My family’s flan recipe dates back to the late 1700s/ early 1800s.
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As the only girl in her family, my grandmother learned to cook from her mother and inherited some of our family’s most beloved recipes.
The recipe originally came from Spain and had no vanilla extract. Vanilla is native to Mexico. That’s why I refer to it as a “Mexican Flan recipe.”
Sweet, creamy, decadent, and incredibly delicious.
Table of Contents
🥣 Instructions
- Put the eggs in a large bowl. Whisk the eggs together.
It comes together very, very easily. Waiting for hours to chill is the hard part.
This is an authentic flan recipe that has been passed down from generation to generation. It is different from the blender kind that uses cream cheese.
It was given to me by my grandmother, the original Mama Maggie. My namesake.
- Mix well until combined.
Orange zest is used to make this Mexican flan recipe. Some members of my family will even add orange juice to their flan recipe.
We just want a hint of orange not a strong “knock-your-socks-off” orange-y flavor.
- Once it’s out of the oven, place on a cooling rack.
- Let cool slightly.
Milks to use: Either whole milk or half and half.
How does flan vary from country to country?
They are very, very similar. Where in Mexico, we use whole milk, the islands such as Cuba and Puerto Rico will use sweetened condensed milk or evaporated milk. They lacked fresh foods, and that is why they had to use canned foods.
- Cover with aluminum foil and place in the fridge.
- Chill for 3 ½ hours.
You can’t skip this step. Hard, I know, but it needs to set.
Overnight in the fridge is best. Although, it really just needs is 3 ½ hours.
- When you’re ready to unmold, run a knife around the edge of the pan.
The DEEPER the pan, the THICKER your flan will be.
What Baking Pan To Use
- In the video, I’m using a regular pie pan. If you are using this recipe, you will need to use TWO pie pans. Yes, two flans!
- I recommend using a deep cake pan or a ramekin.
- Nowadays, they have flan molds and flan double broiler sets that make it easier to unmold.
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tip
Use a serving plate that is LARGER than the pan.
OR, the caramel sauce will spill all over the place, and the flan will fall apart. No bueno.
- Invert the baking dish gently.
- Once you’ve flipped it, give it a minute before full removing the pan.
There might be a section or so that did not completely come loose on the bottom of the pan.
That’s ok. No dessert is perfect. It’ll still be yummy and creamy.
More Mexican Desserts:
Tres Leches Cake
Mantecadas
Mexican Wedding Cookies
Conchas
Variations
Pumpkin Flan, Chocolate flan, you’ll even see key lime flan. My favorite variation is Chocoflan which is a combination of chocolate cake and flan. YUM!
Do you see the picture below, and how the caramel is pouring down the flan?
Makes you just want to lick the plate clean! Are you drooling? Because I sure am!!
More Spanish-Mexican Desserts
Churros
Arroz con Leche
Rosca de Reyes (Roscon de Reyes, in Spain)
Origins
Flan dates back to the Ancient Roman times. You know, Cesar and the Colosseum? Yeah, that!
From there, it spread to Spain, England, France because the Romans conquered lots of lands in Europe.
The Spanish, though, were the first (or so it seems) to add a caramelized sugar top. They brought flan to Latin America, and that’s how we got it in Mexico.
We adapted it in Mexico, and someone in my family perfected it. LOL!
I originally published this Mexican Flan recipe for my son. What better way to discover your roots and your culture than through food.
Our foods say a lot about us, who we are, where we have been, where we’re going.
Traditions and family are everything to me and my family.
I know that my grandmother would have loved to share this recipe with you too.
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Did you make this recipe? Please rate the recipe below!
Mexican Flan
Ingredients
Instructions
- Heat ½ cup sugar in a skillet, stirring constantly until it melts.
- It will turn a dark golden color.
- Remove from heat.
- Immediately pour the melted sugar into a round tart pan or round pie pan.
- Swirl it around the pan to evenly coat the bottom.
- In a large bowl, beat the eggs.
- To the bowl, add milk (or half and half), ½ cup sugar, vanilla, and orange peel.
- For the water bath:
- Place a large roasting pan on an oven rack.
- Inside the roasting pan, add the caramel coated pan to the center.
- Pour egg mixture into the caramel coated pan.
- Run the tap water until it gets hot.
- Carefully add the hot tap water in the roasting pan and around the uncooked flan pan to a depth of 1 inch.
- Bake at 325 F for close to l hour, or until a knife comes out clean.
- Cool the flan on a wire rack.
- Then chill for at least 3½ hours.
- To unmold the flan:
- Use a spatula and gently go around the sides of the pan.
- Place the serving platter over the pan.
- Flip the pan and the platter and allow the flan to come down.
- Spoon any of the caramel that may remain in the pan on top of the flan.
- Slice and Enjoy!
I’m so glad I found this recipe! It helps with my spring glut of eggs and extra milk on hand. I saw a version of Flan-in-a-pan on a website and that inspired me to use this recipe, scaled up a bit, to fit in a 9×13 casserole dish. Reading that this recipe fills two pie plates was great for qty but I couldn’t cook both at the same time because of the ban Marie requirement. Increasing this recipe to work with 8 eggs and 4 c. Milk ( increasing the other ingredients as well) I was able to cook it in a 9×13 glass pan covered with foil inside a giant lasagna/roasting pan at 350/1-1/2 hours. Fortunately I also have a large platter to turn it over onto. It was a great success. I was surprised how much the essence of orange carried from just a lil zest. I will be making this again soon for my large family and company. Thanks for sharing your family recipe with mine.
So happy it worked perfectly! Thank you.
Thank you for posting this recipe. I’ve been searching for a flan recipe from scratch not using condensed or evaporated milk because it’s too sweet in my opinion. I made this recipe today and it is amazing!! I used an 8 inch cake pan to bake and inverted it into a pie dish after it chilled in the fridge for a few hours. This will be my go to flan recipe moving forward.
Thank you! So happy this is your new go-to.
Flan is one of my favorite desserts and this recipe makes it so easy to make at home!
It’s one of my favorites too. Especially this flan recipe since it came from my grandmother.
This flan recipe is exquisite! This made me make one of this right now, I’m thankful for this recipe of yours!
That makes me so happy to hear. This flan recipe came from my grandmother.
Your Flan recipe, accompanied by the video, is a culinary delight! The rich, velvety texture and caramelized goodness of flan make it a timeless favorite, and your detailed instructions ensure a perfect result.
Thanks for sharing. I’m glad you found the flan recipe, video, and instructions helpful. 🙂
Should I let the melted sugar cool in the dish before adding the flan mixture? Thanks!
Yes, let it cool slightly in the dish before adding the flan mixture.
Omg my favorite! I remember that we always make this when it’s xmas season! Recommended especially to those who like sweets!
Yes! Christmas season flan vibes are the best. Sweet tooth-approved and highly recommended!
Tried this in the pan you recommended. Sugar wasn’t enough to coat the bottom and filling ran out the bottom. Yes it was an experience but I’m not giving up. If I use the pan you recommended do I need one or two pans. What did I do wrong.
I’m not sure what you did wrong exactly. My first thought was you left the sugar to cook too long, and it thickened. Which pan did you use? If it’s the one in the video, you need two of those pie pans. Just one of the traditional flan pans.
I’d like to make this for my sons girlfriend for her birthday but I have a question on the eggs. I have chickens that lay different size eggs so could you give me how many ounces the 6 eggs would be?
Thank you. This will be my first attempt at making flan- looks delish.
I love knowing that you have chickens and fresh eggs! For this flan recipe, I use large eggs. About 2 oz each. Hope you enjoy!
I’m looking forward to making this. Would it be best to spray the pie plate with Pam before adding the meltd sugar and flan mixture? Thanks!
I don’t normally spray with Pam, but it might help when releasing the flan.
My son requested flan for his birthday, but I’ve never made it. 😬 Should the baking dish be greased or wax papered to keep it from sticking? I don’t own a non-stick baking pan that would work. Looks delicious!
The caramelized sugar will coat the bottom of the dish and create a non-stick surface. As it says in the recipe, you have to let it chill before unmolding, overnight in the fridge is best. Then, run a knife around the edge of the mold and unmold, you can watch the video of the recipe here on the blog. Hope you and your son like it!
Awesome, thank you! ☺️
You’re quite welcome! 🙂
Does this need to be covered during baking?
No. It’s cooked uncovered.
Hola, Maggie. Me encantaría preparar esta receta pero me gustaría ver el video antes porque no salgo bien sin una visualización. No puedo hallar el video en este enlace. Me puede responder con el enlace? Esta receta parece muy rica por eso me encantaría ver el video.
El video esta donde dice “Flan Video.” Si lo estas viendo por el cel, sale en una pantalla en la parte baja. Espero que te guste.
I’d like to make this in ramekins. How long should I bake it?
Hi, it depends on the size of the ramekins. But generally, it should take an hour. Insert a toothpick after an hour and if it comes out clean, then take them out of the oven. If not, bake for an additional 15 minutes until it comes out clean. Don’t forget to bake in a water bath. That is very important. Hope this helps!