Leche Flan Recipe (Creamy Filipino Style)
Leche Flan is a luscious and velvety custard-like dessert. It is a Filipino staple among festivities and family gatherings.
Continue Reading below and follow our Leche Flan recipe posted. It is quite similar to Crème Caramel and Crème Brulee of the French cuisine.
This dessert is mainly comprised of egg yolks, milk, sugar, and some dayap or lime zest to cut too much sweetness. Leche flan can be cooked by steaming or by baking through a hot water bath or Bain Marie.
The water is placed underneath the baking pans to prevent the bottom part from burning. This method is done if you are planning to cook your Leche flan inside the oven.
Cover the Leche flan with aluminum foil before steaming or baking to hasten the cooking time. Leche flan can also be molded and shaped according to your preference.
Leche flan is a versatile dessert, as this can also be used as toppings to another popular Filipino snack or dessert—Halo-Halo.
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Filipino Leche Flan
Ingredients
- 12 egg yolks beaten
- 1 can (354 mL) evaporated milk (or whole milk)
- 1 can (410 mL) condensed milk
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- water, for steaming
caramel
- 3 tbsp water
- 1 cup light brown sugar
Instructions
- Prepare individual llanera (or two 9 x 2 in. / 23 x 5 cm. flan molds); set aside.
- Prepare the Caramel: In a saucepan, bring the water to a boil; reduce the heat to low before adding the sugar. Stir continuously for about 2 minutes or until the sugar caramelizes or turns amber. Immediately pour the caramelized sugar into prepared individual flan molds. Swirl the flan molds to evenly spread the caramel. Set the molds aside.
- Prepare the steamer. Place a steamer in a large saucepan or a wok. Pour in water to just below the steamer; bring to boil.
- In a bowl, combine evaporated milk, condensed milk, sugar, and vanilla. Gently pass the beaten eggs through a strainer into the bowl. Stir to combine and mix thoroughly. Pour the mixture into the prepared flan molds containing the caramel.
- Cover the molds with aluminum foil, arrange into the steamer (water should already boiling before placing the molds inside); steam for 30 minutes or until firm. Set aside to cool and then refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- To serve: Run a knife along the edges of the flan molds to loosen. For individual flans, turn the molds over onto a platter or individual plates. For larger flans, place a platter on top of the mold; holding the platter tightly to the mold, quickly turn upside down.
- The flan should come out easily with the caramel on top.
- Serve.
Different Versions of Leche Flan Recipe
There are also some versions of Leche flan wherein it is layered with chiffon cake or to a moist chocolate cake.
The possibilities are just limitless on how to present this milky and creamy dessert.
Another important detail to remember when preparing Leche flan is to strain the custard mixture just before cooking.
Straining the custard mixture will ensure a smooth and velvety texture to the Leche Flan.
Leche flan’s origin can be traced back to the times where the Spaniards colonized the Philippines.
When churches were built, the raw materials for the stone structures are the egg whites which serves as a binder to the cement and sand.
The residents of the Philippines thought of saving the egg yolks by making some Leche flan. There is another dessert which is very similar to Leche flan; they call it “Tocino del Cielo.”
This is just a smaller version of the Leche flan recipe.
Mabuhay!
Also check out this Filipino Sweet Ginataang Monggo Dessert Recipe
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Joost Nusselder, the founder of Bite My Bun is a content marketer, dad and loves trying out new food with Japanese food at the heart of his passion, and together with his team he's been creating in-depth blog articles since 2016 to help loyal readers with recipes and cooking tips.
