Learn to make a Flan like an expert

It’s usual to find in many countries different recipes that resemble the traditional flan, such as the French Creme brulée or the Catalan cream, which can have a different consistency by additionally adding egg yolks, cream, cornstarch, etc. But instead of listing many recipes, let’s start by explaining the basic method of preparing a flan.

The Procedure

The ingredients are few and the procedure very simple. In a bowl, beat eggs, whole milk and sugar to taste. The proportion is 4 eggs to half a liter of milk. In the case of the traditional vanilla flan, add also a little of vanilla zest or extract.

Separately, prepare the caramel by heating some sugar in a pan with a few drops of lemon juice and a tablespoon of water. Mix with a wooden or silicone spatula. (This is the only delicate step for two reasons: overcooking the sugar, leads it to turn bitter. And you also have to resist the temptation to try it, since you will burn yourself for sure). Pour that caramel into a large mold and bake in a bain-marie for around 50 minutes. While using individual forms, the cooking time is reduced to about 35 minutes.

The procedure of bain-marie consists of placing the form of the flan inside another larger one, to which we add as much as one finger of water.

To control if the flan is ready, stick it with a knife or toothpick. It should come out clean and dry. Let cool and then store in the fridge some hours until cold. To serve it, cover the mold with a plate and turn over. The caramel prevents the flan from sticking to the bottom but If needed, separate previously the edges very carefully using a knife.

The many types of flan that we can prepare

Having explained the basic procedure, you can now choose the traditional vanilla flan, or try these other amazing versions:

Chocolate flan:

The proportion of cocoa is of 4 teaspoons per half liter of milk. I use 100% cocoa, but if we use a sweetened one, then don’t add more sugar to the milk and egg mixture. As cocoa powder does not dissolve well in cold milk, it is better to heat a bit the milk separately before. In all flan recipes in which we heat the milk, it is convenient to let it cool down a bit before adding the eggs to the mixture. Otherwise, they can start to curdle too early.

Carob flan:

In many Mediterranean countries, from Spain to Lebanon, the ripe carob pods (a very healthy and tasty fruit, considered a substitute for chocolate) are pitted and pulverized. In Greece there are wild carob trees on many islands, I used to gather them and eat them as a snack. Just be careful with the seeds, which are said to break a horse’s teeth!

If you can get carob flour, just add 4 full teaspoons per half a liter of milk. I definitely like this flan much more than the chocolate one.

Coffee flan:

It may seem surprising, but the result is fantastic. The ratio is again four teaspoons of instant coffee per half a liter of milk. We can use both regular and decaffeinated coffee.

Cheese flan:

Non-fat Quark cheese can be used for a fitness variant, as it is a high protein cheese with 0% fat. But without a doubt the tastiest result is obtained using Mascarpone. The proportion of cheese is about 250 grams beaten together with half a liter of milk and four eggs.

Coconut flan:

Simply use coconut milk instead of cow’s milk, the egg curdles the mixture during cooking in the same way, and the result is excellent. The flavor with coconut milk is very intense and pleasant, I also add a little additional coconut cream to the mixture, but it’s usually difficult to obtain and is not essential for the preparation. Just keep in mind that because of it’s high fat content, coconut has 3 times more calories than regular milk, so don’t make this one your regular alternative!

Chestnut Flan:

This seasonal flan requires a bit more of work, but it’s worth of the extra effort. Cook about 200 grams of peeled chestnuts in half a liter of milk over low heat for half an hour, until they are tender. Then blend them until no lumps are seen. When the mixture has cooled down a bit, follow the usual procedure: add the four eggs, beat, transfer the preparation to the mold with caramel and bake in bain-marie.

Tips and tricks:

1. This dessert in any of its variants should always be in our repertoire, since its basic ingredients are few, simple and not expensive. In addition, if we don’t use too much sugar, it is an important source of protein.
2. Healthy version: it is possible to replace the sugar with xylitol or similar sweeteners, both to prepare the caramel and to sweeten the flan. In my case, the dessert is sweet enough with caramel and milk, but I admit that this won’t work for most of the people.
3. When indicating a proportion of 4 eggs to half liter of milk, we refer to those of medium size.
4. As has already been noted, in the versions in which we previously heat the milk to dissolve an ingredient (cocoa, coffee, etc.), we must take care not to mix it with the eggs before it is tempered. Otherwise, they can begin to curdle. It also helps to beat the eggs separately, and then slowly add the milk in small amounts while continuing to beat. In this way, the eggs gradually increase in temperature without curdling.
5. It is worth to remind once again that preparing the caramel requires double care: don’t cook the sugar in excess to the point of burning it, since then its taste would turn bitter. And even more important, it is dangerous to try it, since it will be much hotter than we think.