Flan is one of my favorite desserts for Christmas and today I’m showing you how to make a holiday version which is perfect for any family or friend gathering.

This holiday flan has sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, eggs and spices like nutmeg, cinnamon and rum (you can use rum extract too) so I’m calling this delicious treat “Eggnog Flan”. And believe me, if you don’t like to drink eggnog, you are going to love this dessert. The texture is creamy and has a nice caramel layer on top.

Let’s start with the recipe and if you want to watch how I made it, look for me on Instagram @pastry_tales

Yield one 8-9 round cake pan

Ingredients 

For the caramel 

1 cup white granulated sugar 

½ cup cold water 

For the custard 

1 can sweetened condensed milk by Magnolia 

1 can evaporated milk 

5 large eggs at room temperature 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

2 tablespoons dark rum or you can use rum extract (¾-1 teaspoon) 

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg 

For decorating 

Fresh cranberries/rosemary

Directions 

For the caramel

1.- In a saucepan mix water and sugar over medium-low heat. When the sugar is all dissolved (no sugar granules left), turn up the heat to medium-high and let this mixture turn into caramel, this process will take about 15-20 minutes, do not mix, just keep an eye that it doesn’t burn because it will taste bitter. 

2.- After a couple of minutes it will start to boil, bubbling a lot, please do not touch or stir. Just let it cook and you will see that little by little the color of the mixture will start to change, to a light caramel color and then to a medium dark caramel color. Turn off the heat. 

3.- Protect your hands with an oven mitt or a kitchen towel and pour into the pan covering all the inner surface with the caramel. Let it cool, it will get hard. 

For the custard 

*Preheat oven to 350 F* 

1.- In a large bowl whisk eggs. Then, add sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, vanilla extract, rum, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour the mixture through a sieve into your pan, this will help catching any egg that did not mix well or big chunks of spices. Place your pan inside a larger one with 2 fingers high of boiling water. 

2.- Bake for 45 minutes. You know it’s ready when the center of your flan jiggles a little but there are not liquid parts. If you think it needs more baking time, just bake for 5-10 more minutes max. Don’t overbake or it won’t have the creamy texture we want. 

It is very important to always keep hot water in the larger pan. If the water evaporates, add more. 

3.- Let it cool to room temperature for about 1 hour. Then, cover it with foil and place it in the fridge for at least 6 hours or overnight. 

4.- When ready to serve, run a knife around the border and turn the flan upside-down on top of a bigger plate. If that doesn’t help, place the pan over some hot boiling water for a couple of minutes, then try to turn the flan over again. Have patience, sometimes, it takes a little bit of time. Using a spoon, scoop all the caramel left in the bottom of the pan and pour it on the top of your flan. 

Decorate with fresh cranberries and rosemary. Slice and serve. 

5.- Keep refrigerated. 

Enjoy!!