After dinner or lunch, eating a delicious homemade dessert is a real pleasure. If you have a taste for homemade Cuban sweets and want to spice up your meals, today we bring you the real Cuban flan recipe, to enjoy with your family and friends.
Cuban flan is one of the classic desserts of its gastronomy. It can be prepared for a birthday, for a nice evening with the family or ordered in a restaurant as the final touch to a delicious dinner.
Flan recipes have passed from generation to generation. It is no longer just a delicious dessert, but a family tradition that must be maintained. In this article we show you how to make a real Cuban flan and some variations so you can let your creativity fly in the kitchen.
How to make Cuban flan?
It is a well-known dessert in Cuba, although its origin is not Cuban but European. It is said that its origin goes back to Rome, although, being a very popular dessert, there is a huge amount of variations. Even so, there are some ingredients that cannot be missing in any recipe because they constitute the basis of the Cuban flan and these are: sugar, milk and eggs. No matter how creative we want to be, these three ingredients are found in all flan recipes.
An essential characteristic of Cuban flan is that it is always cooked in a bain-marie. What does it consist of? It is a form of cooking where the food we want to cook is placed inside another larger vessel containing water. This helps to maintain the humidity and leaves our flans much lighter and softer.
Another classic element of the Cuban flan is caramel. First, it is placed in the pan all over the base and walls. Once we place the preparation of our flan, it will be covered with caramel and will add a delicious flavor.
As we said above, flan is a dessert that has many variations: over the years, different ingredients have been added that are not part of the «basic» recipe but are very good, such as chocolate, coconut, coffee, pumpkin, cheese, nuts, etc.
The recipe for traditional Cuban flan
Ingredients:
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 1 cup condensed milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 4 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 pinch of salt
Let’s take a look at the step-by-step preparation of this classic and beloved dessert:
- Prepare the caramel: It can be made in a separate container or in the same one where we will place the preparation. Add sugar and cook over low heat; when we see that it changes its color to a light golden color, it is the right moment. If we leave it longer it will become bitter. Once we have it, we make circular movements, trying to cover all the base and walls. Attention! Handle the container very carefully to avoid getting burned by the caramel.
- Combine the ingredients: In a bowl beat the eggs, milk, water, salt and vanilla. Place the mixture in the mold and cover it with nylon or paper.
- Cooking in a bain-marie: We place our mold in a container with water. It can go in the pressure cooker for about 35 minutes or in the oven, 180 degrees, one hour. How to know when it is ready? We insert a toothpick or knife in our flan, and if it comes out dry it is ready.
- Cooling: It is best to let it cool in the same bain-marie, this will help us to prevent the caramel from sticking and make it easier to remove it from the mold. When it is already cold, take it out of the mold, place it in the refrigerator and a little later we have our Cuban flan dessert ready to eat.
How to make Cuban pumpkin flan?
Among the variations of the Cuban flan, pumpkin flan is one of the best known. Pumpkin is a very versatile ingredient, which allows for both savory and sweet recipes. Let’s see how to make an appetizing pumpkin flan.
Ingredients:
- 500 grams of pumpkin
- 1 cup condensed milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 4 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 pinch of salt
Elaboration:
We start with the pumpkin, which we will have to wash very well, remove the skin and cut it into pieces. Afterwards, we cook it in boiling water until it becomes soft and tender. We remove it, remove all the water and make a puree.
In a bowl place the eggs, milk and pumpkin puree, beat until everything is integrated. Place all the mixture in a container with caramel and put it to cook.
We make it in a bain-marie, just like the traditional one. Don’t forget: about 35 minutes in a pressure cooker or about an hour in the oven.
Variations of the Cuban flan recipe
Let’s go with two well-known variations of the classic Cuban flan.
One of the most popular and also delicious is the cheese flan. How is it made? The way is very easy and we already know it. What changes? To the classic Cuban flan ingredients we add 230 milliliters of cream cheese. Always remember to cook it in a bain-marie.
Coconut flan: another option that is not difficult to make. From the classic recipe, we remove the evaporated milk and add a can of coconut milk, 1 teaspoon of coconut extract and half a cup of grated coconut. The way to prepare it is identical to the others, we put the caramel in the container, then all the beaten ingredients and cook in a bain-marie. When it is ready, we can add grated coconut on top.
In summary, Cuban flan is a soft and creamy dessert, with many options, you just have to dare and try this delicacy of Cuban food.
You can also order it in Cuba with home delivery, just enter Mandao and give yourself to the pleasure of Cuban food!