Mexican Flan is the ultimate indulgence; light and creamy and yet surprisingly simple to make! Learn how to makethis classic dessertwith an easy to follow recipe.
Flan dessert
There is nothing that compares to ahomemade flan. Velvety and smooth, serve it with fresh berries or a dollop of whipped cream.
If you’re not familiar with this is a classic dessert, it’s a Latin America dish made from eggs mixed with milks and cream cheese. It’s very similar to a cheesecake texture.
Though the ingredients are simple, flan can be a little intimidating to make. Because flan is a custard, it needs to be baked gently in a water bath, and you have to worry about the surface of the custard cracking, as well as over or undercooking.
I’ve included tons of detailed tips and important info in today’s post so you can make the perfect flan every time. For a visual how-to, be sure to check out my step-by-step photos in this post!
***This post was originally published on May 2016. It has been updated to be more helpful.
Ingredients
- Sugar for making a caramel sauce and to coat flan mold.
- Cream Cheese – everything tastes better with cream cheese right?
- Sweetened condensed milk – this is a staple ingredient for this Mexican flan recipe.
- Evaporated milk – alternative you can use coconut milk for a tropical flavor.
- Vanilla beanseeds or vanilla extract.
- 5largewhole eggs.
Did you know that vanilla is native toMexico? As one of the world’s most popular flavors, it is right at home on the Mexican table. On that note, make sure you use a fresh vanilla bean for this flan as it will make all the difference on the flavor.
You can’t beat fresh ingredients!!!
How to make Mexican Flan
Making flan isn’t hard, but does require a few tips and tricks to make sure you don’t end up with a grainy, frothy or with lumpy cream cheese.
Make the caramel sauce:
- Melt 1 cup sugar in a saucepan over medium high heat until it becomes liquid. Stir often with a wooden spoon until is lightly browned. This will take about 5 minutes.
- Pour the melted sugar into the pan or each ramekin and swirl around to coat the bottom.
- Set aside to cool while you make the flan mixture.
Make the flan mixture:
- Add the eggs, cream cheese, vanilla, condensed and evaporated milk, in a food processor or blender and mix until well blended.
- Fill the cake mold or ramekins with the flan mixture.
- Place the mold or ramekins in a baking pan and fill the pan with enough water to rise about halfway up their sides.
- Bake for about 1 hr & 15 minutesif baking in a cake mold (about 40 minutes in ramekins)or until the custard is set (it should not feel liquid or loose when tapping ).
- Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 3 days. (see note 2)
- To serve, run a knife around the edges of the pan and flip the flan out onto a serving platter. Serve with fruit and/or fresh whipped cream.
Notes about baking the flan
The mold
You can make it in a 8, 9 or 10 inch baking pan or ramekins. But I must say that using ramekins is much more fun….and surprisingly easy! One of the advantages of using individual ramekins is that you don’t have to worry about flipping the flan and they’re ready to eat as is.
About Baño Maria (water-bath in English)
Baño Maria means to bake using a water bath. For thisyou will need a baking pan that is large enough to hold a springform pan (or other baking dish),and isalso large enough to allow for water to surround the springform pan.
A word of caution: If using a baking pan with a removable bottom, wrap the bottom and sides of the pan in aluminum foil. This will prevent any water from getting into the flan mixture.
Readers FAQs
What is Mexican flan made of?
This popular Mexican dessert has minimal ingredients and it’s made with eggs, cream cheese, condensed & evaporated milk.
Do you flip the flan hot or cold?
You flip once it’s cold after it has cooled and settled in the refrigerator.
Is Flan a custard?
Custard is made by blending eggs with milk or cream, therefore, Flan is a form of a custard dessert.
Is flan supposed to be jiggly?
Once it’s cooled it has the texture of cheesecake and it should not be too jiggly. If it’s too jiggly this means it’s undercooked.
Is Mexican flan gluten free
Yes, flan is gluten free as all milk products are gluten free.
How to Store
When it comes to storing this flan so you can eat it later, there are some specific ways to do it right so that your flan stays as fresh delicious.
- In the fridge: The simplest way tostore flansis by keeping it in the refrigerator. Place in an airtight container to keep the smell of other food products will not ruin the dessert.
- Do not wrap it in plastic wrap as the caramel will stick to the plastic!
How fun are these little ramekins? They’re perfect to impress your guest or just to treat yourself!
MORE delicious…
Mexican Desserts
- Arroz Con Leche
- Mantecadas
- Tres Leches Cake
- Gelatina De Mosaico
I hope you like this recipe!Share it, or leave a rating and comment below. For questions that need an answer right away, pleasecontact me and I’ll get back to you asap. Gracias!!!! xx, Ana
Print Recipe
How To Make Mexican Flan (From Scratch)
Servings 6 Slices
Ana Frias
4.98 from 36 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins
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Mexican Flan is the ultimate indulgence; light and creamy and yet surprisingly simple to make! Learn how to makethis classic dessertwith an easy to follow recipe.
Equipment
Food processor or blender
8 inch baking pan or 6 (4 oz) ramekins
6Slices
Ingredients
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 8 oz Cream Cheese cubed
- 1 14 oz sweetened condensed milk can
- 1 12 oz evaporated milk can
- 1 vanilla bean seeds scraped or use 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 5 large eggs
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Make the caramel
Melt the sugar in a saucepan over medium high heat until it becomes liquid.
1 cup white sugar
Continue cooking and stirring with a wooden spoon until is lightly browned. About 5 minutes.
Pour the melted sugar into each ramekin to coat the bottom.
While the caramel is still hot and liquid, very carefully ( using oven mitts) swirl the pan around while sugar is still soft to cover bottom and sides. It will get thicker as it cools and eventually harden.
Set aside to cool.
Make the flan mixture
Add the remaining of the ingredients in a food processor or blender and mix until well blended.
1 8 oz Cream Cheese, 1 14 oz sweetened condensed milk can, 1 12 oz evaporated milk can, 1 vanilla bean, 5 large eggs
Fill the cake mold or ramekins with the flan mixture.
Place the mold or ramekins in a baking pan and fill the pan with enough water to rise about halfway up their sides.
Bake for about 1 hr & 15 minutes if baking in a cake mold (about 40 minutes in ramekins)or until the custard is set (it should not feel liquid or loose when tapping ).
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 3 days. (see note 2)
To serve, run a knife around the edges of the pan and flip the flan out onto a serving platter. Serve with fruit and/or fresh whipped cream.
Muy Delish Notes:
- Make sure not to use a kitchenaidmixer. This will leave chunks of cream cheese.
- Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 3 days. However, I do think that it tastes better when eaten the next day so this makes a great recipe to make ahead!
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Nutrition
Serving: 1slice | Calories: 509kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 220mg | Sodium: 275mg | Potassium: 197mg | Sugar: 57g
The nutritional information and US conversions are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data. If this is important to you, please verify with your favourite nutrition calculator and/or unit conversion tool.
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Flan’s History
While Flan’s origin is not Mexican, it was quickly adapted by my native country as one of its classic desserts. In fact, my research concludes that Flan’s origin is from France!
Regardless where it came from, you need to make it! This recipe is sweet, simple and the prep-work is minimal. A dependable, easy recipe that yields an exotic dessert.
