Coffee Flan

I love sweets, but I’ve never been much of a dessert maker – probably because I don’t consider myself much of a baker. I tend to adjust seasonings and make up recipes as I go along and baking tends to require more precise measurement. But while making paella mixta for a dinner party with friends the other night, I knew I wanted to make a Spanish-themed dessert. And nothing screams Spain more than the creamy, custardy goodness of flan. Because it’s very European to end your dinner with coffee—and because I had some cold brew coffee on hand—I decided to make a coffee flan. The coffee flavor helped balance out the creaminess of the flan, making it a sweet, delicious end of the night.

Preparing flan requires a few steps: preparing the caramel, mixing the cream mixture, letting sit, and removing from the mold. But it’s not that labor intensive and the end result is always impressive.

I’ll admit that my technique can use a bit of refinement – you can see that I made this coffee flan in a bit of a rush, so there are some bubbles in the mixture. But to ensure a smooth, bubble free flan, be gentle when incorporating the milk and cream, mixing slowly. And try to pop any bubbles that may rise to the surface.

Making the caramel

Place the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. I recommend placing your ramekins on a baking tray in the oven as it preheats to keep them warm as you prepare the oven.

Place 1 cup of the sugar and 1/3 cup of water in a heavy-bottomed pot or saucepan. Stir to incorporate. Then turn heat medium and stirring and cooking until the sugar dissolves. Then without stirring, continue to cook until the mixture turns a light amber color, swirling the pot as it heats. It’s important that you not stir after the sugar dissolves; the process will take about an additional 10-15 minutes to turn to a caramel color.

As the caramel starts to darken, remove the ramekins from the oven. Quickly pour the caramel into the warmed ramekins. Tilt and swirl each ramekin to ensure the caramel evenly coats the bottom. Place into a 13 x 9 x 2” baking dish and set aside. The caramel will likely harden as it sits and you prepare the custard, but that’s to be expected. Working with warm ramekins will make it easier to spread the caramel on the bottom versus cold ramekins.

Preparing the custard

Bring a kettle of water to a boil for the water bath. I use my electric kettle which also helps keep the water warm as it sits.

If you’re using cold brew coffee, then you can skip this step. Otherwise, dissolve 1 tablespoon of instant coffee granules in 1 tablespoon of hot water and let cool.

Combine the cream, milk, coffee, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt in a small saucepan. Over medium heat, bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Adjust heat as necessary to prevent the cream mixture from coming to a boil. Turn off the heat.

Then, in a large bowl, mix whole eggs and egg yolks with the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar until just blended. Gradually add in cream mixture, pouring a bit at a time to temper so the eggs don’t cook with the warm cream. Stir gently to combine, trying not to create a lot of bubbles. Pour the egg and cream mixture through a fine sieve into a large measuring cup to ensure that the flan will be perfectly smooth. Then pour the coffee flan custard into each caramel-coated ramekin. Your individual coffee flans should be ready to cook.

Cooking the flan

It’s important to cook the flans in a water bath to ensure even cooking and prevent the flans from baking too fast. Use hot water, not boiling water for the best results. If you don’t boil the water in advance, you can also use the hottest tap water your faucet provides, but use another vessel to transfer the water so it doesn’t splash everywhere. Carefully pour hot water into the baking pan to come halfway up the side of the ramekins. Be careful not get water into the custard.

Transfer the entire baking pan to oven, and bake for 35-40 minutes, until the custard is barely set and just jiggles slightly. Be careful not to overcook. Remove the pan from the oven, and then carefully move the ramekins to a wire rack to cool. I find if they sit in the water bath to cool, they continue to cook. So it’s best to cool the flan on the rack before transferring to the fridge. Once cool, cover with plastic wrap and then refrigerate for at least 6 hours. It’s even better to let it sit overnight, or for up to 2 days, as the longer time in the fridge lets the caramel liquidify.

Serving the coffee flan

It’s best to prepare a shallow dish or bowl with warm water. When you are ready to serve, run a thin knife around the inside of the ramekin to loosen the flan. Dip the bottom of the ramekin in the warm water. Then place a dessert plate on top of the flan and invert. Lift off the ramkin carefully, scraping out any of the remaining caramel to run over the flan and around the plate.

You should be left with a beautiful plate of coffee flan. Garnish with fresh fruit and mint if desired.