Flan de Leche
- Total Time
- 1½ hours, plus chilling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2½cups sugar
- 3cups whole milk, or 2 cups whole milk and 1 cup heavy cream
- 2strips lemon zest
- ⅛teaspoon salt
- 6large eggs
- 2egg yolks
- ½teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)
371 calories; 15 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 55 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 54 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 111 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Make caramel: Pour 1 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons water into a saucepan, preferably one that is white or light-colored inside. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil, swirling the pan to combine the sugar and water. Do not stir. Let boil until deep amber in color, swirling the pan occasionally to caramelize evenly, about 10 minutes total. Watch the pan carefully after the mixture starts turning golden; it will quickly become light brown, then amber, then dark amber.
- Step 2
Immediately pour caramel into a 9- by -5-inch loaf pan and swirl to coat the bottom evenly. Set aside to harden.
- Step 3
Heat oven to 325 degrees.
- Step 4
In a saucepan or microwaveable bowl or pitcher, combine milk, lemon zest, salt and remaining 1½ cups sugar. Over low heat or in the microwave, heat through, stirring to melt the sugar. Set aside.
- Step 5
In a blender (or using a hand blender in a pitcher), combine eggs, egg yolks and vanilla. Blend until smooth.
- Step 6
Remove the lemon zest strips from the hot milk mixture. With the blender running, gradually pour the milk mixture into the eggs. Go very slowly at first so that the eggs don’t cook from the heat of the milk. Blend just until smooth. Pour egg-milk mixture into the caramel-lined pan.
- Step 7
Place a 9- by- 13-inch baking dish in the lower third of oven. Carefully place the loaf pan in the baking dish. Pour hot tap water into the baking dish until it comes about halfway up the sides of the loaf pan. (Don’t worry if the oven seems to be losing heat; the flan will adjust.)
- Step 8
Bake 55 to 65 minutes, until flan is set but still jiggly in the center. Remove flan from water bath and cool on a rack for 30 minutes. Refrigerate, uncovered, until cold and firm, at least 8 hours or up to 3 days. The caramel will soften as it sits.
- Step 9
To unmold, run a thin sharp knife around the edges. Center a flat-bottomed platter or serving dish with a rim on top of the pan and, holding both, carefully flip the pan and plate together. The flan will fall onto the plate with a squelch; lift off the pan and let the caramel run all over the top. (If the flan doesn’t come out, flip it back over and rest the bottom of the pan on a hot wet kitchen towel for a few minutes, to melt the caramel.) Serve chilled, in slices.
Private Notes
Comments
Hi Curtis, The caramel in a traditional flan is supposed to be syrupy not milky as you describe. Just sayin...
We love this recipes so much we made it every single week:
1. I mix up the eggs by hands and strain the custard mixture to eliminate bubbles. The texture is silky & very pretty.
2. Using a glass bakeware is helpful for a perfectly cooked flan. You'll want to double check around 35-min point to make sure the flan is not overcooked.
3. I tried both with & without lemon zest strip; found that I prefer the hint of citrus.
4. A warm towel is a must to get all the caramel out.
I have made many flan in the past and believe this is the best. I had no problem with the caramel, however, the cook time for me was about 2 hours versus the recipes 1 hr! I used a 9x5 loaf pan in a hot water bath in a 325 oven so not sure where I could have gone wrong. Perhaps the cook time was intended for a flan baked in a lower dish?
If this could please be added to the comment I left a few hours ago. I cooked the flan in a 9 inch round, which was how I always cooked it growing up, and the timing was perfect. At 60 minutes it was 175° and it was perfectly set.
Everyone said it was the best flan they had ever had. Quick work around - after it came out of the oven I had only 3.5 hours before it was served. Cooled on a rack for 30 min as instructed then placed in my freezer for 1.5 hours then the fridge for 1.5 hours (thank you Great British Baking Shoe for inspiring me).
For dessert recipes with vanilla, I often add equal amounts of almond extract, and in this flan it makes such a tremendous difference that everyone always loves. This is a fantastic recipe.
Having struggled with caramelizing the sugar so many times, I went back to what my mom had taught me years ago - I.5 c sugar, 3 Tb water and 1/2 Tb lemon juice. Mix together before heating, wet down the sides of the pan so no sugar is on the side, cook on medium low heat with a lid on first 2-3 min to allow the evaporated water to run down the sides and then allow to cook untouched till dark amber. The lemon juice does not affect the taste at all but does help prevent crystallization.
Can this recipe be halved also with good results??