Flan de Queso (Cheese Flan)
Puerto Rican Flan de Queso: a rich and creamy cheesecake-like baked custard dessert that's not too sweet thanks to the slight tang of cream cheese. As if that wasn't enough, the entire flan is swimming in a pool of shimmering sugar caramel sauce!
Flan de Queso
Update: VIDEO added September 2017. Scroll down to watch this recipe in action! Original recipe published March 2016.
I am so excited to bring you this Puerto Rican flan de queso! More excited than usual shall we say.
This is the first Puerto Rican dessert on Kitchen Gidget.
I've shared my family's favorite Puerto Rican food recipes, like Puerto Rican Beans, but no meal is complete without dessert!
And it's pretty obvious if you take a look around this blog that I have a major sweet tooth.
I knew it was time to remedy that situation and undoubtedly the most popular Puerto Rican dessert is flan.
The only question was which kind to make? There's the classic flan which is essentially a baked custard bathed in caramel sauce.
There's coconut flan which is very popular, or pumpkin flan which I like to make in the fall, and then there is cheese flan which is made with cream cheese.
Puerto Rican flan de queso is like flan met cheesecake and they had the most scrumptious love baby.
Silky smooth, lush, slightly dense...the cream cheese adds a mild tang which keeps this flan from becoming too sweet.
Finishing it off is a dripping caramel syrup that takes this over the top.
How to make flan
Let's talk a little bit about the steps that go into making a flan. It can be a little intimidating, but I've found that flan is also very forgiving.
There are 3 parts to the perfect flan
- Make the sugar syrup
- Mix the custard base
- Cook the flan in water bath
The first part is the sugar caramel. It takes patience to completely melt the sugar down.
It will get clumpy, but eventually smooth out. Swirl the pan to give it a stir.
Take it off the heat as soon as it has dissolved so it doesn't burn. You must immediately pour it into your prepared pan because it hardens quickly.
It should be poured in an even layer on the bottom of the pan, but if there are a few gaps it will still turn out fine.
You may use an 8- or 9-inch round cake pan. Whichever pan you use, be sure it has 2-inch high sides in order to hold all of the custard.
You can also purchase flanera which is a special pan just for baking flan.
The flan will cook inside a larger pan filled with water called a water bath or bain-marie. Don't skip this part! This ensures the flan cooks evenly with a soft, silky texture.
For the best texture, use room temperature ingredients and cream cheese that is well softened.
I take the extra step of straining my custard mixture before I pour it into the pan.
This way I catch any little cream cheese bits that didn't dissolve, but I never have clumps since I use a blender to mix everything.
Be sure to chill the flan thoroughly before unmolding.
When ready to serve, run a knife around the edge to loosen.
Cover the pan with a plate and flip it over all at once. The flan should fall right out onto the pan.
If it's sticky, dip the bottom of the pan in warm water for a few seconds before inverting again.
Use a plate with edges angling upwards to catch all that caramel!
Pin this to your Dessert board!
Watch the video!
Puerto Rican Flan de Queso (Cheese Flan)
Leche flan baked with cream cheese giving it a slight tang and cheesecake-like texture!
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 package (8oz) cream cheese, softened
- 1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk
- 1 can (12oz) evaporated milk
- 5 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat to oven 350°F degrees. Set a kettle of water to boil. Set an 8- or 9-inch cake (or pie) pan with 2-inch high sides inside of a larger baking pan (such as a 13x9).
- In a small sauce pan over medium-low heat, melt sugar until completely dissolved. Watch carefully so it does not burn. You may swirl the pan to stir. Remove from heat when it is a dark golden, amber color.
- Immediately pour the melted sugar into the bottom of the cake pan, working quickly before it hardens. Set aside.
- In a blender beat the cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, eggs and vanilla. Mix until well combined.
- Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve to ensure there are no lumps. Pour the strained custard into the cake pan over the sugar caramel. Next, add boiling water to the larger pan. It should come up the sides about an inch deep. The cake pan will be sitting in a water bath.
- Bake for 1 hour, or until set around the edges with a slight jiggle in the middle. Remove from oven and let the flan cool in the water bath, about an hour. Once cool, refrigerate at least 2 hours, but overnight is best.
- When ready to serve, run a knife around the edges to loosen. Set a plate over the flan and flip upside-down to invert. Slice into wedges and serve.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 126Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 83mgSodium: 59mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 0gSugar: 20gProtein: 4g
Nutritional information provided is an estimate only. Please consult the labels of ingredients you use for more accurate results.
I made it last night. It was/is superb.
Woo! That makes me happy to hear. Thank you!
Making this for a Mexican themed dinner tomorrow 😆 It looks yummy, I'll let you know how it goes 😋
Yay! Hope everyone loves it!
Made this for a BBQ and it was a hit!
Few things:
I substituted half of the vanilla extract with the contents of 1 scraped Tahitian vanilla bean.
I added a dash of salt to the caramel, and when I took the caramel off the heat I added the remaining contents of the condensed milk to stop the caramelization.
I used a 9-inch pie dish instead which worked well (and gave it a cute shape)
I didn’t have a blender at hand but used a standing mixer. I immediately regretted having added the evaporated milk before blending—the amount of liquid is very intense and forced me to blend with whisk attachment on a lower setting for a while before it was consistent. I luckily hadn’t added the eggs, and saved myself by whisking them separately and adding in after. In the future, I would do this:
Add cream cheese and vanilla and blend with paddle attachment. Slowly add condensed milk until homogenous. Whisk eggs separately and slowly add to cheese and condensed milk mixture while mixing until incorporated. Finally, slowly add evaporated milk until mixture is smooth.
Sounds absolutely amazing! Will have to try with the pinch of salt!
My boyfriend invited me to meet his parents and I made it a priority to find a dummy proof flan recipe to bring to their home.
Uhm, found it!
I've never baked anything more involved than boxed cakes and brownies so I was really intimidated and convinced it would take at least five tries and three recipes.
My test flan came out perfectly creamy and so much caramel sauce! Tasted just like I remember as a child.
Next I'll be trying your flancocho.
Good so happy to hear that! Thank you!
This has actually been on my list of things to make for years and I’m yet to make it. You just gave me some inspiration. This looks absolutely perfect
Excellent recipe, easy to follow and it is delicious.
Thanks so much!
I used organic half and half, 2 cups of it , plus lime peel grated into it along with the vanilla, as I didn't have lemon either, added a bit of butter to the caramel, also used the cream cheese, had a bit of goat cheese left too, so threw that in there as well, and no condensed milk so I threw in a 1/2 cup of organic sugar. Looks really good, turned out well,
Wow lime sounds like an amazing addition! Key lime pie is a favorite of mine. Glad it turned out and hope you have a Happy New Year.
Hi Rebekah, I'm making this over the weekend and I was wondering if the flan needs to be covered when being baked?
Thanks!!
Hi Carolina! No, I don't cover it while it's baking. I cover it while it's chilling in the fridge though. Enjoy!
Hi Rebekah! Quick question, if I wanted to make this in a bundt pan, should I double or triple up with ingrediants??
I would keep it the same, but if you want to make more you can double the ingredients. I have a 10-inch Wilton bundt and that's all mine can hold. I would keep the sugar syrup amount (1 cup) the same. It will be thick so might take longer to cook! Happy Thanksgiving!
My husband has been asking me to make this flan for months. Today I finally made it and he will try it after he gets home from work. I followed the recipe to the tee ( its rather easy) and I did use a blender which did get me the clean and creamy consistency without any lumps at all. My only concern is that I may have over cooked the sugar... it smells a little burned but i didn't want to waste it. I got a little darker color than the one in the video, so we will see in about an hour how it turns out. I wish I could post pics of it on here ;).
Some people actually prefer the sugar darker! Hope he likes it! 😀
I have made this about 5 times already! So yummy and so easy to make!
Thank you so much for sharing!
Yay so happy to hear this! 🙂
This is aaaaamazing trust me its beter than tradditional flan. It sounds harder than it actually is honestly the sugar carmalizing is the tricky part. Other than that so worth it.❤
My sugar never is right. It's always hard or into the flan. I never been that liquid look. Suggestions?
Hmm do you cook the flan in a water bath?
This looks amazing and soooo good, I have two questions 1) do you butter your pan? And 2) can I use store bought caramel sauce, thanks in advance for answering.
Thanks! I do not butter the pan. The sauce keeps it from sticking to the bottom, I just run a knife around the edge. I've never tried using store-bought caramel sauce so I can't say. Hopefully someone else can chime in!
I made this for a Mexican themed party. Every one loved it, and so did I 🙂 first time making flan, and glad I chose this recipe. I put it in my vita mixer and it came out so smooth. Now I'm the flan maker:) thanks!!
So awesome and what a coincidence! I'm making a video for this recipe using my Vitamix right now! Thanks for your kind comment, Carolyn. 🙂