Dulce de Leche Flan

Flan

Flavia Morlachetti / Getty Images

Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 35 mins
Total: 55 mins
Servings: 10 servings

Flan is a very popular dessert in South America. It's a creamy custard, baked on top of a layer of caramel. When the cooked flan is flipped out of the pan, the caramel becomes a pretty topping as well as a sauce for the dessert.

This flan recipe has even more caramel flavor, as dulce de leche—a thick caramel milk and sugar confection—is added to the custard.

Flan is easy to prepare and yet always seems very impressive and dramatic in presentation. Most people serve flan cold, but it is creamiest and most delicious when it is still warm from the oven.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup cream

  • 1 cup whole milk

  • 1 stick cinnamon

  • 1 1/2 cups sugar

  • 1 (13 1/2-ounce) can dulce de leche

  • 10 large eggs

  • 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

  • 1 pinch salt

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. In a medium pot, place the milk and cream with the cinnamon stick. Bring almost to a simmer, then remove the pan from the heat and let it cool.

  3. Preheat the oven to 325 F. Place the sugar in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar melts and turns a medium caramel brown.

  4. Carefully pour the caramel into a 10-inch cake pan with tall sides, or into a 12-cup ring mold. Swirl the caramel evenly around the bottom of the pan, holding the edges of the pan with a towel (the pan may become very hot, even on the edges). The caramel will harden as it cools and may crack, which is fine.

  5. Place the caramel-coated cake pan inside of a larger roasting pan with sides that are at least 2 inches high. Place a teapot full of water on the stove to boil.

  6. Place the dulce de leche in a microwave-proof bowl. Heat it in the microwave briefly until the dulce de leche is very soft and spreadable.

  7. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs.

  8. Add the dulce de leche and condensed milk, and whisk until well mixed.

  9. Remove the cinnamon stick from the milk and cream mixture, and whisk it into the egg mixture. Stir in the vanilla, and add a pinch of salt to taste.

  10. Carefully pour the egg mixture through a sieve into the caramel coated cake pan.

  11. Place the roasting pan, with cake pan inside, into the oven. Slide the oven rack out slightly, then fill the roasting pan with the boiling water until it reaches halfway up the side of the cake pan. Slide the oven rack back in place, and close the oven door.

  12. Bake the flan for 1 hour to 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until it has an internal temperature of around 180 F (use a thermometer to take the temperature in the middle). The flan will still seem jiggly in the middle, but it will firm up as it cools.

  13. Remove the flan from the oven, then let the flan cool in the water bath for about 10 minutes. Remove it from the water bath, and let it cool another 10 minutes. Loosen the edges of the flan with a knife, then flip the flan out onto a serving platter.

  14. Serve flan warm, cold, or at room temperature.

  15. Enjoy!

Tip

Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
659 Calories
30g Fat
83g Carbs
15g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 10
Amount per serving
Calories 659
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 30g 39%
Saturated Fat 18g 88%
Cholesterol 272mg 91%
Sodium 225mg 10%
Total Carbohydrate 83g 30%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Total Sugars 81g
Protein 15g
Vitamin C 3mg 13%
Calcium 337mg 26%
Iron 1mg 6%
Potassium 481mg 10%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)