Pudim ~ Brazilian Flan Recipe
Brazilian Pudim or Flan is a traditional creamy custard dessert that 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. It's the most beautiful presentation with caramel 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!
Servings 10 servings
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!