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Flan, a classic dessert known for its creamy texture and rich caramel flavor, is a timeless favorite. It’s a dish that brings a touch of elegance to any meal, and now, with this easy-to-follow recipe, you can enjoy a perfectly portioned single serving. This easy flan recipe is made with everyday ingredients and is ideal for those moments when you crave something sweet but don’t want to overdo it. Its velvety caramel taste is both luxurious and comforting, making it a perfect dessert for any occasion, whether it’s a quiet night in or a special celebration.
Craving more delightful single serving desserts? Explore our rich mini Pavlova, decadent Chocolate Lava Cake, sweet Bananas Foster, and creamy Tiramisu.
Why You’ll Love This Flan Recipe
- Perfect Portion: Sized just right for one, this flan satisfies your dessert craving without leftovers.
- Simple Ingredients: Made with kitchen staples, it’s easy to whip up any time.
- Elegant Presentation: Its smooth, caramel-topped appearance makes it a visually stunning treat.
- Versatile Recipe: Easily double the ingredients for sharing or special occasions.
- Deep Caramel Flavor: Enjoy the rich, velvety taste of caramel in every bite.
What Is Flan?
Flan, also known as Crème caramel, is a custard dessert that is made with eggs, milk, and sugar and is topped with a layer of soft caramel. It is typically baked in a water bath, which helps to create a smooth and creamy texture. This rich and velvety treat strikes a perfect balance between sweetness and creaminess.
Is Flan Similar To Crème Brulee?
The difference between flan and crème brulee is in the topping. With flan, the caramel top is soft and more like a liquid. With crème brulee, it is a layer of hardened caramelized sugar that requires a crème brulee torch to make.
Ingredients
This section provides a quick rundown of the ingredients used in this easy flan recipe. For complete measurements and step-by-step instructions, please scroll to the recipe card located at the bottom of this post.
- Sugar: Essential in this recipe, granulated sugar is heated to form a delicate caramel layer, creating the iconic topping for the flan. A bit more sugar is also integrated to sweeten the custard, ensuring a perfectly balanced dessert.
- Water: Just a tablespoon is added to the sugar, aiding in crafting a smooth and glossy caramel, which is key to the flan’s allure.
- Milk: Whole milk is the preferred choice for its ability to impart a rich, full-bodied flavor to the flan. While 2% or half-and-half can be alternatives, 1% or skim milk might result in a less creamy texture.
- Egg: A single large egg is crucial, contributing significantly to the custard’s creamy richness and smooth consistency.
- Vanilla: A dash of vanilla not only infuses a delightful aroma but also enhances the overall flavor profile of the flan.
- Salt: A small pinch is all that’s needed to counterbalance the sweetness, subtly elevating the flavors to create a harmonious taste experience.
If you have any ingredients leftover from this mini flan recipe, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder.
Recipe Variations
There are many ways to vary this recipe to create your own unique flan. Here are a few ideas:
- Spiced Flan: Give your flan a twist by adding spices. A dash of cinnamon or nutmeg can add a warming spice to your dessert.
- Citrus Flan: Add some lemon or orange zest to the custard mix before cooking for a citrusy flavor profile.
- Coffee Flan: For coffee lovers, infuse your flan with some strong brewed espresso or instant coffee granules for a delightful café au lait taste.
- Chocolate Flan: For a chocoholic twist, incorporate unsweetened cocoa powder or semi-sweet chocolate chips into the milk mixture for a luscious chocolate flan.
How To Make Flan For One
These step-by-step photos and instructions help you visualize how to make flan. See the recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.
- Preheat Oven: Set your oven rack to the middle position and preheat to 350°F (177°C).
- Caramel Creation: In a small, heavy saucepan, combine 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 tablespoon water. Stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves, which should take about 2 minutes.
- Then increase the heat to medium-high and boil until the syrup turns a deep amber color, swirling the pan occasionally (do not stir). This usually takes between 7-9 minutes. For a visual guide, check out photos 1-4 below to see how the caramel changes color.
Pro Tip: Watch the caramel closely; it changes from light to deep amber quickly.
- Prepare Ramekin: Pour caramel into a 10-ounce ramekin, tilting to coat the bottom. If it hardens, don’t worry—it softens during baking.
Pro Tip: To remove caramel residue from the saucepan, boil water in the pan until the caramel melts away.
- Custard Base: Heat milk and 2 tablespoons sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Avoid boiling; aim for lukewarm milk (around 2 minutes).
- Temper the Egg: Whisk egg in a bowl. Gradually whisk in milk, vanilla, and salt.
Pro Tip: Whisk constantly and pour slowly to prevent the egg from cooking prematurely.
- Strain Custard: Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer to remove bubbles and ensure smoothness.
- Water Bath Setup: Place the ramekin in a larger baking dish (a 5×5-inch dish works well). If convenient, place the dish on a baking sheet for easier handling.
- Add Hot Water: Pour hot water around the ramekin, reaching halfway up its sides, being careful not to get water into the custard.
- Baking: Bake for 45 minutes. The custard should be set around the edges but jiggly in the middle.
- Cooling: Remove from oven and let the flan cool in the water bath for about 1 hour.
- Chill and Unmold: Transfer the flan from the bath, cover with plastic wrap, and chill overnight (up to 3 days).
- Unmolding: Run a knife around the ramekin edges. Invert a plate over the flan and turn both the plate and ramekin over. Wait a minute if the flan doesn’t release immediately.
- Enjoy Your Flan: Relish your homemade, single serving flan!
Choosing The Right Ramekin For Single Serve Flan
Use a 10-ounce ramekin, ideally measuring 4 inches across and about 1 ¾-inches in height. Often, ramekins lack size markings, making it challenging to gauge their capacity. To ascertain your ramekin’s size, fill it with water and transfer the contents to a measuring cup. This method ensures precision and perfect flan every time.
Expert Tips
- Read through the entire recipe and the Ingredient Notes section of the post and gather your ingredients. We provide a lot of information within the body of this recipe post to ensure that your flan comes out perfectly every time. The process of making flan goes very quickly. Make sure you have all of your ingredients ready before starting.
- Caramel Care: Keep a close eye on your caramel as it cooks, it can go from perfect to burnt in seconds.
- Temper The Egg: To avoid ending up with a scrambled egg, gradually add the warm milk to the beaten egg.
- Use The Right Ramekin: The dish you use when making flan matters. Use a 10-ounce ramekin.
- Don’t Skip The Water Bath. A water bath is one of the most important parts of this recipe and is used in delicate custards that require gentle, even heat.
- Strain The Flan: When you pour your custard into the ramekin, use a fine mesh strainer to remove air bubbles.
- You will know when your flan is ready when the outside is fully set and the center has a slight jiggle. Again, don’t worry if your flan doesn’t seem to be totally set. After fully cooking and chilling in the refrigerator overnight, the custard will firm up. Following the steps in this recipe will ensure you don’t overbake your flan.
How To Serve Flan
Flan is delightful on its own, but it’s also versatile enough to pair with various accompaniments. Here are some serving suggestions to elevate your flan experience:
- With Fresh Berries: Top with strawberries or raspberries for a fruity contrast.
- A Dash of Cinnamon: Sprinkle cinnamon on top for a warm, spiced flavor.
- Coffee or Espresso: Serve alongside a strong coffee to complement its rich flavor.
- Whipped Cream: Add a dollop of whipped cream for extra indulgence.
- Nutty Crunch: Sprinkle chopped nuts like almonds or pecans for texture.
How To Store Flan
For the best flavor and texture retention, store your flan the right way. Once cooled completely, cover your flan tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. It will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
The flan will take about 45 minutes to bake.
While this shouldn’t happen if you follow the method correctly, sometimes air bubbles can get into the custard anyway. This usually happens if you over-whisk the egg and warm milk which incorporates air into the mixture and these bubbles can remain in the custard as it bakes.
Another reason for bubbles in flan is overcooking. To avoid this, follow the cooking directions carefully, and don’t worry if your flan is slightly jiggly and looks undone when removed from the oven. The flan will continue to cook from the residual heat from the ramekin.
Bubbles in flan do not affect the taste, only the appearance of the flan.
Yes. A water bath, or a bain-marie, is a dish of water used to bake recipes requiring gentle, even heat. It insulates the dish so that it doesn’t overcook. Please don’t be put off by this, it’s incredibly easy. A small to medium-sized roasting pan works well.
This happens when the sugar crystallizes. To prevent this, don’t stir the sugar and water mixture once it starts boiling.
This could be one of three reasons:
1. Underbaked: Make sure the custard is properly baked before taking it out of the oven. Again, it should be set around the edges but still jiggly in the center.
2. The flan wasn’t chilled: Flans are quite fragile when taken out of the oven. It must cool to room temperature and then chilled for at least 12 hours before inverting.
3. The flan wasn’t unmolded properly: If your custard doesn’t release quickly, resist the urge to shake the ramekin up and down to try to get it to release. Instead, let it sit inverted for a minute and it should eventually slide out. If that doesn’t work, dip the bottom of the ramekin in hot water or slide the knife around the edges again. You can also gently tap the bottom and sides of the ramekin to get it to release.
Yes! If you’d like to make a second flan, use one large egg and double the other ingredients. Divide the mixture between 2 (10-ounce) ramekins.
Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this individual flan recipe, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder or you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:
If you’ve tried this easy flan recipe or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.
If you take a picture please tag us on Instagram (@onedishkitchen) we’d love to see it!
Flan For One
Ingredients
- ¼ cup sugar , divided
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup whole milk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Set your oven rack to the middle position and preheat to 350°F (177°C).
- Caramel Creation: In a small, heavy saucepan, combine 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 tablespoon water. Stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves, which should take about 2 minutes.
- Then increase the heat to medium-high and boil until the syrup turns a deep amber color, swirling the pan occasionally (do not stir). This usually takes between 7-9 minutes. (For a visual guide, check out photos 1-4 in the recipe post to see how the caramel changes color.)Pro Tip: Watch the caramel closely; it changes from light to deep amber quickly.
- Prepare Ramekin: Pour caramel into a 10-ounce ramekin, tilting to coat the bottom. If it hardens, don’t worry—it softens during baking. Set the ramekin aside.Pro Tip: To remove caramel residue from the saucepan, boil water in the pan until the caramel melts away.
- Custard Base: Heat milk and 2 tablespoons sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Avoid boiling; aim for lukewarm milk (around 2 minutes).
- Temper the Egg: Whisk egg in a bowl. Gradually whisk in milk, vanilla, and salt.Pro Tip: Whisk constantly and pour slowly to prevent the egg from cooking prematurely.
- Strain Custard: Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer to remove bubbles and ensure smoothness.
- Water Bath Setup: Place the ramekin in a larger baking dish (a 5×5-inch dish works well). If convenient, place the dish on a baking sheet for easier handling.
- Add Hot Water: Pour hot water around the ramekin, reaching halfway up its sides, being careful not to get water into the custard.
- Baking: Bake for 45 minutes. The custard should be set around the edges but jiggly in the middle.
- Cooling: Remove from oven and let the flan cool in the water bath for about 1 hour.
- Chill and Unmold: Transfer the flan from the bath, cover with plastic wrap, and chill overnight (up to 3 days).
- Unmolding: Run a knife around the ramekin edges. Invert a plate over the flan and turn both the plate and ramekin over. Wait a minute if the flan doesn’t release immediately.
- Enjoy Your Flan: Relish your homemade, single serving flan!
Video
Notes
- The process of making flan or crème caramel goes very quickly. Make sure you have all of your ingredients ready before starting.
- Before starting, boil the water for the water bath, or bain-marie.
- When making caramel, the sugar can burn very quickly so be sure to keep an eye on it and don’t walk away.
- If you use a different sized ramekin than the one recommended in this recipe, your cooking time will be different.
- Don’t skip the water bath. A water bath is one of the most important parts of this recipe and is used in delicate custards that require gentle, even heat.
- When you pour your custard into the ramekin, use a fine mesh strainer to remove air bubbles.
- You will know when your flan is ready when the outside is fully set and the center has a slight jiggle. Again, don’t worry if your flan doesn’t seem to be totally set. After fully cooking and chilling in the refrigerator overnight, the custard will firm up. Following the steps in this recipe will ensure you don’t overbake your flan.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Has anyone tried with a milk alternative? Any opinions about using oatmilk? Thanks!
I used almond milk and the flan was perfect
Thanks for the recipe! I always end up with a layer of hard caramel stuck to the bottom. Is there a way to avoid that?
Is the caramel stuck to the bottom of your pot or is it stuck to the bottom of your ramekin? When I make the caramel, I always have a layer that is difficult to remove from the pot and I have found that the best way to easily remove it is to pour boiling water into the pot and the stuck caramel melts away without any scrubbing.
If the caramel is stuck to your ramekin, it sounds like perhaps the ramekin you used is smaller than the one we recommend using. If the caramel poured into the ramekin is too thick, it won’t have time to completely melt during cooking.
I made this yesterday. I had to use two 8oz ramekins and I should have baked it for 30 minutes as the caramel had a burnt sugar taste even though the syrup wasn’t overly dark when poured into the ramekins. I will make this again, but bake for less time. I think it made two nice sized desserts. Just the right amount of sweet after a big meal.
Oh My, My, My, I doubled the recipe then made two batches for company yesterday. Everyone was so impressed. One comment “Grandma, I didn’t know you could cook this good.”
Love your web site and book ALSO your hints and suggestions with each recipe. They are really helpful.
Will I be able to use a pie dish instead and maybe double the recipe for it?
This flan recipe can be doubled (be sure to read the FAQ Section). I’m not sure of the size of your pie dish but if it holds approximately 20-ounces, it should work fine.
Silky, creamy and delicious. Made 3 days in a row!! Hubby loves flan, so I doubled the recipe and simply made 2 luscious ramekins of flan. No tempting leftovers!
I’m so glad you both enjoyed the flan. Thank you for taking the time to let me knos.