Leche Flan - Easy, Authentic Recipe with Tips

Recipe: Leche Flan Recipe »

I'm going to show you how to make authentic Filipino leche flan, a rich and creamy caramel custard dessert made with eggs, condensed milk and evaporated milk. Unlike crème caramel, leche flan is denser and firmer and is traditionally steamed in a llanera. This recipe includes helpful tips for smooth custard, easy caramel and extra flavour.

About Leche Flan

Leche Flan is a very popular Filipino dessert made with eggs, condensed milk and evaporated milk. I'll show you an authentic Filipino method for making leche flan plus some extra tips to make it taste even better (and how to get an even darker caramel colour)!

What is the difference between Leche Flan and Creme Caramel? Leche flan is richer and denser than creme caramel. While creme caramel can be almost as wobbly as a panna cotta, leche flan is firm and does not wobble.

Filipino leche flan is also cooked in a llanera (an oval aluminium tin) and is steamed rather than baked. I swear that whenever you bring out a flan, people go crazy with excitement. I don't know anyone that doesn't enjoy its gorgeously creamy texture and sweet caramel flavour!

Ingredients For Leche Flan

Eggs - Use large eggs. You can also make leche flan using just egg yolks (although the quantity of liquid will be less).

Evaporated milk - Full cream tinned evaporated milk is ideal for this.

Sweetened condensed milk - A tin of sweetened condensed milk is perfect. This is what sweetens the leche flan's custard.

Vanilla - Use the beans scraped out of a vanilla pod. You can also use vanilla bean paste, extract or essence.

Calamansi or lime - Make sure to squeeze the juice out of it and just use the spent skins.

White sugar, Golden Syrup or Date Syrup- Use white or caster/superfine sugar to make the caramel from scratch. I use golden syrup as a very easy option instead of making the caramel from scratch. Golden syrup is an ingredient used in a lot of British dishes and in ANZAC biscuits in Australia. It is described as a light treacle syrup. It can be found in the US at Whole Foods and other world markets by the brand Lyle's. Another alternative that I really like is date syrup found at Middle Eastern and Mediterranean stores which gives the flan a nice dark caramel colour. It has a slight fruity taste which I also love.

Video How To Make Leche Flan

Video: How to Make Authentic Leche Flan

Tips For Making Leche Flan

1 - Llaneras are metal oval tins that are made out of aluminium. These are light and perfect to make leche flan in. I got these in Singapore at Lucky Plaza but they are also available here or at Filipino stores. Each llanera had a 350ml/11.8floz capacity. You can also use a baking tin (I like making them in bundt tins) or ceramic dishes. Avoid using springform tins as they can leak.

2 - There is no need to grease the llanera before using it.

3 - Del sometimes only uses egg yolks for her leche flan which gives it a much richer flavour and creamier texture. If you want to do this, you can keep all other ingredients the same quantity. It will make less mixture though.

4 - My favourite tip that came from a Dear Reader Susie was to use golden syrup instead of making your own caramel. This is a time saver and handy for those that don't want to make caramel because it can be intimidating (and never walk away from caramel being made).

5 - Some people make the caramel in the llaneras but I find it easier to make caramel in a pot and divide it among the llaneras (I'm always worried I will accidentally pick up the hot llanera!).

6 - Don't worry if your caramel hardens when in the llanera before you add the egg mixture. It will soften and you'll get that signature caramel look.

7 - My favourite tip of Del's is to use the rind of a calamansi or lime in the mixture. This adds more flavour to the leche flan along with the vanilla. To use the rind, cut calamansi or lime in half and squeeze out all the juice and seeds (use for another recipe). Then use the spent skins in the mixture and steep.

8 - It's also important to strain the mixture so that it is as smooth as possible. Often wisps of egg white are left behind in the sieve. This isn't as important if you put it in a food processor or Thermomix but is more of an important note if you are whisking by hand.

9 - Do not steam this on high heat, use a gentle medium heat of 100C/212F (not higher than this). If the heat is too high the eggs will become puffy and like scrambled eggs and won't be smooth or delicious to eat. If you steam using the Thermomix, the main steamer area is the best for ensuring that the custard cooks properly. When using a steamer make sure that the steam reaches through the holes to the item steaming. I find the top steamer layer doesn't get enough steam and you'll be waiting forever for it to steam properly!

10 - Traditionally, leche flan is steamed but you can also bake the leche flan if you don't have a large enough steamer. Preheat oven to 150C/300F fan forced or 170C/338F conventional and place the tins in a water bath where the water goes half way up the sides and bake for 30 minutes or until the centre is no longer liquid. The water bath gently cooks the flan at around 85C/185F so it has a lovely jellied texture.

11 - Make this one day ahead or 3 hours ahead of time so it has time to cool completely in the fridge before unmoulding. When warm, the flan has a strong eggy flavour that a lot of people don't like (including me!).

If you love flan desserts then try these ones next: this Brazilian coconut flan is one of my favourite ever desserts or try this classic creme caramel. This pumpkin flan is also delicious.

Leche Flan Recipe

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Recipe Overview

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 30-50 minutes

Makes: 5 llaneras (350ml/11.8flozs capacity each)

Ingredients Needed

• 10 eggs
• 385g/13floz tin of evaporated milk
• 400g/14ozs tin sweetened condensed milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
• 4 calamansis or 2 limes
• 250g/8.8ozs golden syrup or date syrup for caramel OR 250g/8.8ozs white or caster/superfine sugar

Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1 PREPARE - Have a steamer ready that can fit your llaneras or baking tin. There's no need to grease a llanera or your baking tin.

Step 2 WHISK - Whisk eggs with the condensed milk, evaporated milk and vanilla (or place in blender and blend until smooth or Thermomix for 15 seconds, speed #5). Cut calamansis or limes in half and squeeze out the juice and seeds (use juice for another recipe). Add the spent citrus skins into the egg mixture and allow to steep while you make the caramel.

Step 3 CARAMEL - Add 50g/1.7ozs of golden syrup to each llanera and tilt to spread to the sides. Alternatively you can make the caramel from scratch. Heat sugar in a heavy-bottomed pan on medium high heat and allow it to become caramelised tilting the pan to evenly cook the sugar. Divide the caramel evenly among the llaneras.

Step 4 FILL - Strain the egg mixture through a metal strainer, leaving behind any egg white and calamansi/lime skins. You should have around 1.3 litres or 1.4 quarts of custard which is enough for 5 llaneras. Pour around 1 cup of the strained egg mixture into each llanera mould over the caramel leaving a little gap to avoid spillage.

Step 5A STEAM - Cover with foil and pinch the sides to secure. Place in the steamer and steam at 100C/212F and use a gentle simmer (low to medium heat) to maintain steady, gentle steam for around 30-35 minutes or until the centre is set. Cool and chill.

Step 5B BAKE - Leche flan can also be baked in a water bath in the oven (it's very important to make this in a water bath for the best texture). Preheat oven to 150C/300F fan forced or 170C/338F conventional and cover the filled llaneras with foil. Place in a deep baking tray an inch apart. Pour hot water from a recently boiled kettle halfway up the sides and bake for 30 minutes or until the centre is no longer liquid.

Step 6 SERVE - Run a knife around the edge of the leche flan to loosen the custard. Place on a serving plate and turn upside down. Gently press down on the centre of the llanera to "burp" aka release it and remove the llanera - the flan should slide straight out.

Personal Note

Usually when I develop recipes, I practice them until they can be replicated. For this one, it was a bit different as Del showed me her recipe that worked perfectly. Usually the testing is the time consuming part but I thought I could easily recreate this at home. And that was true up to a point.

However I did one thing wrong that proved disastrous. When Del showed me how to make it we turned the heat down to a gentle simmer as we were steaming it on the stovetop. But I don't have a big enough steamer at home so I use my Thermomix for steaming. But I accidentally set the steamer to Varoma (the highest steam setting). I was so happy having completed this recipe but when I lifted the foil I was aghast.

I had scrambled eggs.

Sweet scrambled eggs.

URGGHHHHH.

Yep steaming this flan rapidly overcooked them and they were completely puffy and tough. So I'm reminding you to steam them gently at 100C/212F to avoid having sweet scrambled eggs.

And the funniest thing is that I told Mr NQN about this but he loves flan so much he still ate the sweet scrambled eggs!

So tell me Dear Reader, do you like leche flan?