Flan – Easy 5 Ingredient Dessert

Flan has other names including crème caramel or simply custard. This flan recipe is a version of Spanish flan or crème caramel—a simple caramel topped baked custard. This classic dessert only has five ingredients and it’s super simple to make. I posted this originally years and years ago and have updated it to make it even more simple and straight-forward.

Flan will always remind me of my late grandmother, Corina. She was from Venezuela. My grandmother was not passionate about cooking, but she did have a few dishes she made us grandchildren now and again. Flan was one of them. I have always had a sweet tooth so my memories of her flan have a lot of staying power. 🙂

Ingredients

• Granulated white sugar
• Eggs
• Sweetened condensed milk
• Evaporated milk
• Vanilla bean

How to make Flan

In a small pot heat the sugar over medium heat until dissolves and turns a light brown color. It should begin to smell like caramel. Remove from heat and pour the liquid into the ramekins, distributing it equally.

In a large mixing bowl stir together the egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and seeds from the vanilla bean. Stir until the ingredients are well combined. Pour into the ramekins.

Bake at 350°F in a water bath for 45 minutes. They will still have a slight jiggle even after baking. Allow to fully cool and then refrigerate for at least an hour. I like to make flan the day before I plan to serve it so it can refrigerate overnight.

Run a thin knife around the edge of the flan, between the custard and the ramekin dish. Then place a small plate over the ramekin and flip over. The flan should easily remove from the ramekin, if not give it a few light taps to loosen the bottom. Some of the caramel will pour out the sides, this is normal and adds to the presentation.

Tips and Notes

• Evaporated milk can be substituted for whole milk in this recipe.
• I use 6 egg yolks because I love the richness and color it brings to this recipe. That being said you could use 3 eggs (whites + yolks) instead. But if you do use all yolks save the white to make meringue, egg white bites or omelettes.
• Vanilla bean can be substituted for 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. But I really love using vanilla bean in this recipe as it adds that beautiful speckled look to the flan as well as so much flavor. Spanish flan is a very simple, made of very few ingredients, so using high quality vanilla bean elevates it.
• Tips for baking with a water bath. I will place the ramekins in a casserole or roasting pan, whatever I plan to bake them in. Then fill with the caramel and custard batter. I heat water in my gooseneck kettle (to 200°F or around this) and then once I place the baking pan in the oven I carefully fill it with the hot water. Removing the pan from the oven once baking is done is the hardest part—just be careful not to spill the hot water.
• Instead of 6 ramekins you could bake this in one, 9-inch glass pie pan for one large flan instead of individual ones. Increase the baking time by 5-8 minutes.

More Latin American and Tex-Mex Recipes

Flan can be served all on it’s own, no styling necessary. But in the above photos you can see I saved the used vanilla bean and styled a few of the flan with that. Another option that I think is super fun is creating crunchy sugar tops to place on top of the flan before serving. The crunchy sugar is a fun juxtaposition to the silky smooth custard—much like crème brûlée.

Sugar Top Ingredients

• Granulated white sugar
• Light corn syrup
• Water

How to make Spun Sugar

First prepare your work surface. Place a few small bowls down on a cutting board. Lightly oil them. Also be sure your work surface is covered with plastic wrap or wax paper in case some of your sugar gets off the cutting board.

In a small pot, stir together the sugar, corn syrup and water over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Turn the heat up and use a candy thermometer to check the sugar’s temperature. Once it reaches 300°F, remove from the stove top. Allow the mixture to cool to around 280°F.

Dip a fork in the mixture. Pull the sugar up over the oiled bowls and wave it around, like a wand. This will stretch the sugar and give it time to cool some as it drops toward the bowls. I like to wear an oven mit while I do this. Always be careful when you work with really hot sugar. Once that cools, lightly oil your clean hands and gently work the spun sugar off the bowls. Lightly press to form small nests; place over the tops of your inverted flans.