Caramel Flan (Cardamom Flan with Saffron-Infused Caramel Sauce)

This caramel flan recipes take the traditional flavors of a Spanish flan and combines it with the floral flavors of cardamom and saffron that is commonly found in Indian desserts. The flan is extremely light and has a delicious cardamom and vanilla flavor, which is elevated even more with the saffron infused caramel sauce on top. The result is insanely delicious and a great fusion of Latino-Indian flavors that will have you and your guests eating multiple servings of this flan!

You can make this flan in either individual portion ramekins OR in a large baking dish for a flan that can be sliced into pieces like a cake or pie.

And just so you know – the strawberries make this flan taste even better than you could imagine. There is nothing better than fresh berries with a delicious custard, and adding this strawberry garnish is absolutely worth it!

CARAMEL FLAN (Cardamom Flan with Saffron-Infused Caramel Sauce)

Servings: 8-10 slices

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of sugar + ½ cup more
• 6 large eggs (room temperature)
• 1 14oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
• 2 12oz.  cans of evaporated milk
• 1 Tbsp. of vanilla
• ½ tsp. ground cardamom
• Few threads of saffron (about 7-8)
• *Optional Garnish: 8-10 strawberries (cleaned, leaves removed and cut into small slices or chunks)

**NOTE:

1. If ramekins are used, follow same recipe but divide into 6-8 equal portions and reduce cooking time to 45 minutes.
2. Cooking this recipe in a water bath helps with even cooking and flan consistency.

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. In a large stand-alone mixer, add eggs, condensed milk, evaporated milk, ½ cup sugar, vanilla, cardamom powder and mix on medium speed till fully blended and completely homogenous. Set aside.
3. In a medium pan, add remaining 1 cup of sugar and saffron threads and allow to heat on medium till it starts to melt and become a dark golden-brown color. Once the caramel sauce is the right color, immediately remove from heat and pour into bottom of a 2-2.5-quart cooking container.
4. Once the caramel sauce is at bottom, gently pour the flan mixture on top very carefully to avoid it mixing into the caramel. (Pour into the container very slowly from the outside edge.)
5. Place flan gently inside a deep baking pan and pour hot water into the pan till it has a depth of about 2-2.5inches.
6. Bake the flan in the water bath for 80 minutes. The flan should be done when you stick a knife into middle and it comes out clean. (If knife is not clean – bake another 10 minutes.)
7. Once cooked, remove from water bath and allow to cool off at room temperature before placing in fridge for another 1-1.5hrs to cool and set completely.
8. When ready to eat, take a knife and just run it around the edges of the flan to loosen a bit. Place a large plate or serving dish on top with one hand on top of plate and one hand supporting bottom of baking dish, flip over (invert) carefully.
9. The flan should come out cleanly with the caramel sauce flowing all over it.
10. Slice and serve cold with optional garnish of strawberries.

There you have it!! This is a truly amazing dessert to make yourself. The mix of the cardamom, saffron and vanilla custard is really a delicious trio together. You and your guests will be happy, happy customers!

IF you enjoyed this recipe, feel free to tag me on IG @cmspiceculture, FB at “Spice Culture Cooking,” and/or comment below. I hope you will enjoy this recipe as much as I have making it!

Enjoy! :O)