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Flan
Updated June 24, 2024
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- Total Time
- 1 hour 35 minutes, plus chilling overnight
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1 hour 30 minutes, plus chilling overnight
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- ½cup/110 grams granulated sugar
- 1(12-ounce) can evaporated milk
- 1(14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1cup/240 milliliters whole milk
- 4large eggs
- 1tablespoon vanilla extract
Preparation
- Step 1
Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Line a roasting pan, large enough to fit a 9-inch-round cake pan with a little extra space on the sides, with a clean cotton kitchen towel. (The towel will keep the round cake pan from sliding and will insulate the flan so it doesn’t overcook.) Set a 9-inch-round (2-inch-deep) cake pan on top of the towel.
- Step 2
Bring sugar and 2 tablespoons of water to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, swirling the pan occasionally, without stirring.
- Step 3
Cook until caramel is dark amber (about 360 degrees on a candy thermometer), approximately 10 minutes.
- Step 4
Carefully pour the caramel into the cake pan so that it covers the bottom of the pan and let sit until set, about 10 minutes more. The caramel will crack as it cools, so don’t be alarmed. (To assist with spreading the caramel once it’s in the cake pan, place the pan over very low heat on the stove, warming it enough to be able to tilt it and let the caramel spread. Keep potholders next to the stove — you’ll need them to hold the pan.)
- Step 5
Combine evaporated milk, condensed milk, whole milk, eggs and vanilla in a blender and process on low speed until the mixture is smooth and creamy, about 30 seconds. (Alternatively, in a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs vigorously for about 30 seconds, then add everything else and whisk until combined.)
- Step 6
Skim foam off the top and transfer the remaining mixture to the caramel-lined cake pan. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.
- Step 7
Place the roasting pan in the oven. Pour boiling water into the roasting pan so that it comes ¾ up the sides of the cake pan. (The dish towel should be fully submerged to prevent burning.)
- Step 8
Bake flan until it looks set on the outside like Jell-O but will wobble a bit more in the center when gently shaken, 50 to 60 minutes. Remove cake pan from roasting pan, remove but reserve foil and transfer cake pan to a wire rack to let cool. Once cool, re-cover with the foil and chill in the fridge overnight.
- Step 9
When ready to serve, run a paring knife around the edges of the flan to loosen. Invert onto a platter. Serve cold, sliced into wedges.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
Thank you so much for flagging! Because the condensed milk is quite sweet, no additional sugar is needed (unless you like a very sweet flan!). We adjusted the steps accordingly.
Think the directions are mixed up, step 3 talks about sugar dissolving, there is no sugar in step three. The sugar was added/used in step2 for caramelizing in the pan
Isn’t the towel apt to start burning in the oven?
Yes, I agree, it's much easier to make the caramel in the same pot where the flan will cook. I let the pan with the caramel cool a bit before adding the liquids. This is how I learned to make it from my Cuban aunt. The le creuset I use is way too heavy for her -- she likes her old stainless steel pot. She'll turn 100 this coming Dec, and the pot must be at least 40 yrs old. Although my aunt uses evaporated milk, I prefer Flan de Leche (NYT has a good recipe).
If you are really into making flans, invest in a flanera (special pan for flans) and you can forget about the dish towel and foil.
You're right, Holly. As a frequent flan-maker, Step 3 requires a *further* 1/2 cup of sugar which was apparently left out of the Ingredients list...!
Flan can easily be made in a double boiler, too. Caramelize sugar in upper part of double boiler, cool, then add other combined ingredients (see step 3). Put upper part in place over bottom of double boiler containing enough simmering hot water to submerge upper part about 1". Cook undisturbed on low burner about 45 min., checking water level of simmering water periodically. Flan done when toothpick comes out clean. Put upper part without lid on wire rack to cool; cover, refrigerate. Do Step 5.
This has been a long time favorite, as a kid my mom use to make this and make it look easy. To all the novice cooks out there I want to say, “Don’t give up”. This was my second attempt. The unknown was regarding caramelization of sugar, I guess I was thinking it go from solid to liquid, it goes from solid to syrup to solid to caramel. After that was sorted the rest was easy or at least predicable.
Can add a shot or two of espresso (room temperature) and turn it into coffee flan. Alternatively, can add coconut flakes in syrup and turn it into flan de coco or add a package of cream cheese and turn it into flan de queso.
I’m confused about the foil tightly covering the cake pan. How can you check for doneness if the pan is covered?
Made this exactly as instructed and it was awesome! Only challenge was flipping it over onto a plate - should have used a bigger, deeper plate!
Always make caramel in a light colored pan so you can determine its color.
A bit of lemon or orange zest in the egg mix will impart a wonderful citrus note and perfume.
For a richer, firmer vanilla flan, can leave out the cup of whole milk and use 5-6 egg yolks rather than whole eggs.
It is much easier to make the caramel right on the pan. Put the empty water bath pan in the oven and fill it from the kettle, make the caramel and add the liquids and bake. I like to add grated lemon zest and for a softer, less sweet flan use 12 oz of milk, no need to add extra eggs. I make this recipe often in a le creuset pot and on a Bundt; a friend uses an old stainless steel pot with the handle wrapped in heavy foil. This is my to go but I prefer flans without condensed milk.
I love this recipe. I like flan texture more firm and added 1 extra egg and it was sublime - still creamy and smooth. I’m also Pinoy so next time I make it I’m adding macapuno - a jellied, sweetened, jarred coconut - and give this flan a Filipino flare.
In the recipe it said to cook the sugar and water at medium high heat for 10 minutes. Mine burnt at medium heat at 5 minutes, so had to redo. So watch the sugar very closely.
Dairy free flan lovers, do not despair! This recipe is great substituting with evaporated coconut milk, condensed sweetened coconut milk (I like Nature’s Charm brand) and soy milk. Same proportion as recipe. The flan comes out perfect and delicious!
Absolutely wonderful. Flavourful and tender. Softer (less stiff) than some flans I've had in restaurants or from the store - but I prefer that. I'll definitely make this again.
I like the flan that doesn’t use sweetened condensed milk better.
I don’t usually comment, but this is the best effort to wow ratio ever. Easy, spectacular taste and texture.
This is a very old and reliable recipe (except for the caramel - caramelize the sugar without water in a nonstick pan over medium heat) and no towel is needed. This can also be cooked in a double boiler, a flanera, without a water bath for a firmer texture, in a slow cooker or in a pressure cooker (Instant Pot). I made this years ago and my cousin from DR told me it tasted exactly like his mother's and I said I hope so because it's our great grandmother's recipe.
I made this following the recipe exactly except I made it in a clear glass round pyrex with a glass lid. Not need to wrap in foil. Perfect amount of brown glaze. Beautiful but had many small air holes. I’ll try to make a creamier version next time.
I’m confused why there’s a cup of whole milk in the ingredients? I made this for christmas and I cooked it for over an hour. The middle never solidified. Granted I did not cool it overnight but I’ve never had to with a flan before and I realize the extra whole milk may be the cause.
If you want to simplify things, the Eagle Brand Condensed Milk recipe works just fine.
Why the towel?
This one saved Christmas dinner (read review under Garlic Braised Beef Short Ribs). We know flan around my house, with some roots in Portuguese New Bedford MA, and this is a good one. Super easy. Make sure to cook that caramel to an almost-burnt deliciousness.
I couldn’t find evaporated milk at the store so I used heavy cream instead but reduced the amount of whole milk to 1 cup and added an extra egg yolk. Baked in bain-marie for 55 mins and it came out perfect. Dinner party friends said best they’d ever had!
The sugar and water wouldn’t caramelize. The water had largely boiled away with no noticeable color. It was a good bit of expense, time and energy to make this and it was not worth it for a flan that totally lacked any caramel color.
Is it possible you gave up too soon? At first it seemed as if all the water was going to boil away and then the sugar would burn, but then the sugar started to---well, it seemed like it was emitting liquid---and then it all got wet again and sure enough it took as long as the recipe said for it to darken and become caramel. It was really delicious!
Amazing flavour and texture, super easy recipe to follow and it's the best flan my Latino husband has ever tasted.. and he grew up with his sweet mama making them his entire childhood. Shhh.. don't tell his mom:).
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