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Creamy Caramel Flan

"This recipe is a cross between egg custard and cheesecake. Rich and delicious."

By allrecipes · From Open Recipes · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Cream cheese and evaporated milk work together. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and 70 recipes mention both. The science ↓

The recipe

1 10 inch round
Prep15 min
Cook1 hr 15 min

Ingredients

Contains: egg, milk (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

Directions

Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.

  1. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Put the sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium heat and stir until it melts into a deep amber caramel, about 5 to 8 minutes.

  2. Pour the hot caramel into a 10 inch round baking pan and tilt the pan to coat the bottom evenly. Let it set while you make the custard.

  3. Beat the softened cream cheese in a large bowl or blender until completely smooth, with no lumps.

  4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Then mix in the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and vanilla extract until smooth.

  5. Pour the custard gently over the set caramel in the pan. Set the pan in a larger roasting pan and pour boiling water into the outer pan halfway up the sides of the flan pan.

  6. Bake for about 70 to 75 minutes, until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean and the center reaches 160°F (71°C). The edges should be set and the center only slightly wobbly.

  7. Remove the pan from the water bath and cool on a rack for 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

  8. To serve, run a thin knife around the edge of the flan, place a serving plate on top, and invert quickly so the caramel sauce runs over the top.

By allrecipes. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

  1. Cream cheese + evaporated milktop 12% of all pairs
    Aroma overlaplow
    Mentioned together70 recipes
  2. Condensed milk + evaporated milktop 1% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together168 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Sugar + vanillatop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlaplow
    Mentioned together35,031 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  4. Cream cheese + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together1,934 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  5. Cream cheese + condensed milktop 6% of all pairs
    Aroma overlaplow
    Mentioned together165 recipes

Sugar and vanilla share little aroma chemistry, yet 35,031 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Flavor stand-ins for the vanilla

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, cream cheese, egg, condensed milk, evaporated milk):

  1. Vanillathe original
  2. Coconutabout as good a flavor fit

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, cream cheese, egg, condensed milk, evaporated milk. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).