This Brazilian Flan recipe, or Pudim, is a traditional custard make-ahead dessert that is creamy, rich, and delicious! This easy recipe gives you all of the tips and tricks, so it's easy for anyone to make!
If you have never had Pudim, you are in for a special treat today! This Brazilian Flan recipe, or Pudim (pronounced pu-jeem), is an impressive dessert and a crowd pleaser in both appearance and taste! It's perfect for your family of 2 or 4 or a special occasion or party. This dessert will not disappoint.
Brazilian Pudim or Flan is a traditional creamy custard dessert. It takes minutes to prepare, but a lot of patience to wait for it to set. It's baked upside down with caramel sauce poured first into the pan. Then an easy blender-made custard is poured over the caramel and it's baked.
After setting in the refrigerator overnight (did I mention you need patience???), it's turned out upside down on to a platter so the bottom becomes the top of the flan. It's the most beautiful presentation with decadent caramel sauce dripping all over the top and sides. The Flan or Pudim is a super creamy, rich, and melt-in-your-mouth delicious custard with sweet caramel in every bite!
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Brazilian Flan Recipe for the Non-Baker!
I do not claim to be an expert baker. I love to cook savory food and I'm quite adept at it. But when it comes to baking, I need a recipe and lot's of detailed instructions. But my goal with this blog is to learn and pass on recipes that are inspired by the Brazilian food I am experiencing while living here. And that includes baking! So, with this Brazilian Flan Recipe, or Pudim de Leite Condensado, I literally had 5 caramel sauce fails before being able to actually bake the flan. Then after 3 full test recipes (and a very happy husband taste-tester) I arrived on these SUPER EASY INSTRUCTIONS. I did not invent this recipe, but I did figure out all of the pitfalls and then give you all of the tips and tricks to not fall into them:).
Simple Ingredients and Substitutes
You are seeing this image correctly, this is a 4-ingredient Brazilian flan recipe!
- Large eggs - You need large eggs for this recipe. If you only have small eggs, you will need to use 5 small eggs.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk - The sweet condensed milk is key ingredient for this Flan recipe. Make sure that you get the sweetened version and not evaporated milk.
- Milk - For this recipe, you want to use whole regular milk or evaporated milk.
- White Granulated sugar - White granulated sugar is what you need for the caramel sauce.
See recipe card for quantities.
Simple Equipment You'll Need with Options
For the batter, you need a blender for blending the custard. I used my NutriBullet Blender for quick blending! You can also use a food processor if you don't have a blender. You can also use or a food processor if you don't have a blender.
For the sugar-caramel, you need a small-medium saucepan.
You also need a tube pan or Flan pan, that is 10-12 inches in diameter with sides that are about 2.5-3.5 inches high. Here are a few more pan options.
- You could also use a non-stick one-piece Angel Food pan. For this type of pan, I recommend non-stick because the sides are generally higher (4-5 inches) and it may be more difficult to get the flan to slide out. Non-stick makes it easier. Also, I do not recommend the 2-piece pans where the outside detaches because there is a chance the water in the water bath could seep in or the flan or caramel could leak out.
- A 9 inch round cake pan or non-stick pie pan. For these options, you may need more caramel (1 ¼ cups sugar instead of just 1 cup of sugar) since there isn't a hole in the center. I also recommend the smaller diameter of 9 inches since you have more area to fill with the flan.
Finally, you will need a larger pan, such as a roasting pan or baking dish to hold hot water for the flan pan to sit. This is your hot water bath to bake the flan in.
Tips for this Brazilian Flan Recipe
My first tip for this delicious flan is to make this recipe early in the morning, so that it has all day in the fridge, then you can enjoy it after dinner. Or, make it in the late afternoon or evening, so it can set in the fridge overnight.
Second tip is not to over-blend the custard. The first time I tested this recipe, I blended the custard for way too long and ended up with 3 inches of foam on top. Even after 30 minutes, it hadn't settled. It still tasted great when it was done, but the flan had lots of air bubbles in it due to the foam. You just need to blend just until the egg yolks are blended, about 20-30 seconds. Here are references for what it should and should not look like blended.
Custard blended for too long, about 1-2 minutes, results in a lot of foam forming.
You only need to blend the custard for 20-30 seconds to combine.
How to Make this Brazilian Flan Recipe
Making the Custard
The custard could not be easier. Simply add all of the custard ingredients into a blender and blend just until the egg yolks are completely combined (30 seconds or so), do not over blend so that it becomes frothy (see tip above).
If you do not have a blender, you can also whip the custard by hand, just be sure you have a large enough bowl and that all of the egg yolks are mixed in.
Set aside so the air bubbles can settle out.
Add the custard ingredients into a blender (eggs, milk, sweet condensed milk).
Blend just until combined (30 seconds or so), do not over blend.
Making the Caramel Sauce
My testing and fails for you to learn from!
I am going to confess that I tested the caramel sauce no less than 6 times. Caramel can be tricky - and dangerous - if you don't know what you're doing! In my research for Pudim, I came across many recipes that have you add the sugar and water at the same time. For some reason, time after time, the sugar would melt, but not get to that golden amber color and ultimately, the sugar would crystalize and be ruined.
Then I tried no water, which resulted in beautiful color, but then when I poured it into the pan, it immediately hardened half way out of the pan, so only some made it to the flan pan and then turned to candy.
How to make Caramel Sauce that actually works!
Finally, I found a Brazilian recipe that cleared it up for me, but added an element of safety to the recipe. The sugar is melted in the pan first. When you add the sugar to the pot/pan, do not stir it. I did this once and it created lumps of sugar that were difficult to melt. Just let it melt naturally.
Once all of the sugar melts completely into golden caramel color (only takes about 3-5 minutes), put on oven mitts/gloves and add the water carefully, keeping you and your bare hands, arms, face, or any other skin AWAY from the pan. When the water is added to the melted hot sugar, it will immediately bubble up and steam and can easily burn you if your not careful.
Pour sugar evenly into a sauce pot off the heat.
Without stirring, melt the sugar over medium-low heat.
Note: If your heat is on medium heat, just watch carefully to ensure the sugar doesn't burn.
Once all of the sugar melts completely into caramel (only takes about 3-5 minutes), put on oven mitts/gloves and add the water carefully, keeping you and your bare hands, arms, face, or any other skin AWAY from the pan.
When the water is added to the melted hot sugar, it will immediately bubble up and steam, which is normal, but can easily burn you if your not careful. Once it settle down, using a wooden spoon gently stir to combine the water and carmel into a thick golden brown syrup (takes about a minute to combine).
Finally, turn off the heat and carefully pour the caramel sauce it all around the bottom of the pan, tube pan or bundt pan. You can lift the pan and tilt it to coat the sides with the sauce. Let sit for 2-3 minutes to set a bit before adding the custard.
Bake the Flan
Carefully pour mixture into the pan over the caramel.
Cover the pudim with aluminum foil.
Open the preheated oven and place the roasting pan and pudim onto the middle shelf pulled out. Pour the hot water into the roasting pan until it comes up about half way up the side of the Pudim pan.
Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Note: it will look very loose and wiggly, like it's not fully cooked, but it will set in the fridge!
Remove from the oven and let cool still in the water and roasting pan for 1-2 hours. Then place the Pudim pan (not the roasting pan) in the refrigerator for 4-5 hours or overnight.
To unmold the Pudim, run a sharp thin knife around the sides of the dish to ensure it is loosened. Place a large plate or platter over top and then flip the pan and the plate together to release the pudim onto the plate.
TIP: If it isn't easily coming out of the mold, heat ½ inch of water in a large skillet and you can place the pudim pan in the skillet to melt the caramel a bit and loosen the pudim. Be careful, just to warm it for 15-30 seconds, as you don't want to melt the pudim.
Slice and serve!
Brazilian Flan Recipe FAQs
Yes this recipe is gluten free with the ingredients lists. Always be sure to check the labels of all ingredients to ensure there is no gluten.
This flan should be stored in the refrigerator covered.
This flan will last in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Other Brazilian Desserts to Try!
Looking for other dessert recipes from Brazil? Try these:
Pudim ~ Brazilian Flan Recipe
Ingredients
For the Custard
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups whole milk or evaporated milk
- 2 14 oz cans of sweet condensed milk
For the Caramel Sauce
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ cup Water
Instructions
Prep for baking
- Preheat your oven to 350 F before you start the caramel.
- In a medium-large pot, bring 2-3 quarts (about 8-12 cups of water) to a boil to be used for the water bath. You may not need all of this, depending on the size of the roasting pan used for the water bath.
- Place a 10-inch round tube pan with a hole in the center (similar to a bundt pan) inside a larger roasting pan. Set aside.
Blend the Custard
- Add all of the custard ingredients into a blender, the eggs, the milk, and the sweet condensed milk. Blend just until combined (30 seconds or so), do not over blend so that it becomes frothy. Set aside so the air bubbles can settle out.
Make the Caramel Sauce
- Make sure your tube or bundt pan is in the roasting pan. Have gloves (oven mitts) ready to use when pouring the melted sugar into the pan.
- Pour the sugar into a sauce pot off the heat. Make sure the sugar is evenly spread out across the bottom of the pot. Turn the heat to medium-low heat. The sugar will start to melt at the bottom and sides, so watch closely to ensure it doesn't start to burn and if you smell it burning, turn the heat down. When you add the sugar to the pot/pan, do not stir it. If you stir it before melted, it creates lumps of sugar that are difficult to melt. Just let it melt naturally.
- Once all of the sugar melts completely into caramel (only takes about 3-5 minutes), put on oven mitts/gloves and add the water carefully, keeping you and your bare hands, arms, face, or any other skin AWAY from the pan. When the water is added to the melted hot sugar, it will immediately bubble up and steam, which is normal, but can easily burn you if your not careful. Once it settle down, using a wooden spoon gently stir to combine the water and carmel into a thick sauce (takes about a minute to combine).
- Finally, turn off the heat and carefully pour the caramel sauce it all around the bottom of the tube pan or bundt pan. You can lift the pan and tilt it to coat the sides with the sauce. Let sit for 2-3 minutes to set a bit before adding the custard.
Bake the Pudim
- Carefully pour the custard into the pan over the caramel. Cover the pudim with aluminum foil.
- Open the preheated oven and place the roasting pan and pudim onto the middle shelf pulled out. Pour the hot boiling water into the roasting pan until it comes up about half way up the side of the Pudim pan. Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Note: it will look very loose and wiggly, like it's not fully cooked, but it will set in the fridge!
- Remove from the oven and let cool still in the water and roasting pan for 1-2 hours. Then place the Pudim pan (not the roasting pan) in the refrigerator for 4-5 hours or overnight.
- To unmold the Pudim, run a thin sharp knife around the outside of the pudim to ensure it is loosened. Place a large plate or platter over top and then flip the pan and the plate together to release the pudim onto the plate. If it isn't easily coming out of the mold, heat ½ inch of water in a large skillet and you can place the pudim pan in the skillet to melt the caramel a bit and loosen the pudim. Be careful, just to warm it for 15-30 seconds, as you don't want to melt the pudim. Slice and serve!
Esmé Slabbert
Oh, my word, this is so good looking and I will have to make this pretty soon as we just love a flan.
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Noami Maldonado
I will like to make it for the family.
arline
I've made this 100 times: the "standard" flan with the caramel sauce, of course. The "secret" to the sugar/caramel process is to only swirl the pan and not put any spoon in it while cooking. You can start right off the bat with sugar and water and then heat it up, swirling (carefully) as needed to mix them together. Swirling the pan every 20-30 seconds works and works well!! Try it; I think you will like this method. It is "tried and true".
Maggie Miers Venturini
Pudim is my favorite dessert and my mom also made it when it was my dad's birthday!
My mom used to add some lemon zest after turning off the blender and prior to pour it over the caramel sauce. It really made the difference in the taste 😀
Carrie Tyler
Thanks, Maggie! I love the recommendation to add lemon zest! I will do that next time for sure.