This traditional Mexican Flan recipe is so easy to make and only requires 5 ingredients. It is so decadent and delicious and the perfect dessert for any meal!
Flan is a delicious custard made with eggs and a few other ingredients. The recipe for flan varies immensely from country to country and even region to region within a country. There is Spanish flan, Mexican flan, Cuban flan, and the list goes on. However, this is the flan I grew up eating and was taught to make by my mami. People will argue that the flan should have cream cheese, or only use a certain amount of egg yolks, or even debate on the type of milk used. Guess what? No one is right or wrong, this is just the way I am teaching you how a decadent and satisfying flan!
I often talk about the memories some foods bring back and this is one of them. In our family my mami is known as the dessert queen and one of her favorite desserts to make is this flan. I remember helping her do the easy part: dumping everything for the filling in the blender and blending it all together. Apart from the memories of actually making flan, it also brings back memories of my nana. She was like my 3rd grandma and pretty much helped raise me so I have lots of memories of her also. Anytime she baked and used condensed milk she use to give me a spoon and let me have the last bit of what was left in the can. It was seriously my favorite and, until this day, I think of her every single time I used condensed milk. I know it’s just pure sugar I am eating but inevitably I will stick a spoon in the can and eat the last bit of it. It’s like a cheers to my nana and brings me so much joy to think of her.
Ok real flan talk now. Here are the 5, (yup only five!), ingredients you will need.
-eggs
-condensed milk
– evaporated milk
-vanilla extract
-sugar
That’s it! Grab your blender, a pie dish, small sauce pan, and large roasting pan or a baking pan big enough to fit your pie dish. All of the flan ingredients get blended to make a smooth filling and the sugar gets melted to make a golden caramel. Once the flan is baked, cooled, and refrigerated for at least a couple of hours, the flan then gets flipped over onto a plate. This is when you can see the delicious sauce the caramel turned into and how coats the flan. I am telling you this flan is so decadent and the perfect dessert after any meal. You probably need to make it ASAP, just saying!
Mexican Flan
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 1 can evaporated milk
- 1 can condensed milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup sugar
- hot water for water bath
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Add all ingredients except sugar and water to blender. Blend for 2 minutes or until everything is fully blended. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat place sugar and stir. As it starts melting stir constantly to ensure even melting and avoid burning. A caramel will start forming and continue stirring until all of the sugar is melted and you have a golden colored caramel. Be careful not to burn the caramel and take off heat as soon as it is melted and golden.
- Immediately transfer caramel to pie dish and carefully swirl it around to ensure the bottom of the dish is fully covered. Placed dish in large roasting pan or any baking pan where the pie dish will fit into.
- Pour egg mixture through a sieve and into pie dish.
- Carefully add hot water to roasting pan being careful not to pour water into pie dish. You can do this before placing pan in the oven or after you've placed the pan on an oven rack to avoid spilling everything in the transfer. Add enough hot water to cover halfway up the pie dish.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes until toothpick comes out clean and it is golden on top. Time may vary depending on oven.
- Carefully remove roasting pan from oven and remove pie dish from water bath. Leave flan to cool completely before placing in the refrigerator. Leave in refrigerator overnight or at least for a couple of hours.
- Run a small knife around the flan to loosen up the sides and ensure there is nothing stuck to the pie dish.
- Place a large plate over the pie dish and flip flan over quickly. The caramel turned into a delicious sauce that will be coating the entire flan.
- Serve with fresh fruit or as is!
Made this and it turned out to be really good. Firm not jello like and the caramel was slightly bitter(I prefer that 🤷🏽♂️)..thank you !
I am so happy to hear that! I definitely prefer this texture and I am so glad you enjoyed it as well. 🙂
This was excellent and so easy! The flan was velvet-y smooth and the caramel has the burnt sugar taste that reminds me of creme brûlée. I will definitely make this again and again.
I am so happy to hear that! Thanks so much for making it and I am excited for you to enjoy many more times!