Mexican flan is a scrumptious dessert if you get it right, get it wrong, and it is not so great. People tend to be very opinionated about flan, they either love it or hate it. I believe the ones who hate it simply had one that wasn't done quite right. It is an egg custard with a caramel sauce and if it is not done properly it is too eggy!
There are a few tricks to get it right. The first is the caramel sauce, it has to be cooked so that it does not get a burnt taste. This takes patience and attention. For the ultimate flan, you really should get a special pan just for making it, it is called a flanera. You can pick one up on Amazon, there is a link on the bottom of this page. You can get a good result also with a 9" round cake pan or even individual ramekins but you need to cover them so steam is created. The last very important step is the water bath. You place water in a baking dish and place the pan you are cooking the flan in, in the pan and then fill it with water so it goes up about half way up the pan. Do these steps and this Mexican flan just may end up being your new favorite dessert recipe.
Are you a lover or hater of flan? I would love to know in the comments below.
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Mexican Flan (Egg Custard with Caramel Sauce)
Ingredients
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk 14 oz
- 1 1/4 cup milk
- 4 large eggs
For the Caramel sauce
- 3/4 cup white sugar
Instructions
- In a blender, pour in the condensed milk, regular milk and the eggs, Blend together and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- For the caramel sauce:
- Pour the sugar in a saucepan on the stove and turn the heat to medium-low.
- The sugar will begin to melt and use a spatula to stir it. Make sure you tend to it, stirring constantly.
- The sugar will start to caramelize turning a light brown color when fully melted.
- The next step you need to work very quickly. Be sure to use a pot holder to avoid burning yourself, both the pan you are pouring from and the one you are pouring the caramel into will get VERY HOT. Be careful as you pour the caramel sauce and spread it around with the spatula, it hardens REALLY fast. You need to spread the sauce on the bottom of the pan and up the sides. I found it worked best if you start on the sides letting the sauce drip down into the middle and you quickly placed it along the sides.
- Give your custard another quick blend and then pour it into your pan, you want the custard to go up about 3/4 of the way up the pan.
- If you are using a flan pan than put on the top and latch it, if using a cake pan or ramekins cover them tightly with tin foil.
- Put your flan inside another baking dish and add water until it reaches half way up.
- Bake the flan for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
- Remove the flan and test it with a toothpick. You want the toothpick to come out clean, if not put it back in for another 10 or f15 minutes and test again.
- Leave the pan sealed and let it cook then refrigerate for a minimum of a couple hours to overnight.
- Remove the flan from the refrigerator and using a knife run it around the edge of the flan to loosen it. Use a plate where the lid or foil was and holding them tightly together flip the flan onto the plate. Your flan is ready to savor!
Nutrition