Leche Flan: Bake or Steam

Leche flan is a rich and creamy custard usually consisting of egg yolks, condensed milk, and evaporated milk, topped with a caramel sauce. It's basically the Filipino version of crème caramel or custard pudding. Traditionally, it is steamed with a llanera, a metal mold, but alternatively it can also be baked with a water bath, the same way crème caramel is made.

There are plenty of variations for this recipe, but I always follow the recipe from Panlasang Pinoy:

10 egg yolks

1 can (300 ml) condensed milk
1 cup evaporated milk (or milk)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Some notes about this recipe:

• I prefer using evaporated milk over milk.
• The pure vanilla extract does not only make it taste better, but I think it also helps reduce the 'eggy' taste. Some people flavor leche flan with vanilla extract along with lemon zest.
• You can use white or brown sugar

Served with hardened caramelized sugar and blackberries

Part A: Making the Caramel

1. Heat sugar in a sauce pan, occasionally swirling it, until you get a light brown liquid (caramel). There should no longer be any solid pieces of sugar left.
2. While the caramel is still hot, pour the caramel into the mold you will be cooking the flan with.
3. Allow the caramel to cool and harden.

Part B: Custard 

1. Whisk together egg yolks, evaporated milk, pure vanilla extract, and condensed milk.
2. Once the caramel has cooled and hardened, pour the custard mixture over it with a strainer. This will give the flan a smooth texture.

It's alright if the sugar does not go all over the mold. It will eventually spread when it is cooked. 

Two Methods of Cooking the Flan

Method 1: Steaming

Method 2: Baking with a Water Bath

Method 1: Steaming

I don't have a steamer, so this is really more of an improvised steaming method.

1.  Cover the metal molds with aluminium foil.
2.  Place a metal stand inside a large cooking pan and fill the pan with water. The water must not touch the bottom of the molds when you put the mold on top of the metal stand.
3. Heat water until it is near boiling, but do not let it come to a boil. Once the water has come to this stage, put the metal molds on top of the metal stand.
4. Cover the pan and steam over medium low heat for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the flan comes out clean. The flan must still be soft and jiggly because it will get a little stiff once it is cooled.
5. Let the flan cool and refrigerate until ready to serve. 
6. To serve, run a knife through the sides of the mold and invert it to a plate.

Alternatively, you can also steam it the way Cooking with Dog does. This is how I used to steam leche flan before.

The recipe they're doing in the video is custard pudding though.

Method 2: Baking with a Water Bath
If you are going to bake any type of custard, you need to bake it with a water bath. Otherwise, it's most likely going to overcook or coagulate. Use ramekins for this method.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cover ramekins with aluminium foil.
3. Put the ramekins into a shallow baking tray and fill the tray with hot water until the water reaches halfway through the height of the ramekins.
4. Bake the flan with the water bath for about 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the flan comes out clean. The flan must still be soft and jiggly because it will get a little stiff once it is cooled.
5. Remove the flan from the water bath and let the flan cool. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
6. To serve, run a knife through the sides of the ramekins and invert it to a plate.

If you're wondering how much you can make with twenty egg yolks, I was able to make leche flan with four ramekins and three metal molds.  This was made for a potluck.

Have fun with your flan!