I grew up with Flan de Huevo (the Spanish version of Creme Caramel) as a basic dessert, a treat after lunch out, above all surrounded with whipped cream.
Flan de Huevo / Creme Caramel is cooked bain Marie, making a pressure cooker like the Instant Pot perfect for it!
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📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Flan de Huevo (Creme Caramel)
Equipment
- 1 Instant Pot
- Mini Pudding basin(s), one per egg (i.e. per person), mine are from Sainsbury's**
- 1 Trivet
- Foil
- Rubber band(s), not strictly necessary, you can tighten the foil by hand but they are handy
Ingredients
- 1 large egg per person
- 85 ml whole milk per large egg room temperature (I put mine in the microwave for 10 seconds), I have also used semi skimmed milk successfully
- 1 tablespoon 15 g golden caster sugar per large egg Reduce to about 1.5 teaspoons if using medium eggs, I use the same amount of milk
- Caramel* see method below to make it or buy my favourite caramel bottle and make your life easier
- 500 ml water from the cold tap
Instructions
- Make the caramel or (like me) open the jar of caramel and coat the basin (bottom and a bit of the walls) in caramel. See the method in the notes section if you want to make the caramel yourself.
- Beat the egg(s) with a fork in a deep plate or bowl for a few seconds until all yellow
- Add the sugar while you keep beating, try to dissolve as much as possible, you can stir to feel for the sugar for this purpose, but don't worry if you can still feel some sugar, I did and it was fine.
- Then mix in the room temperature milk.
- Pour the mixture slowly into the mini pudding basin(s), over the caramel. You can sieve the mixture to avoid bubbles and you can also let it rest for a bit but bear in mind that bubbles are a proud feature of the homemade Spanish Flan de Huevo. You really want to fill the basin(s) all the way to the top so that, when you turn the flan / creme caramel over later, it doesn't have too much of a fall and there's less chance of it falling apart.
- Cover the basin(s) with foil and secure with a rubber band
- Pour 500 ml water (cold straight from the tap) in the inner pot. Trivet in place. Mini basin(s) on top of the trivet. Lid on. Steam release handle pointing to Sealing (unless you have a self-sealing lid).
- Press Manual / Pressure Cook, use the - and + buttons to programme 5 minutes, at the end wait 6 minutes. Leave Keep Warm on so that the Instant Pot can tell you how long it's been since it finished the pressure cooking cycle as per the photo below and then release the rest of the steam (if any) and remove the pudding basin.
- Now, for the really hard part, let it cool down on the counter and then let it be in the fridge for a good few hours, preferably overnight. It really needs this time to set properly.
- Turn onto a plate when you're ready to eat and dig in!
Notes
Ready-Made Caramel
The thing about Flan de Huevo / Creme Caramel is that it's actually rather easy to make but making the caramel is a hassle though, isn't it?
Until I found THIS!!
Yes, caramel all ready made for you. Say what???
I got mine from Ocado here in the UK but Amazon has it too.
If you are way less lazy and fibromialgic than me, then you can make your own caramel of course, no one is stopping you and instructions are included 😉
How to make Caramel
- 5 tablespoons of sugar
- 10 drops of lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon of water
- Stir all ingredients over a low heat. Keep stirring and let the sugar dissolve.
- It will start getting the caramel colour until it's amber, this is the moment to remove it from the heat (do not overcook it and try not to burn yourself as it will hurt!) and use it to coat the bottom and a bit of the sides of the pudding basin.
Ratios for making Flan de Huevo
The main thing to know when making Flan de Huevo / Creme Caramel is the ratio per large egg.
By the way, am I the only one who has noticed that eggs are not as large as they used to be?
Large eggs now are more like medium eggs a few years ago.
But I digress.
So:
Per large egg used you need
- 85 ml whole milk at room temperature
and
- 1 tablespoon sugar (I used golden granulated caster sugar), if you prefer it in weight this is 15 g
I wasn't very strict on the milk measurement and just filled just over the 80 ml line of the measuring cup that came with the Instant Pot. You could also weigh 85 g of whole milk.
How many eggs per person?
Think one egg per person.
In fact the ratio for one egg fitted perfectly in my Sainsbury's Mini Pudding Basins, which I highly recommend you get (photo at the end of this post).
Do I have to cook just the one Flan de Huevo / Creme Caramel at a time?
You can cook as many pudding basins as you can fit at the same time, the timings should be the same. The question is, will you share?
What basin / bowl / dish should I use?
Metal basins are best as the heat will get through faster. You could use other materials but you may have to increase the timings a bit.
These are mine, they are mini pudding basin from Sainbury's, they have them quite often.
Otherwise look for Dariole moulds.
Step-by-step photos
Step 1. Make the caramel or (like me) open the jar and coat the basin (bottom and a bit of the walls) in caramel. See method in the notes section if you want to make caramel yourself.
Step 2. Beat the egg(s) with a fork in a plate for a few seconds until all yellow.
Step 3. Add the sugar while you keep beating, try to dissolve as much as possible, you can stir to feel for the sugar for this purpose, but don't worry if you can still feel some sugar, I did and it was fine.
Step 4. Then mix in the room temperature milk.
Step 5. Pour the mixture slowly into the mini pudding basin(s), over the caramel. You can sieve the mixture to avoid bubbles. You can also let it rest, but bubbles are the sign of a good homemade Spanish Flan de Nuevo.
You really want to fill the basin(s) all the way to the top so that, when you turn the flan / creme caramel over later, it doesn't have too much of a fall and there's less chance of it falling apart.
Step 6. Cover the basin(s) with foil and secure with a rubber band
Step 7. Pour 500 ml water (cold straight from the tap) in the inner pot. Trivet in place. Mini basin(s) on top of the trivet. Lid on. Steam release handle pointing to Sealing (if you don't have a self-sealing Instant Pot).
Step 8. Pressure cook, high pressure for 5 minutes, at the end wait 6 minutes then release the rest of the steam (if any) and remove the pudding basin.
Step 9. Now, for the really hard part, let it cool down on the counter and then let it be in the fridge for a good few hours, preferably overnight. It really needs this time to set properly.
Step 10. Turn onto a plate when you're ready to eat and dig in!
Why does your Flan have holes?
Holes are air bubbles trapped in the custard mixture so, by letting it rest for a few minutes, they'll disappear on their own. Some people solve it by passing the mixture through a sieve as they pour it into the basin.
That said, a good Spanish homemade Flan de Huevo, a properly authentic one, has holes and looks rustic and that is how you know it is homemade with love.
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Marlis Griffiths says
Sounds lovely, I have to try this recipe.
Michelle Stafford says
Hi Maria, I can’t get the liquid caramel on Amazon (minimum order of 3 bottles) so was wondering if caramel syrup would work? The type you get in coffee shops? I can get these in local shop but unsure as to if it would be too thick.
Many thanks, Michelle S.
Maria says
Worth a try Michelle, Lucy has been making them with all sorts, including lemon curd
Michelle Stafford says
Thank you, will give it a go when I get some time off work 🤞🤞
Lucy Mars says
This recipe is far too easy to make. I’ve made them twice already this week. Even the caramel is easy to make! The trickiest bit, is waiting for them to cool!