up to 4 days, tightly covered.

Love the recipe? Leave us stars and a comment below!

Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

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