Best Puerto Rican Flan Recipe

5 from 7 votes

The traditional classic Puerto Rican Flan is rich in cream and the caramel syrup on top of this egg custard makes it an ideal dessert for parties.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Puerto Rican

Keyword baking, flan, Puerto Rican

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 30

Author Fakhra Ahmad

Servings

Calories 439kcal

Ingredients

For Caramel

1 cup white granulated sugar
¼ cup water

For Flan

1 can evaporated milk
1 can whole milk
5 eggs
½ cup sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
A pinch of salt

Instructions

Pour sugar into a heavy pan and add water. Place it on medium-low heat. Allow it to dissolve completely in water.
As the caramel starts getting dark, do not stir vigorously, rather gently move the pan so that it cooks evenly.
Once it turns a deep golden shade, turn off the flame and pour the caramel into flan molds.
In a blender, add all the ingredients to the custard filling. Blend well until the ingredients combine and the mixture becomes smooth and velvety.
Pour this custard mixture into the flan molds over the caramel.
Place these molds on a large baking dish with a layer of water to bake the flans in a water bath. Bake at 365 °F for an hour or until the desired texture and consistency of the flan are achieved.
Remove from the oven and let the flans cool down.
Use a knife to loosen the edges of the flan and flip them over to bring the caramel side on top. Serve

Video

Notes

Tips for making a perfect Puerto Rican Flan:

Use water-bath baking

Some people don’t give enough importance to using Bain-Marie or what is more commonly known as water bath baking. You can easily make a water bath at home. I always recommend using the best flan pans or small ramekins in a large roasting dish that has been half-submerged into boiling water. This method ensures that the heating is gentle which is essential for the baking process of flan. A water bath further prevents curdles from forming. Although with water-bath you will have to wait longer for flan to be prepared it is worth it.

Don’t overcook

Remove the flan pan from heat as soon as possible. Keep checking on the ramekins every 15 minutes. Avoid the temptation to cook the flan a little more as you will feel the center is jiggly. This will ensure that no grainy texture forms. Overcooking can also lead to a strong eggy flavor coming from the flan.

Heating elements inside ovens vary from type to type and from electric ovens to gas ovens. Therefore, I recommend placing the flan pan along with the water bath at the lower-most rack and baking only at 360-365°F. If you have a more precise oven then you can go for 370°F for one hour.

Always Strain the batter

When you make the egg mixture for Puerto Rican Flan, make sure to pass it through a strain before pouring it into the caramelized flan pan. This will remove all the curdles or lumps that might have formed and ensure that your Puerto Rican Flan has a smooth and soft texture.

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