The Best Flan Recipe IN THE WORLD...

Ok friends.. if you are a flan lover, THIS flan is for you! I originally got this recipe from this site: http://www.oliviascuisine.com/brazilian-flan/

But I've made some changes to make it more delicious! The original recipe is a Brazilian Flan.. otherwise known as "Pudim de Leche".. but I make mine with a twist! Read on!

Super easy! Note* This is a "make the day before" recipe so it has time to cool down and have that yummy, creamy texture that make me love it so much!

Here are the list of ingredients first, then I'll explain the process!

1.5 cups white sugar
4 eggs
2 cans sweetened condensed milk (try not to eat it straight out of the can!)
1 can coconut milk (not cream of coconut, you find this usually in the baking aisle or canned fruit area of the grocery store)
1/2 cup regular milk

-Ok, first, preheat your over to 325 degrees.

-Next, put your white sugar in pot over medium heat on the stove. Spray your flan pan with cooking spray making sure to get all areas! (my pan is shaped like the flan above (with a hole in it), but you can use a glass pie plate or cake pan if you like!)

-Begin to stir the sugar and once it starts to melt, don't walk away. Keep stirring until all the sugar melts. It will likely get all rocky and you'll think something is very wrong. Just keep stirring.. the clumps will start to melt and eventually the color will turn brown. Once it's a nice deep brown, turn off your heat and pour the caramel into the bottom of your greased pan.

-Next, put your eggs, coconut milk, milk, and condensed milk into your blender and blend till just combined!

-Pour this mixture over your caramel.

-Carefully place the flan into a larger baking dish. Cover loosely with foil (very important so a thick film doesn't form over the top of your flan while baking).

-Place your dish into the over carefully, then use a pitcher to pour water into the larger pan to create a water bath. Pour about 2/3 of the way up the side of the pan. Close your oven and set a timer to 30 minutes.

-When your timer goes off, start carefully checking your flan to see if it's done. I lift the foil (careful for the rush of steam that will burn your hand, open foil quickly and pull hand away fast and let it vent for a few seconds). Use a kitchen utensil of some sort to gently poke at the flan pan. If it looks like liquid, cover and set your time for another 10 minutes and check again. If it looks wobbly like jello when you poke it, you're done! But you will very likely need to let it go for at least 45 minutes or an hour. I just encourage you to start checking it at the 30 minute mark so you don't over-bake it! Flan is very frequently overbooked and not smooth and creamy. THIS FLAN, when baked correctly, will be firm, but very smooth and creamy with a light coconut flavor!! Once you get to know the recipe and how fast your over bakes it through, you can adjust the timer so you don't have to check 800 times!!

-When baked through, carefully remove the entire pan from the oven. Give it 30-40 minutes to begin cooling, then remove flan pan from the water bath. I let it sit on my counter for another 45 minutes and then place it on a a shelf in your refrigerator! Let it cool for at least 12 hours in the fridge. Overnight usually works great!

The Next Day:

Take your flan our of the fridge about 30 minutes before you want to un mold it and let it sit out. Pick a tray that is larger than then Flan pan and that is raised at the edges so you don't lose all the caramel sauce goodness!

I use a thin knife and run it carefully around the edges of the pan.. maybe just an inch or two down the sides, being careful to NOT bludgeon the sides of the flan. The goal is just to release the sides a bit from the pan. Place your dish on top of the flan, and with two hands, flip it over. I usually have to dance a bit and wiggle the pans to get the Flan to release! It's mildly entertaining to my family when they catch me doing it! ;) Once the Flan releases, step back and admire the beautifulness. Scrape the inside of the dish to get all that gooey caramel onto the Flan too. If you let it sit for a bit, you'll see that more of the caramel gets liquidy and you can later spoon more onto your left overs!

Prepare yourself, everyone who eats this will tell you it's the best Flan they've ever had. It's the ONLY way to make it as far as I'm concerned!! Baking it a little lower temperature with the water bath, and checking it frequently ensures that you DON'T OVER-BAKE IT.... and it gives you a smooth, creamy texture! How many times have I said, "smooth, creamy texture?" Are you getting the picture??! Haha.

Here is a picture of mine. My pan has a larger hole in the center

Do you like Flan? Does the coconut variety sound good to you (it's not a strong flavor, nice and subtle.)? I'd love to hear if you have a Flan flavor you enjoy! Feel free to comment with any questions you might have about this recipe.. and DO let me know if you decide to try it!

Do a google search on Flan pans.. there are all kinds of amazing pans out there to choose from!!!!

This one has the water bath built right in!! Genius!!! I want!!

Have a blessed day!

Karyn