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I love making (Filipino) leche flan for my wife and I. However, I use a 9" round cake pan that I wedge into a 9"x13" cake pan, which I fill with water until it just touches the bottom of the cake pan. I then sprinkle a bit of cinnamon into the water, pour my flan mix (10 egg yolks, 1 can condensed milk, 1 can evaporated milk, dash of vanilla) into the round cake pan, and cover with aluminum foil to create a sort of rudimentary bain marie. I then pop this into the oven for 30 to 40 minutes.

My question though is: is there a pan specifically for making flan? If so, what is it called? My way creates a very top heavy and unstable (water sloshing) platform - and I'm afraid I might one day spill hot water on myself - not to mention that getting the round cake pan out of the rectangular cake pan is a pain.

jsanc623
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  • Regarding the water sloshing - a solution to that would be to upgrade to a larger baking dish, one that will hold the round without being too tight, and then when you remove it, just leave the water in the oven until it is cool enough to move without being a hazard. – Kogitsune Mar 05 '15 at 16:30
  • possibly - only I dont want the round to be resting at the bottom of the baking dish – jsanc623 Mar 05 '15 at 16:41
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    @jsanc623 Bah, my bad. Sorry the image I created in my head was like the tube pan. Deleted the post. – Doug Mar 05 '15 at 18:06
  • Why do you not want to submerge the pan in the water? Most (if not all) recipes I've seen include using a waterbath for flan. – Catija Mar 05 '15 at 18:08
  • Is there any specific reason for why you are bain-marie-ing at all? I've only ever done them straight in the oven before. Plus a quick Google shows most use dry ovens without bain-marie so It's not just me on my own being lazy this time. – Doug Mar 05 '15 at 18:08
  • For leche flan, the recipe (from my mother in law) called for it to be steamed in a steamer. I only have a small vegetable steamer, so I did the next best thing: bain marie. It does lead to a smoother (and lighter) texture than the traditional dry-oven flan, and the caramel doesn't harden. This is a similar recipe to the one I use: http://panlasangpinoy.com/2009/07/02/leche-flan/ – jsanc623 Mar 05 '15 at 18:18
  • Well, it might be safer to re-create a steamer then :) (I hate bain-marie-ing where ever possible, chefs like to cut corners..). Something like this (Gastro Steamer Tray): http://trademe.tmcdn.co.nz/photoserver/tq/339665305.jpg inside one of these (Gastro Tray): http://www.expressbusinessdirectory.com/photos/207cf454-b25c-48e4-a44d-1a238c0b67fb.JPG with either foil over the top or a lid. This is how I steam large batches at work and it also doubles as a hot smoker. – Doug Mar 05 '15 at 18:25
  • @Doug that might work! I'll try to find them and order it. – jsanc623 Mar 05 '15 at 19:49
  • Make sure the ones you pick, both match in size and will accommodate your flan tins. – Doug Mar 05 '15 at 20:26

1 Answers1

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Well, there is a pan especially for flan (Spanish), they call it the Flanera Flan Maker:

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It doesn't appear to be intended for use with a bain marie, I'm pretty sure it's intended to eliminate any need for a bain marie (although I have never used one for flan).

Here's the link: Flan Pan

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Jolenealaska
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  • I'll order one of these and give it a shot - but I might just stick to what Doug mentioned (gastro steamer tray) if this one makes the caramel hard :) thank you! – jsanc623 Mar 05 '15 at 19:51
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    @jsanc623 I know very little about the pan, but I do know flan. This pan is fairly highly reviewed, it wouldn't be if it made flan caramel "hard". I think you're safe there as long as you RTFM. :) – Jolenealaska Mar 05 '15 at 20:09
  • i'll make sure to rtfm :) lol – jsanc623 Mar 05 '15 at 20:16