Uruguayan Flan and Merry Christmas!

While you are reading these lines, I will be busy packing my suitcase for Christmas. We are going to visit my parents in law in Spain and I will probably be debating which baking utensils to take along for the trip. I am really looking forward to celebrating Christmas with my Colombian family. Colombian Christmas is very different from German Christmas. There is going to be a lot of dancing, a lot of joy, sparkle and food, so much food. I can’t tell you for how long my mother-in-law has been talking about what she is going to make as a special treat for us and what her ideas are for the Christmas menu. In Colombian culture food is extremely important. I am going to suggest to her that we make Uruguayan flan as the Christmas dessert. Why? Because flan needs to be prepared the night before as it has to be chilled. Perfect in my opinion, one thing less to worry about on Christmas. Flan only requires only a few basic ingredients and is prepared in a jiffy, if this is not enough reason, I don’t know what is.

Flan is a custard that was originally invented in Spain. As often is the case, when taken to Latin America, they spin their own twist on it. Uruguayan flan is always served with dulce de leche, the caramel made from sweetened milk. Mind you, this is on top of the caramel you get as the topping on the flan anyway. Uruguayan flan is the favorite dessert of my mom. I do understand why she likes it so much, it is so easy to prepare, yet somehow also so elegant at the same time. Perfect for company and also perfect as a Christmas dessert.

The secret for perfectly creamy flan is to keep any air out. So don’t beat the eggs until airy or fluffy, no, try to only stir gently. Best is to do this by hand. So no mixer required or even a machine. Which also settles the question whether I am going to take along any additional baking utensils. At least not for this flan. Yes, you will need a bowl and you do need some containers to serve the flan, but other than that, this is a really simple recipe. Let’s go ahead and make some delicious Uruguay flan!

And with this recipe I will bid farewell until after Christmas. I hope that you are going to have a really nice Christmas. Try not to stress too much, especially if it comes to food. If you are reading these lines, you a probably a person who likes to bake and/or cook. But remember that the food is secondary after all. The most important is to spend these days with your loved ones. I really like about this dessert that you need to prepare it the night before, no fuss on the day itself. So hopefully this gives more time for nice talks, for lots of laughter, and joy. Merry Christmas to you!

Print Recipe

Uruguayan Flan

Serves: For 4 people

Prep Time: 15min – Cooking Time: 35-40min – Total Time: 1hr

Uruguayan flan is a custard that is prepared in a bain-marie and usually served with dulce de leche.

Ingredients

• 100 grams of regular sugar
• 350 grams of milk, prepferably with high fat, you can replace half with heavy cream
• 45 grams of regular sugar
• 1 vanilla bean
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 eggs
• Dulce de leche, see here how to make your own

Instructions

1

For the caramel place 100 grams of sugar in a frying pan without any fat and melt on medium heat. Try not to stir with a spoon, but swirl the pan itself. Let melt until you have an amber color and sugar is fully melted. Fill the bottom of four flan containers with it. Caramel will harden immediately, so you need to be fast. My containers yield about 120 milliliters each.

2

Preheat oven to 150 degrees Celsius and look for a casserole or container all your four flan containers fit into.

3

Heat milk with 45 grams of sugar and the cut and scraped out vanilla pod. The milk does not need to boil, just needs to be heated. Take out vanilla pod after a few minutes. Meanwhile stir the egg yolks and eggs gently, try not to incorporate any air in it. Them pour milk-mix into egg-mix and again only stir very gently. Pour into prepared flan containers and place these into your casserole or container. Boil water and pour the water into the large casserole. Be sure not to touch the flan mixture. Place on middle rack in the oven and let bake for about 35-40 minutes. An inserted toothpick should come out clean.

4

Let cool inside the container for an hour before transferring to the fridge. Chill overnight. The next day gently release the rim and then turn upside down on a plate. Serve with some dulce de leche on the side.

Notes

No idea what to do with the leftover egg whites? Check out see this blog post including how to freeze them properly.