The French introduced flan, also known as crème caramel, to Vietnam. It's a delicate yet rich custard dish, with a nutty caramel syrup. As a kid, I couldn't get enough of this dessert, which my mom made in little single-serve ramekins. I could eat four or five of them in a sitting!
Flan by itself is already an elegant dessert. This recipe adds a layer of fluffy chiffon cake for an even nicer showstopper. I brought this to a dinner party and the hosts were amazed by the layers. However, this dish is deceptively easy to make. The cake batter floats right on top of the custard, and it's just a simple matter of layering.
You can omit the cake layer for a classic flan, or if you're gluten free.
Flan custard recipe instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Heat the sugar in a saucepan until it melts and takes on a deep golden color. I like to take mine a little darker for a deep, coffe-like flavor.
I've seen some recipes that add water to the sugar before melting. I do not do this. The sugar will caramelize fine on its own without any added water.
Immediately pour the melted sugar into a 9-inch cake pan. There's no need to grease it. The sugar will harden over time but it will dissolve again when you bake the flan.
Whisk the eggs and condensed milk together until well blended. Add regular milk, sugar and vanilla. Set aside while you make the cake batter.
If you're not making a cake layer, strain the flan custard into the cake pan immediately and bake.
Chiffon cake recipe instructions
Separate your eggs. In one bowl, beat egg yolks with milk, oil and vanilla. Add flour and mix well.
In another bowl, whisk egg whites with a hand mixer until foamy. Add the sugar and continue to whisk until stiff peaks form.
Fold the egg whites into the cake batter, being careful not to over-mix. This cake doesn't have any baking powder, so the whipped egg whites provide the rise for the cake. If you over-mix it, you'll beat out all of the air in the egg whites and get a tough, flat cake.
Strain the flan custard into your prepared cake pan and spoon the cake batter on top. The batter will float.
Bake the flan about 30-40 minutes. The flan will be done when it's still jiggly, but a toothpick pierced into the cake comes out clean. If the cake begins to brown too quickly, you can cover it with aluminum foil until the flan sets. It will feel very jiggly when it comes out of the oven but don't be scared! It'll set up more in the fridge.
In Vietnam, coffee is sometimes poured over the flan, which brings out the deep flavor of the caramelized sugar.
Flan cake (Bánh Flan Bông Lan)
Ingredients
For caramel
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
For the flan custard
- 6 eggs
- 1 can 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
- 6 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 4 cups milk
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the chiffon cake
- 3 eggs
- 50 g cake flour
- 50 g sugar
- 30 g milk
- 30 g vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees
For caramel
- Heat sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until dark golden
- Immediately pour caramel into a 9-inch cake pan
For flan custard
- Mix eggs and condensed milk well.
- Add milk, sugar and vanilla and mix well.
- If not making a cake layer, strain immediately into cake pan and bake about 25-30 minutes until set. If including cake layer, set custard aside
For chiffon cake
- Separate eggs
- Beat egg yolks with milk, vanilla and oil.
- Sift in flour and mix well
- With a hand mixer, beat egg whites until foamy and opaque. Add sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
- Carefully fold egg whites into egg yolk mixture.
Assembling the flan cake
- Strain custard into prepared cake pan
- Spoon cake batter on top of custard
- Bake for about 30-40 minutes, until jiggly but set. If the cake browns too quickly, cover with aluminum foil while you continue to bake.
- Let cool completely, then refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight
- To remove the flan, run an offset spatula or knife around the circumference of the cake. Flip a serving plate over the cake pan, and turn the entire flan over onto the plate.
Zaba says
Hello Suzanne,
Thanks for sharing the recipe. The cake looks superb and I am going to bake it in the next day or two. I presumed the 4 cups of milk is US cup measurement (as in not just any random cups from the kitchen!)? Please o
Suzanne Nuyen says
Yes, a cup in the U.S. is 8 fluid oz! I am reworking this recipe to include metric measurements, which will come soon.
Anonymous says
hi! when you check if the cake is already cook, do you stick the toothpick until it reach the flan or just the sponge?
Suzanne Nuyen says
Just the cake!
Ralf S says
Ô! (việc vân mới) -- Vui lòng cấp cho anh cái phép nấu món "ca ri gà" ! I love curry dishes, though I usually use less than the traditional amount onion when I make...
Ralf Sauts says
Cám ơn chị-- tôi đã thử nấu phlan như thế; sau khi xong làm rồi thì rẩy uống cà phê đặc đà ngay trên (dùng 1 túi bột cà phê sữa nhẫn Vinacafe phà vào phần tư ly nước nóng) tùy lời đề cấp chi và mình cho là... NgOn QuA' {: - )
Thu says
Hi, I was just wondering if you can make this in a 7inch pan and just bake it for longer? Or if you’d have to reduce the ingredients all together. Thanks!!
Suzanne Nuyen says
Hi Thu,
I've never tried making this in a 7 inch pan so I can't say for sure. My gut feeling is the structural integrity of the cake would be at risk if it is too tall, so I would personally reduce the amount of ingredients. But like I said, I haven't tried yet so I don't know for sure. My advice would be to reduce the amount of eggs and then reduce all other ingredients proportional to the amount of eggs.
Denise says
Hi! I just found this recipe and can’t wait to try it. It seems similar to the Mexican Chocoflan, but those recipes turn out with too little flan, and the chocolate cake part is dry and dense. I want to try this in the vanilla flavor, then try to adapt to a chocolate base. I’ll post results ASAP. Fortunately, my friend has chickens and she just gave me 20 eggs!
I’m also really stoked to try other Vietnamese recipes. I volunteer with an international student outreach group at the local university, and make dinner for them once a week. So I’ve learned regional Indian, Chinese, Persian, Turkish, Albanian, Moroccan, Lebanese, Thai,Korean, and a few Vietnamese dishes, but I want to learn more! These ethnic foods are the kind you really need to learn from your Granny or an Auntie who will stand next to you and say, “Do it like this!”
I cooked for some Japanese ladies, and they like very precise recipes because they want to get the same results. When I explained I learned to cook from my grandmother who never measured anything, she just eyeballed it and cooked by feel, the ladies were immediately in agreement, and said that was how they cooked at home.
So glad I found your site! Can’t wait to make this cake and lots of your other recipes.
Suzanne Nuyen says
Thank you so much for the kind words Denise! You've learned so many different cuisines, I'm so impressed! I'm sure your students are so thankful for your meals.
K says
Hi!
Double checking the measurement for the flan custard 4cups of milk? Also would you able to convert the cake ingredients to us measurements?
Thanks! 🙂
Suzanne Nuyen says
Hi, yes that measurement is correct! I am in the process of retesting all of my recipes and updating them to include US and Metric measurements. Stay tuned!
Courtney says
Do you not use a bain marie?
Suzanne Nuyen says
No, I don't use a bain-marie for this recipe. As the recipe states, I keep a tray of water underneath the cake but I don't put the cake pan into the water.
Jenny says
Can you please clarify this? I don’t see where in your recipe or post you include a tray of water. Thanks.
Suzanne Nuyen says
Hi! I did not include a tray of water for this recipe. I have found that I don't need it.
Janay says
O yum! This sounds so delicious I can’t wait to try it!
Suzanne Nuyen says
Thank you Janay! Let me know if you have any questions!
Ly Mendoza says
Hi. This is very similar to the leche flan from the Philippines. And the when you combine it with chiffon cake it is then what we called custard flan cake and its realky so good! 😉
Suzanne Nuyen says
Yes, it is very similar to custard flan cake! I'm a big fan.