Who doesn't like milk, caramel, cream, and sugar? The traditional flan recipe is always a success, both among adults and children. Although there are different types, today we will explain the traditional one.
Keep reading to find out how to prepare this easy flan recipe. We explain how to make a homemade flan in 8 simple steps.
What is flan?
Flan is a very traditional dessert and is usually prepared with eggs, sugar, milk, and lemon peel as the main ingredients. All its components are necessary, but eggs are the most important ones. Without them, flan would not have that gelatinous, creamy texture.
Surprisingly, this recipe is considered one of the easiest and quickest to prepare. Not many ingredients are required, and they all are easy to find in our kitchen. Besides, everybody likes it.
Milk, cinnamon, lemon peel, fruit or chocolate are examples of the ingredients that give this sweet dish its distinctive taste.
Also, the perfect complement for flan is whipped cream, which we can get at the supermarket or we can prepare it at home.
Caramel, condensed milk and dulce de leche are also good options to add to the recipe, for they provide flavor and different textures to delight your palate.
The most popular types are coconut flan, vanilla flan, pumpkin flan, caramel flan... And there is also the option of vegan flan, which is made without eggs and is another delicious alternative.
Asian style flan is also very common. Its shape is rectangular and its preparation is also similar to pudding. Although its origin is unknown, it was very popular in Spain between the 19th and 20th centuries.
How to make flan
Although we can prepare it in individual portions, today we will explain the family size flan recipe. Milk, eggs, and caramel will be our main ingredients. However, caramel is optional and can be prepared at home or we can get it in a supermarket. Condensed milk or dulce de leche are also optional to add to the recipe.
Below we will show you how to prepare this easy flan recipe in 8 simple steps. It is very quick to prepare, and it will be ready in 45-50 minutes.
1. Ingredients for 4 people
The ingredients needed to make this dessert are:
- 4 eggs
- 400 g cream
- 150 g sugar
- Cinnamon stick
- Lemon peel
Ingredients for caramel
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 5 tablespoons water
Ingredients for the whipped cream
- 250 g cream
- 100 g sugar
2. Heat the ingredients
The first step to make this homemade flan is to heat the cream, the sugar, the cinnamon, and the previously peeled lemon peel in a saucepan over medium heat. The cream has to get the flavor of the components, so it is important to constantly stir the mixture until the sugar has completely melted. Then, let it cool down.
Instead of cream, we can also use half a liter of milk. In this case, pour the milk with the other ingredients in the saucepan and stir. Then remove from the heat when it has reached the boiling point.
3. Add the eggs
Once it is cooler, we strain the mixture to avoid that there is some piece of cinnamon or lemon and we beat the 4 eggs in a bowl. Then slowly add the eggs to the mixture and mix again. Next, we let it stand while we make the next step.
4. Make the caramel sauce
To prepare the caramel what we do first is to place in a small saucepan the water and sugar. Light the fire and stir the mixture until we see that it becomes golden.
Finally, remove the saucepan from the heat and pour it into the mold. We will also leave a part of the caramel in a bowl to add it later to the cooked flan and pour it on top.
5. Put it in the oven
Preheat the oven to approximately 180 ºC for about 10 minutes. Next, pour the mixture into the mold that we have previously bathed in caramel underneath.
Then, when the oven is hot, put the mold and bake at the same temperature with heat from above and below for about 40-45 minutes. We can check if it is already cooked pricking it with a knife. If it comes out clean and dry the dessert is ready.
6. Let it cool
When the flan is ready, let it cool to room temperature. After a while, put it in the fridge so that the flan is very cool. It depends on people's tastes to eat it warm or cold.
7. Prepare the whipped cream
If you have enough time, you can prepare a delicious homemade whipped cream to accompany this flan. If we whip it by hand is important to do it in a cold bowl —we can put the utensils in the fridge an hour before.
We take a cold glass bowl and pour the cream and beat it slowly until it has more volume. When it becomes more consistent we add the sugar little by little and we do not stop beating. We will know that we have whipped cream if we turn the bowl upside down and the cream does not fall.
8. Garnish your flan
To serve our homemade flan, take it out of the mold and add the caramel on top. Add the desired amount of whipped cream, or we can also leave it in a bowl so that everyone can pour it themselves.