Dessert
Cuban Flan
- Preparation time
- 1 h 15
- Servings
- 6
Ingredients
- Sugar — to buy150 g
- Egg — to buy4
- Sweetened condensed milk — to buy1 can (397g)
- Milk — to buy250 ml
- Vanilla pod — to buy1 pod
Preparation
Make the caramel: in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt 120g of sugar dry over medium heat without stirring, just tilting the pan from time to time, until you get an amber caramel. Pour it immediately into the bottom of a cake tin (or individual ramekins), tilting it to coat the bottom evenly — careful, it's scalding hot.
Preheat the oven to 160°C/320°F. Split the vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds.
In a bowl, whisk the eggs with the remaining sugar, the sweetened condensed milk, the milk and the vanilla seeds, until smooth — avoid over-whisking so you don't incorporate air bubbles.
Pour this mixture into the caramelised tin through a fine sieve, for a perfectly smooth, lump-free flan.
Place the tin in a large ovenproof dish, pour hot water halfway up the sides of the tin (water bath): this ensures gentle cooking and a creamy, bubble-free texture.
Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the flan is set at the edges but still has a slight wobble in the centre. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.
Run a knife blade all around the tin, place a plate on top and flip it over in one firm motion — the liquid caramel will coat the flan. Serve well chilled.