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Flan is a sweet milky egg custard dessert with caramel sauce. Easy and the best flan recipe with only five ingredients and yields individual crème caramel.
Flan Recipe
What is flan? Flan is a classic sweet dessert made of eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla extract.
This sweet treat originated from France and it’s called crème caramel because the eggy dessert is set on top of a layer of amber-colored caramel sauce.
It’s popular in America, Mexico, Caribbean (Cuba) and Latin America. The Spaniards brought the recipe to Mexico. Simply put, flan is the Spanish version of French crème caramel.
There are many regional variations of flan recipe: Spanish, Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Argentina, etc.
Some flan recipes call for sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk. My recipe is easy and the best with only five (5) ingredients.
Main Ingredients
This crème caramel recipe calls for the following ingredients:
- Sugar
- Water
- Eggs
- Milk
- Vanilla extract
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.
How To Make Flan
First, prepare the caramel with sugar and water until the syrup becomes amber in color. Coat the bottom of each individual ramekin with the caramel sauce.
Next, make the egg custard mixture by heating up the milk and sugar. Whisk the eggs and then add the warm milk mixture and vanilla extract.
Add the egg custard mixture to the ramekins and bake in the oven. Chill in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving.
Cooking Tips
- Do not burn the caramel or flan sauce. It’s the soul of the dessert. Perfect caramel should be thick and deep amber in color.
- Coat the caramel sauce evenly in each ramekin. The caramel sauce should be in equal portions.
- Straining the egg custard mixture before baking ensures silky and smooth texture of the flan.
- Make sure there is no air bubbles in the egg mixture.
- To avoid air bubbles, pour the egg mixture slowly and gently into each ramekin.
- Water bath adds moisture in the oven and make sure that the caramel flan are perfectly baked and have no cracks. It also avoids the caramel custard from turning rubbery and dry.
Frequently Asked Questions
That’s the difference between flan and crème caramel? There is no real difference as they are practically the same egg custard dessert.
In French, the name of this dessert is crème au Caramel. In Spanish, it’s called flan.
There are many variations and flavors of the recipe, for example: chocolate, coffee or coconut. At the very classic, they are made of eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla extract.
Yes, you can. For the best results, I strongly recommend you to use whole milk.
This recipe makes six (6) flan, and each of them is only 285 calories.
What To Serve With This Recipe
Serve this dessert with main entrees. For a restaurant-style dinner at home, I recommend the following recipes.
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Flan
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 cups milk, whole milk preferred
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Caramel:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, prepare the caramel by combining the sugar and water over medium heat. Stir continuously until the mixture thickens and the syrup turns a deep amber color. Then, turn off the heat.
- Arrange 6 ramekins and evenly divide the caramel among them, reserving some for topping. Tilt the ramekins to ensure the caramel coats the bottom evenly. Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C).
- Clean the saucepan and heat it over low heat. Add the milk and 1/2 cup of sugar. Once the sugar dissolves, turn off the heat. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until blended, then gradually add the warm milk. Stir in the vanilla extract and whisk briefly. Strain the custard mixture into the 6 ramekins and set aside.
- Arrange the 6 ramekins in a baking pan large enough to hold them. Pour hot water into the baking pan until it reaches about halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
- Transfer the baking pan to the oven, cover it with aluminum foil, and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove the ramekins from the baking pan and let them cool. Once cooled, transfer them to the fridge and chill for a few hours. When ready to serve, slide a knife around the edge of each ramekin to loosen the flan. Invert onto a dessert plate and top with extra caramel, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
My family was French and my mother used to call this Crème Renversé (Spilled Cream) because you had to turn it upside down to remove it from the baking dish. She would make just one big one, not individual ramekins and it was our go to Dessert!
Hi Chantal, interesting to learn about it. Thanks.
Love flan so pretty.
easy to follow recipe, and i’d say this is a good enough “light” alternative to creamier, more rich flans with more egg yolks and cream in them.
Yes, there are so many flan recipes but this is just simple, tastes good with few ingredients. :)
I love flan, thanks for your easy recipe.
I remember when I was a kid my mom would make flan in the microwave. Do you know how to cook this in the microwave or instant pot?
Hi Ann, I don’t know but I will have to try this in an Instant Pot. :)
Should the ramekins be greased first?
No grease.
Hello, if I do not have oven or microwave. Is there alternative to cook this?
No.
Yes you can .. you can steam it for 15-20mins. I did the same and it turn out great..
For the caramel sauce DO NOT stir while its reducing…only stir till the sugar is dissolved and then leave it. First time I stirred and ended up with sugar crystals. Keep at a med heat-it takes awhile to get that beautiful amber color. I went to light on the serving size with the sauce and ended up having to reheat the solid left over caramel sauce to use it up. Tasty recipe.
Thanks for sharing your tips. :)
My caramel did not turn Amber.. it thickened but it was clear.. I kept cooking then the water dried and sugar hardened.. what do I do ?
That’s very strange. What sugar did you use? Is it cane sugar?
Which sugar do we use , castor or plain sugar, can brown sugar be used .
White sugar.
did not turn out guess the caramel part was harder than thought