Dulce de Leche Flan (Crème Renversée)

Crème renversée, or flan, is the dessert that reminds me of my grandpa. I remember he always used to buy fresh eggs and give them to my aunt so she could make crème renversée. Then he’d invite us all over and be so proud that we were eating his favorite dessert.

I’d been telling my partner for a while that I wanted to make him flan. He was all excited and said he loved flans. I had a can of dulce de leche sitting in the pantry that I needed to use, so I thought, why not make a dulce de leche flan? When I finally made it, I was so excited for him to try it. He looked at it and said, “That’s crème renversée.” He’s French, by the way. I told him, “Yeah, flan in English.” Then we realized that in France, crème renversée isn’t actually flan, flan there is like a custard tart. But anyway, he loved it, so I’d call that a win.

What You Need to Make Dulce de Leche Flan

The ingredients are very simple, you’ll need a can of dulce de leche, milk, eggs, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Of course for the caramel sauce you will need granulated sugar, water, and a few drops f lemon juice (simple as well).

• Eggs: For the eggs, I use whole eggs. I try as much as I can to use whole eggs when a recipe is known to be made with whole eggs and egg yolks, because I know something will go to waste. Just like my whole eggs lemon curd recipe, this one is made with whole eggs only.
• Vanilla: For vanilla, you can use extract or bean paste. If you use bean paste, add a bit less since it’s stronger in flavor and more concentrated.
• Milk: Use whole milk or 2%, whatever you like. Milk can be used cold or room temperature.
• Dulce de leche: I buy dulce de leche in cans, you’ll usually find it next to the condensed milk at the supermarket. Did you know dulce de leche is just cooked condensed milk?

1. Make the caramel
Start with the caramel since it takes the longest. Add sugar, water, and a few drops of fresh lemon juice (no more than a teaspoon) to a saucepan. Set it on medium heat and stir from time to time. It will take around 10 minutes for the caramel to reach a golden amber color.

Once ready, immediately pour the caramel into your baking dish (I usually go for stainless steel cause anything glass scares me with hot caramel). Hold the dish from the top or use an oven mitt and tilt it gently so the caramel spreads evenly across the bottom before it hardens and a bit on the sides. Set aside.

⚠️ Be careful! Hot caramel is dangerous, it burns so bad if it comes in contact with the skin. Be super careful while working with it, also keep in mind that your baking pan will become hot once the caramel is poured.

2. Make the custard
In a large bowl, whisk together the dulce de leche, milk, eggs, vanilla, and a small pinch of salt until smooth and no lumps remain. You can also mix it in a blender, just be careful not to over-blend or it’ll create bubbles. If your mixture still has some lumps, pass it through a fine sieve for a perfectly smooth texture.

3. Bake in a water bath
Pour the custard over the cooled caramel. Place the dish inside a larger baking pan and fill the outer pan with hot water halfway up the sides of your flan dish. Cover loosely with foil and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (350°F) for about 1 hour. The flan should be a bit jiggly but completely set.

4. Cool and unmold
Let the flan cool at room temperature for about an hour, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours (overnight is even better). When ready to serve, run a knife gently around the edges of the flan to loosen it. Place a plate on top of the dish, hold both firmly, and flip them together. Lift the dish slowly and let the caramel flow over the flan.

If the flan doesn’t want to release from the pan, don’t worry. You can run a torch lightly on the bottom of the pan to soften the caramel, or place the bottom of the dish in hot water for a few seconds.