Brazilian Caramel Flan

Brazilian Caramel Flan

This flan is irresistible! It’s my great-aunt’s recipe and she was the best cook! And my greatest inspiration in the kitchen.

Every Brazilian has a Condensed Milk Flan recipe, and they all come from the same Nestle can, so why mine is better, you ask? Because my aunt swapped 1/4 of the milk for heavy cream...and now you have a custard that is a combination of a flan and crime brûlée. 
You are welcome! 😉

Ingredients

Flan:

3 eggs

1 can sweetened condensed milk

3/4 can milk 2% (see directions)

1/4 can heavy cream (see directions)

Dry Caramel:

1 cup sugar

Directions:

• Use the condensed milk can to measure the milk and heavy cream. After emptying out the condensed milk in the blender, first measure 3/4 of milk and complete it with the heavy cream. 
• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• First you will make a dry caramel. Carefully, melt the sugar in a heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. Once the sugar becomes a golden brown syrup, pour it immediately into a round baking dish (or 2 large muffin tray, I used 2 that comes with 6 muffin cups), swirling so that the syrup coats all sides of the dish. The caramel will be dangerously HOT!!! Set aside to cool. If you have never worked with caramel before and prefer to skip this step, you can make a creme brûlée with this base or watch a YouTube video to learn how to make the dry caramel.
• Place the eggs, condensed milk, milk and heavy cream into a blender and blend on medium for 1 minute, until all ingredients are well blended. Let it rest for at least 5 minutes. This step makes all the difference!!! You want the air to come to the surface and the mixture to be creamy. Pour the egg mixture into the prepared baking dish (or ramekins). Place the baking dish inside a roasting pan (or a sheet pan) and place roasting pan on oven rack. Fill roasting pan with boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a knife/ toothpick inserted 1 inch from the edge comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. The center of the flan will still be soft and move when you jiggle the pan, but the edges will be firm. Allow flan to cool before unmolding onto a plate. Refrigerate before serving.
• If you are not comfortable making the dry caramel, make the flan in ramekins and when they are ready and cold, sprinkle sugar on top and put back in the oven to broil on high for one minute, and you will have caramel creme brûlée!
• check my Instagram for more ideas on how to make a creamer brûlée in a jar.