Flan is one of those recipes that spark a lot of opiniones among the familia — “Abuelita’s flan is the best,” “No, my friend, tia’s is way more cremoso.” Regardless of who you side with, mastering some simple basic cooking techniques that you can use to impress them all (or even cook for el novio on occasion) never hurt anyone. Whether you like yours cremoso or with extra sugar syrup on top, there is no wrong way to indulge with the this fan favorite dessert. Below is a simple recipe on how to make flan that will surprise even the toughest of flan critics (abuela and tia included).

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Creamy Flan Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup of sugar
• 3 eggs
• 14 oz of sweetened condensed milk
• 12 fl oz of evaporated milk
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

Preparations

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (or 175 degrees C). Don’t forget to take out las ollas y sartenes first.
2. Melt the one cup of sugar in a saucepan over low-to-medium heat. Stir slowly and consistently until sugar it completely melted and reaches a deep golden color and is all liquid (basically a sugar syrup).
3. Take the hot sugar syrup, and carefully pour it into a round baking dish (or if you have a flan pot, one of those). Make sure to coat the bottom of the dish entirely with the syrup (this gives it the brown finishing at the end). Set aside to come back to later.
4. Take eggs, both milks and vanilla extract and mix in a bowl until fully combined (make sure not to over beat the eggs).
5. Pour mixture into round baking with sugar syrup slowly and then cover with aluminum foil.
6. Set to bake for an hour. Once done, remove from oven and allow to cool completely (no one likes hot flan so stick it in the fridge and forget about).
7. When you’re ready to serve, take flan out of the fridge and place a round serving dish on top. Carefully and quickly flip the dishes (this way the sugar syrup is facing up). Remove baking dish — be mindful of any sections that may stick. Use a round-tip knife to gently remove anything that sticks.
8. If flan is completely cooled, decorate to your liking and dig in! Don’t forget to put las ollas y sartenes back in the oven.