leche flan

10th October 2020

One of the classic and famous desserts in a Filipino gathering is Leche Flan or translated as milk flan. In Spanish, “Leche” means milk. The Philippines has been invaded by the Spaniards for over 300 years so no wonder we adapted a lot of customs and beliefs from them. Majority of Filipino cuisine are influences from the Spanish regime. Ask any Filo and the possibility is “Leche Flan” is present in every gathering. This dessert greatly resembles a creme caramel with almost the same recipe, being milk, eggs and sugar as the main ingredient. The traditional Leche Flan only uses egg yoks, evaporated milk, condensed milk and sugar for the caramel or base. It is also steamed slowly, usually in low fire and covered with it’s own mould covering. The traditional one, the texture is smooth and creamy, sometimes it can be overly sweet though, so a little bit of calamansi or lemon will balance the taste. In this recipe, we added two whole eggs to hold the flan together, hence we sifted it several times to make the texture smoother. Few bubbles may be seen in the photos but the texture is smooth and creamy as well. The special flan moulds can be bought in Asian stores or online.

This is really easy to make and doesn’t require you to be a mad scientist or something. Let us know if you made one and tag us in your photos. Happy Baking!

LECHE FLAN

INGREDIENTS

• 8 egg yolks + 2 whole eggs
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 can evaporated milk
• 1 teaspoon calamansi or lemon juice (optional)
• lemon zest (optional)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Prepare the caramel. Separate the sugar into 3 equal parts in each (3 small) llanera or flan molds.Place the llanera on top of the stove over low heat. When the sugar starts to melt, using tongs, turn the llanera in a circular motion to prevent the sugar from burning and let them caramelize evenly. Remove from heat once it turns light brown. Be careful not to burn the caramel or you’ll end up with a bitter taste. Set aside to cool down.
2. Place the egg yolks in a bowl and add the 2 whole eggs, slowly beat them with a fork or whisk. Don’t beat too fast and create a lot of bubbles. Gradually add the milk and condensed milk while continuously stirring. Lastly, add the vanilla extract,calamansi juice or lemon and zest of lemon and stir a couple of times more until all is well blended. Sieve the mixture with a strainer to remove undissolved bits. We sieved it at least 6 times.
3. Pour the mixture into each mold. Tap the mold several times on a flat surface to get rid of trapped bubbles. Place the filled llanera or mold in a water bath and bake in the oven at 170°C for about 45 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
4. Let them cool down and then chill in the fridge for at least an hour. When ready to serve, run a knife around the inner edges to separate the flan from the mold. Place a serving plate top-side down over the llanera and flip them over to transfer.

Tell us what you think!