A French Flan is a Vanilla-flavored Crème caramel pudding, and it is prepared from start to finish with common pantry ingredients.
I am not a sweet tooth, but a homemade custard is my ultimate weakness, and so I perfected an easy to prepare flan, and you can do this too!
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Oven Info
The recipe is based on what we were taught in culinary school in Europe. Therefore, for my American friends I have tested the recipe thoroughly, adjusted and added US customary measurements.
The problem is the fact that American ovens and European ovens work so very differently.
After retesting this recipe a couple of times over the last months, I came to the conclusion that you should be making this recipe in a convection oven only (the standard fan heat in European ovens) because the heat gets evenly distributed.
If you still want to make this flan in a regular US oven, where the heat source is at the bottom only, I recommend increasing the baking time a fair amount more.
Not every oven is built the same way, and therefore you will have to test and adjust the baking time.
Baking a flan with the heat source at the bottom can take 20–30 minutes longer than baking it in the convection oven. The same can be applied to baking with the “top-down” oven heat setting.
Ingredients
You will need a handful of ingredients to make this fantastic creamy flan dessert from scratch. See the full recipe further below, fort details US and metric measurements.
- Milk
- Vanilla — A whole vanilla bean to infuse the milk OR vanilla bean paste OR vanilla extract. Either one works, I, personally, prefer an entire real vanilla bean for flavor.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk — Turns out creamier, and it's the better option than plain sugar.
- Eggs and Egg Yolk — The base of every good french flan! Keeps the flan together, creates the texture that we are looking for, and adds the egg taste that we love.
- Powdered Sugar + Water — To create a simple liquid caramel, which will be the base of your flan.
How to make it?
Step 1
Place your ramekins into an oven tray filled with some water. This is your water bath, which will cook your flan evenly.
Step 2
If you use vanilla bean or vanilla bean paste, infuse milk with vanilla over a lower heat setting. (you can skip this step if you use vanilla extract)
Let the milk cool.
Step 3
Heat sugar with water in a pan and melt it all. Wait a minute or two for it to darken and pour into ramekins quickly, as it hardens fast.
(careful, hot sugar burns!)
Step 4
Combine and whisk together eggs, egg yolks and condensed milk. Mix in cooled vanilla infused milk.
Pour the mixture into your ramekins.
Step 5
Bake your crème caramel flan until golden and cooked through.
📖 Recipe
French Crème Caramel Flan Recipe
Ingredients
For the Flan Custard:
- 2 Cups Milk
- 1 Vanilla Bean
- 1 ¼ Cup Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 2 Eggs
- 2 Egg Yolks
For the Caramel:
- 2 ½ Tablespoons Powdered Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Lukewarm Water
Instructions
- Before you start with your cooking, prepare a water bath (Bain Marie) by placing the ramekins into a bottom flat baking pan. Pour water around the ramekins into the baking pan.
- If you use vanilla bean or vanilla bean paste (skip this step if you use vanilla extract) pour milk into a pan. Slit lengthwise your vanilla bean and collect the small black seeds with a spoon. Add the seeds and empty vanilla bean to the milk and heat up for a short time. The vanilla flavor will infuse the milk while it's simmering. After 3 minutes or so, it is hot enough, remove from the heat and let the vanilla bean steep in the milk for a few minutes. Never boil and don't allow the milk to grow a skin on top or the vanilla seeds might get stuck in the skin. Discard the empty vanilla bean. The vanilla infused milk needs to cool down a bit.2 Cups Milk, 1 Vanilla Bean
- Preheat your oven to 350 Fahrenheit/ 180 Celsius!
- Now prepare the Caramel by placing half amount of the powdered sugar into the pot with the 2 Tablespoons of Water. Keep it on a very low flame, it has to heat gradually and make sure there are no lumps. Slowly you will notice that the sugar is melting and at that point you add the remaining sugar. Take care that you don't burn your caramel. Believe me, it happens rapidly, so when you see the sugar melted and slowly turning into a yellow golden, stir well. A few seconds later, it will turn brown and at that point you can take it away from the heat.2 ½ Tablespoons Powdered Sugar, 2 Tablespoons Lukewarm Water
- Add to a mixing bowl the condensed milk, 2 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks and whisk well.1 ¼ Cup Sweetened Condensed Milk, 2 Eggs, 2 Egg Yolks
- Pour the cooled down vanilla milk into the egg condensed milk mixture and whisk heavily so that all ingredients are well incorporated. You should do that quickly because you don't want any egg lumps to form with the hot milk.If you use vanilla extract instead of vanilla bean or vanilla bean paste, add a few drops of vanilla with the milk to the egg mixture.
- Then pour the mixture over the caramel into the ramekins and place the water bath and ramekins into the oven and bake at 350° Fahrenheit/ 180° Celsius for about 18–25 minutes or until the top has turned golden brown. You can check too if it's cooked in the center by poking with a knife, if the knife comes back clean, it is ready. Otherwise, the flan might take more time in the oven to bake properly. Repeat the test, until the flan is cooked.
- Serve in the Ramekin or turn over into a plate. I prefer the flan cold, so you can keep them in the fridge to cool before serving or serve them still warm (but cooled down).
Notes
Equipment
Nutrition
Serving Ideas
The flan can be served by itself, either refrigerator cooled or at room temperature in the ramekins or turned out on a plate.
You can add fresh fruits to that, just as I did with the Bavarian Cream dessert. Raspberry, figs, and blueberries are just some fruit ideas.
Storing
The baked flan can be left for up to 2–3 days in the refrigerator. It needs to be cooled at all time, so I don't recommend making these for a tailgating or potluck event.
Some ramekins come with covers, and they can be covered that way in the fridge or use a cling film to cover.
More French Dessert Ideas
- Apple Cake with Calvados (French apple alcohol)
- Blueberry Tart with Custard (a French open pie)
- Clafoutis — Flan-like dessert with fresh full cherries.
Since Vanilla Beans are not likely to be a standard stock item in most pantries I'd like to know how to substitute liquid vanilla that is ususally in most kitchens, i.e. how much liquid vanilla?
Hi Scott, I suggest you add 3-5 drops, taste and adapt to this. Liquid Vanilla extract is not always equally intense.
That would be perfect for Valentines Day tonight!!I love the burnished top 🙂
This is something new I came to know today about Vanilla. Great Idea. Surely will make and try. Thank you for sharing.
We are a huge flan family, Helene! I've been trying many different recipes of flan for fun. I have to try your recipe!
Oh my, how absolutely delicious!
Those look super delish! A wonderful treat, especially when it's scorching hot outside.
Cheers,
Rosa
I always loved flan and other egg custard desserts. Your flan look so good, and perfect texture...creamy and silky.
I don't eat flan enough, but it truly is a gorgeous recipe! Small dessert portions is perfect to me. Just a little taste of the sweet treat is a delicious way to enjoy any dessert! Beautiful, Hugs, Terra
Perfect & cute lil flans.. Love them anytime 🙂
Given how much I love flan, it's incredible that I've never made it! Love that the vanilla is super prominent in yours!
I'm a huge believer that there always has to be desserts. Something like this delicious flan would be perfect 🙂
You're right - it's REALLY common to have desserts. So many kids in England have a dessert or pudding every day and the meal isn't considered complete until they've had something sweet. By comparison, in Scandinavia a dessert isn't so common. Well, getting more common these days, but not on the same level as England still!
Lovely looking flan Helene - is it the same thing as a creme caramel? It looks fairly similar, but maybe it's a different texture?
oh your flan looks so perfect. It is hard sometimes to get the consistency and texture exactly right while keeping it full of flavor. yours looks delicious
It's so true about the French, I see it about my in laws and everyone around - eating smaller balanced meals, not over-eating and always saving place for dessert, that's what balanced eating is all about - enjoying life.
p.s. I could this flan every day!
Eating small portions, and only the amount of food needed by your body, is the only way to be healthy. And it usually doesn´t matter what foods you eat. On another note, I love flan, love it, love it. It looks sensational Helene!
Moderation is key but I've always had problems with it ... I either have dessert every night or I have no dessert at all ... Need to find a happy medium 🙂
This looks so tasty! I think, I can eat your flan the whole day!! 🙂
Helene, I am an Indian and I LOVE desserts after my meal. I think, people from West Bengal, like me, would mostly love to eat sweets after their meal. If not anything else, then atleast a sweet chutney, which doubles up as a dessert too! What a coincidence, I made the Filipino version of this (leche flan) just yesterday! I love flan anytime of the day. I have a big sweet tooth, you know!
Loving them is enough reason for me to make and enjoy more!
Your flan look beautifully done.
Yum! You have made this look so simple! Love it!
Oh yes, I agree with you, a meal is never complete without dessert and your flan looks perfect.
Flan is a dessert which is stunning and I'm always surprised and waiting under my breadth for it to plop down. In fact, I made coconut flan last week, and it lasted less than a day..
I love Nazneen's familys' idea of dessert first 🙂 Good advice and a wonderful flan.
Hope I can save some milkmaid to make this dessert...children and their mom lick the tin clean as soon as its open 🙂
Flan is my favourite! I think if you had come to my grandparents home in Hyderabad, you would've found that we ate dessert first! My grandfather had a terrible sweet tooth and no dinner was complete without dessert. I believe he was quite partial to flan.
Nazneen
J'adore votre recèpe pour flan au vanille, Helene.
Very much appreciate your sensible take on dessert...Life is too short without savoring dessert!
Oh my Helene, I love flan. My mom used to make it while we were growing up. Come to think of it I haven't had it since then. I love anything custard and yours looks spectacular.
No one ever accused me and my family of not eating dessert. 🙂 My sweet tooth abounds, but I do try to follow yours and Kelly's advise of "moderation" and eating healthy to balance out the sugars and fats. Our favorite desserts are desserts like your flan although I've never made one. We both love them and I have to say that I love the idea with the caramel on the bottom. You flan looks delicious and a dessert that even I could make.
I love flan! Such great flavor, and it certainly helps complete a meal. We do skip desserts sometimes, but then we're hungry a couple of hours later - better to eat dessert and be fully satisfied rather than snack later. 😉 Good stuff - thanks.
Yum. That'd be perfect for a light, sweet dessert.
Janie x