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Flan is a traditional Puerto Rican dessert. We've all eaten it and love it. Most of us are a bit weary of the task of making it. But, we are here to tell you it is easy. These are the 'basic' instructions. All that changes are the ingredients. We've included several flavors on this page.

Flan is baked in a 'baño de María' or bain-marie. I use a large cookie sheet on the bottom, then set a large roasting pan on the sheet. Then I place the uncooked flan, covered with foil, in the roasting pan. Carefully pour boiling water into the roasting pan, being careful not to get water in the flan mold - about 2 inches deep. The flan mold should be at least 4 inches tall. The cookie sheet makes it easy to carry into the oven and pull out when ready. The flan mold could be ramekins (6-7) or a deep metal or glass bowl. First prepare the baño.

The next step is caramelizing the mold, and that is just as easy. Pour 1 cup sugar in warm pan and heat on medium heat until it browns and becomes golden like caramel. You must keep a close eye on the caramel until it is done - don't let it get too dark. For ramekins quickly pour approximately 2-3 tablespoons of caramel in each ramekin, tilting it to swirl the caramel around the sides. For the mold just pour and swirl to make sure the bottom is completely covered and swirl as high as you can go on the sides.

Now that the baño and mold is ready prepare the flan as per your recipe. Carefully pour the flan mixture into the mold. Cover with foil, sit in the baño, add the hot water to the baño, and bake at 350° for about an hour. Test for doneness by inserting a wet knife in the center, if it comes clean it's done. Larger flans will take 1½ hours. If the flan does not seem solid in the middle, bake it longer, test again. Remove from the oven and let it cool down to the touch. Refrigerate at least 6 hours before serving. 

To serve run a knife around the inside of the mold, cover the mold with a dish that has a bit of a lip to hold the caramel. Carefully flip it over and wait until the flan has dropped. Pull off the mold. (For ramekins use individual saucers). I often bake my flan ahead 2 or 3 days leaving in in the mold in the fridge. When I am ready I turn it over into a pie plate or something with a lip to catch the caramel. Serve cold.

Good to note here that traditional Puerto Rican flan usually has more than 6 eggs, and turns out firmer than the flan served in the United States. I use 8 - 10 eggs since I am a traditionalist and like to prepare things the way my mother did (she used 10).This makes a larger flan and takes a bit longer to cook and it is more solid or firm and not jiggly. It is a Puerto Rican thing. Just add extra eggs and that's all, if you like it firm.

See our 'How to Make Flan' visual here.

Basic Flan Recipe
The most popular flavor

1 cup sugar 
6 large eggs 
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk 
2 13-oz cans evaporated milk 
1 tb vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare bain-Marie and caramelize the mold as per instructions at the top of this page. 

Mix eggs with an electric mixer. Add the rest of the ingredients. Blend smooth but do not over mix. Pour custard into caramelized mold, cover with foil, and sit in the baño de María. Then pour hot water