Flan

This classic Flan is sillky smooth and utterly delicious and sweet. This custard topped with a runny caramel is a Spanish and Latin American favorite.

Prep time: PT15M

Cook time: PT60M

Total time: PT255M

Rating

4.84 stars (112 reviews)

Keywords

como hacer flan, easy flan recipe, flan, flan recipe, how to make flan

Ingredients

4 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla paste or 1/2 of a vanilla bean or 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
Pinch kosher salt

Cuisine

Central America
Hispanic Recipes
Holiday
South American

Steps

To Prep:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Prepare a water bath of some kind. You can make this flan in a variety of vessels. You can use a 8-inch cake pan, 9-inch cake pan or (six) 3-inch ramekins. I used a 9-inch cake pan and a turkey roasting pan.
To Make the Custard Base:
- In a blender, add the eggs, egg yolks, salt, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and/or vanilla. Blend until very smooth, about 30 seconds. You don’t want to get it too frothy so try to avoid over blending. If you do over blend it, let it settle a bit so the bubbles can disappear. Set aside.
To Make the Caramel Topping:
- In a medium saucepan, set over medium-low heat, add the sugar and water. Cook on medium-low heat until the sugar has dissolved into the water completely.
- Then, turn the heat to high and allow to cook for about 5 full minutes, until the cooked sugar goes from clear to light golden brown. During this process, it should be boiling; this will help cook out the water.
- Once it starts to turn a light golden brown, immediately lower the heat to medium-low and keep cooking until it turns a golden brown.
- Immediately pour the caramel into the baking pan and twist it around until it’s in an even layer on the bottom. It hardens quickly so move as fast as you can.
- The baking pan will get very hot so be sure to have a dry cloth or oven mitt around to handle the pan. Allow the caramel to harden a bit, about 5 minutes.
- Give the custard base a stir, just to make sure it’s still all combined. Pour it on top of the solid caramel. Cover with foil tightly. Transfer the flan to the water bath and fill up the water bath with water from a kettle.
To Bake:
- Cook for 40 to 45 minutes, until slightly jiggly but still firm. Carefully remove it (it'll be hot!) from the oven and set aside.
- Allow to cool on the counter for about 30 minutes and then transfer to the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.
To Serve:
- When ready to serve, run a knife around the edge and then invert onto a large plate. Smack the top of the pan to loosen the flan and then lift up the cake pan. Slice it up and serve.

Nutitrion

Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 129 kcal
Carbohydrates: 33 g
Sodium: 195 mg
Sugar: 33 g

Reviews

Maria on 2026-03-29 (1 stars):
The carmel went from dissolving then clumping. I don't recommend you make the sauce this way.
Katrina on 2026-03-27 (5 stars):
This is my go to flan recipe. My family is Cuban and they love when I make your recipe. Creamy and delicious!
Kallum Camacho on 2026-03-23 (5 stars):
Hey totally not your fault. As a kid I’d make this in a glass dish and while I tempered it when I went to pour the sugar everything was going great until I set it on the counter where it immediately shattered send hot molten sugar down my thigh. Only got a 1/2degree burn but I’m extremely lucky to have had long leg hair. That kind saved me a bit. Typically a situation like this results in serious 3rd degree burns. Idk if you’d like to update the recipe and let people know to be on the safer side and just use aluminum or steel.
Camellia on 2026-03-14 (5 stars):
My go to flan recipe it’s super rich cause of the egg yolks I love!
Lisa on 2026-02-07 (5 stars):
I melted down the sugar instead of adding water because I’m stovetop lazy lol. This recipe is perfect!!! Creamy, rich and I would’ve taken pics but I started sampling right out of the oven. Thank you for the great recipe!!
Ross Gentile on 2026-01-31 (5 stars):
Excellent instruction thank you
Bekah nelson on 2026-01-10 (5 stars):
Delicious! Thanks!
Abi on 2025-12-31 (5 stars):
I tried this recipe and it worked beautifully and was so delicious! I did it with vanilla extract the first round and the second time I made it, I used 2/3 tablespoon of Fiori di Sicilia and that was excellent as well! I live at high altitude so the cook time was about 10 minutes shorter for me.
Verna on 2025-12-24 (5 stars):
Your instructions should say DO NOT TO STIR the caramel while it is cooking. Only mix the water and sugar before heating, then leave it alone. Stirring while heating will crystalize the sugar. Been there, done that! After putting it in the oven, it took about 60 minutes to reach the jiggly, but not liquid, state. Even then, it's quite jiggly, so hopefully it will solidify more as it cools. Will find out tomorrow if it tastes as good as it smells.
gg on 2025-12-13 (5 stars):
I previously made caeamel without water just fine in the past. However, I followed this recipe, but twice it turned into my arch nemesis rock solid sugar crystal. Not ready to give up, the third batch, I waited longer beforw turning up the heat. This time, it worked. The sugar crystals need to FULLY melt before you turn up the heat. It will look clear rather than cloudy. This is exactly the instruction tbh, but what constitutes "dissolved" means different things to different people.
Gabi Ortiz on 2025-11-30 (4 stars):
It was good until I had to make the caramel. To my knowledge, water never goes in it nor is it necessary and today I see exactly why. The caramel turned a grainy and crystallized texture, I unfortunately had to scrap it and start over with just sugar in my pan.
Sharon on 2025-11-30 (5 stars):
Spectacular. This was such a hit at a dinner party that some people had 2 pieces! I did bake it 10 minutes longer.