4 h · Vegetarian · Dessert · For confident cooks
Flan
For 6 servings · US units
Silky baked custard from a water bath, turned out under amber caramel
Flan is the pudding that never gets turned down: eggs, milk and cream set gently in a water bath, then turned out so the loose caramel runs down over it. Scraped vanilla gives it depth, and the long chill in the fridge gives it that fine, sliceable creaminess. It asks for patience rather than tricks — made the day before, it's waiting in the fridge when the table is laid.
Ingredients
- 4eggsfor the custard, whisked with the sugar
- 6egg yolksinstead of whole eggs for an especially creamy set (optional)
- 7 ozsugarroughly half for the caramel, half for the custard
- 1½ cupsmilkbase of the custard
- 8¾ ozcreampartly or fully replacing the milk
- 1vanilla beanseeds scraped out; vanilla extract works too
- 3⅓ tbspwaterto start or deglaze the caramel
Method
- Put the sugar for the caramel in a pan with a splash of water and let it melt over medium heat without stirring, until it turns pale to amber brown; swirl the pan now and then.
- Pour the hot caramel straight into the mould or the individual moulds, tilt them so it coats the base and sides, and leave it to set.
- Whisk the eggs, or the yolks, with the remaining sugar and the scraped vanilla seeds until pale and foamy.
- Warm the milk and cream without letting them boil, then add them to the egg mixture little by little, stirring all the while so the eggs don't curdle.
- Pass the mixture through a fine sieve into the caramel-lined moulds and skim off any foam on the surface.
- Set the moulds in a roasting dish and pour in enough hot water to come about halfway up their sides.
- Bake at 150 to 355 °F until set, with only a slight wobble left in the middle when you shake them.
- Lift them out of the water bath, let them cool, then chill for several hours, ideally overnight.
- Before serving, run a thin knife around the edge, turn each one out onto a plate and let the caramel pour down over it.
Tips and variations
Using only yolks instead of whole eggs gives you a notably dense, creamy custard. Mascarpone stirred into the egg mixture makes a firmer, cheesier flan — that's how the variation is common in Italy. It also works sweet-savoury with fresh goat's cheese, baked in glasses and topped with lavender jelly; fruity with papaya and peach purée in the mixture and fruit wedges to garnish; or with grapefruit juice and starch in place of the milk — in that case skip the caramel base and blowtorch the sugar on top as you serve. A vegan version comes together with silken tofu, soy cream, starch and guar gum, with the caramel sauce cooked separately. Instead of individual moulds you can bake it in a large ring tin and fill the middle with whipped cream to serve.
Allergens
Contains: Eggs, Milk (including lactose)
Not every ingredient in this recipe has been checked, so nothing is promised as free from.
These notes follow from this recipe's ingredient list. Ready-made products and brands may contain further allergens — please check the packaging yourself.
Something not right?
This recipe was put together from independent sources and checked before publishing. Even so, a mistake can slip through — an amount that does not add up, a step that does not work as written. If you spot something, write to us: we will look into it and put it right.
