The Spanish flan de huevo is one of the most traditional desserts in Spain, one of those recipes that remind us of our mothers and grandmothers. In fact, its origin goes back to the Romans, who used eggs to make many recipes. Later, a version that incorporated milk was created and it was in the Middle Ages when sugar was added. The recipe spread to France and Spain, where the caramel became part of the dessert and turned into the recipe that we make nowadays. A light, baked dessert to be served after any meal. It is important to bear in mind that the flan must rest at least one night in the fridge before being served in order to remove it from the mold. And of course, the best accompaniment is whipped cream!
Ingredients for the Flan Recipe:
- 300 ml of whole milk
- 200 ml of whipping cream
- 5 large eggs
- 150 g of sugar
- A teaspoon of vanilla extract
For the caramel:
- 5 tablespoons of sugar
- Enough water so that if covers the sugar half a finger
How to Make the Recipe:
- To prepare the flan, first beat the eggs with the sugar thoroughly. That way we can make sure the eggs are well mixed.
- Then just add the milk and whipping cream and some flavoring if you want, like vanilla extract. You can also version the recipe by adding 200 ml of cold coffee made in a coffeemaker and also 100 ml of milk (this adds up to 300 ml in total) and then adding the same amount of whipping cream. This is how you get a delicious coffee flan.
- Once the mixture is ready, you have to make the homemade caramel. To do this you need to put the sugar in a small saucepan and add a little water, just enough to cover the sugar by half a finger. Take to high heat and let it cook. However, DO NOT TOUCH THE MIXTURE WITH ANY TOOL. Thanks to that small amount of water, the caramel will come out on its own, golden and without being burned (from my experience I can say that this is the best way to do it).
- Once the caramel starts to colour, you can shake the pan a bit to make it even. Once it is done, you have to pour it into the flanera (flan mold). It is important that it covers at least half of the mold.
- Then add the egg mixture to the flanera and put it in the oven at 180º C for 50 minutes in a bain-marie. To do this, put a container full of boiling water on which you will put the flanera. The water must cover at least half of the flanera.
- Once the flan is ready, let it cool down for about 2 hours at room temperature and then put it in the fridge overnight. All that remains is to remove the mold and enjoy it with a little sweetened whipped cream on the side.
As you can see, it is a simple recipe that has a couple of secrets to make it perfect. The only disadvantage is that you have to wait for it to get cold!
