Caramel Flan
Inverted egg custard with liquid caramel, silky smooth and without a single bubble.
- Preparation
- 25 min
- Cook/bake time
- 55 min
- Total
- 7 hr 20 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Calories
Inverted egg custard with liquid caramel, silky smooth and without a single bubble.
Inverted egg custard with liquid caramel, silky smooth and without a single bubble. The flan is baked in a water bath at a low temperature so the egg binds gently instead of curdling and forming bubbles. A dessert that is at home throughout Latin America and Spain.
Sugar wants to crystallize, and a single crystal is enough to act as a seed for a chain reaction throughout the entire pan. Stirring brings crystals from the edge of the pan back into the melt and triggers exactly that. Swirling moves the liquid without incorporating the edge. The flan itself needs the same care for the opposite reason. Above 85 °C, egg yolk coagulates into lumps and the resulting steam leaves bubbles. The water bath keeps both in check.
Heat the sugar and water in a light-colored pot without stirring, and swirl it only occasionally. Let the mixture simmer until it is amber-colored, which takes about eight minutes. Stirring would cause the sugar to crystallize. Pour the caramel immediately into a baking dish and swirl it so the bottom is covered.
Scrape out the vanilla seeds and heat them with the pod, milk, and cream until the mixture is slightly steaming but not boiling. Remove it from the heat and let it steep covered for fifteen minutes so the vanilla flavor dissolves completely.
Whisk the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, and salt only until the sugar has dissolved, beating in as little air as possible. Then pour the warm milk in a thin stream while stirring constantly so the eggs do not curdle. Afterward, strain the mixture twice through a fine sieve.
Carefully pour the custard over the set caramel in the dish. Place it in a deep roasting pan and pour in boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides. Bake the flan at 150 °C for 50 to 55 minutes until the edge is set and the center still jiggles significantly.
Let the flan cool and place it in the refrigerator for at least six hours, preferably overnight. During this time, the solid caramel at the bottom dissolves into a liquid sauce. To invert, run a knife along the edge and quickly turn the dish upside down onto a deep platter.
Replace half of the milk with coconut milk and stir in 40 g of desiccated coconut.
Replace 100 ml of the milk with strong espresso, which results in a darker, more bitter variation.
| Calories | 386 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 9 g |
| Carbohydrates | 46 g |
| – of which sugar | 44 g |
| Fat | 18 g |
| Fiber | 0 g |
It was baked too hot or the mixture contained too much air. Baking at 150 °C in a water bath and gentle whisking reliably prevent this.
Practically none, they are regional names for the same principle. Flan is often made with condensed milk and is then slightly denser.
Three days in the refrigerator in the dish. Only invert it shortly before serving, otherwise the caramel sauce will run away.
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Brigitte Engel
26. Juli 2026
Über Nacht kühlen ist Pflicht, dann ist die Sauce perfekt flüssig.
Casey
25. Juli 2026
Good but my caramel went too dark. Watch it very closely.
Torsten Kramer
21. Juli 2026
Seidig ohne eine Blase. Zweimal sieben ist wirklich der Punkt.
Only 1 hr 20 min of that is hands-on – the rest takes care of itself.
Here some of the ingredients never reach the plate: most frying oil stays in the pan, and in a stock the solids are strained off. How much of it ends up in the food cannot be calculated – counting a litre of oil would quintuple the figure, leaving it out would describe a dish baked without fat. So this is an editorial estimate rather than a total that would look dependable without being so.
A guide value, not a lab measurement: no two onions weigh the same, and fat content varies from pack to pack.
This recipe only uses the yolks. The whites keep for three days in the fridge and freeze well – nobody has to throw them out.
