Custard is a new favorite of mine, and I can’t believe how EASY it is to make! There are different ways to make it too. Adding whole eggs to a custard base will make it hold its form… If you just use egg yolks, it will have the consistency of pudding, which is excellent for a creme brulee.
Today, I will be making a flan, a popular Mexican dessert, which will have a firm and robust custard that will hold its shape outside a ramekin. We will also be creating a caramel sauce with it that will become the top and most delicious part of this custard.
The only difficult portion of this recipe is baking the custard. You will have to bake it in a hot water bath, meaning the ramekins are inside a baking dish that is filled with hot water. It is essential that the water does NOT touch the custard otherwise it may not hold.
When the custard is done, you should notice that the top of the custard is firm, but the center is still wobbly. This is key. If the center does not wobble, the custard is overcooked and will have an eggy taste to it.
Yields 4 servings of Keto Flan
The Preparation
- 1/3 cup erythritol, for caramel
- 1/8 cup water
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup erythritol, for custard
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 large egg
- 2 large egg yolk
The Execution
1. In a deep pan, heat up the erythritol for the caramel. Stir it frequently.
2. Add the water and butter.
3. Stir occasionally until the sauce has become a golden brown.
4. Pour into the bottom of each ramekin, covering the bottom nicely. Set aside and let them cool.
5. In a bowl, mix together the heavy whipping cream, remaining erythritol, and vanilla.
6. In a separate bowl, whisk together your whole eggs. Then add in the yolks, whisking once more.
7. Slowly stir your eggs into the cream mix.
8. Pour the custard into each ramekin, on top of the caramel.
9. Place the ramekins into a casserole dish and fill over halfway with hot water. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes. Take the casserole dish out of the oven but leave the ramekins in the hot water for another 10 minutes.
10. Using tongs, take out the ramekins and let them sit for at least 4 hours, or overnight, in the fridge.
11. When ready to eat, take a knife and slowly run it on the inside of the custard to release it from the ramekin.
12. Turn the ramekin upside down and slowly jiggle the custard onto the plate.
13. Enjoy!
This makes a total of 4 servings of Keto Flan. Each serving comes out to be 306 calories, 29g fats, 2.5g net carbs, and 6.2g protein.
If you want something sweet but don’t have 45 minutes for a baked custard, a quick mug cake when you’re short on time uses butter, cocoa powder, and almond flour microwaved in about 90 seconds.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 1/3 cup erythritol | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1/8 cup water | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 tablespoon butter | 102 | 11.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 |
| 1 cup heavy whipping cream | 809 | 85.9 | 6.5 | 0 | 6.5 | 6.8 |
| 1/4 cup erythritol | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 tablespoon vanilla extract | 37 | 0 | 1.6 | 0 | 1.6 | 0 |
| 2 large egg | 157 | 10.5 | 0.8 | 0 | 0.8 | 13.8 |
| 2 large egg yolk | 109 | 9 | 1.2 | 0 | 1.2 | 5.4 |
| Totals | 1237 | 116.9 | 10.2 | 0 | 10.2 | 26.1 |
| Per Serving (/4) | 309 | 29.2 | 2.5 | 0 | 2.5 | 6.5 |
Keto Flan
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup erythritol for caramel
- ⅛ cup water
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup erythritol for custard
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 large egg
- 2 large egg yolk
Instructions
- In a deep pan, heat up the sweetener listed for the caramel until it is completely melted and clear. Be sure to stir frequently.
- Carefully add in the water and butter.
- Stir occasionally, until the sauce has become a golden brown. Use caution not to burn.
- Pour equally into the bottom of each ramekin, which should cover the bottom nicely. Set aside and let them cool.
- Preheat oven to 350F. In a bowl, mix together the heavy whipping cream, the sweetener listed for custard, and the vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the whole eggs. Add in the yolks, whisking once more.
- Slowly stir your eggs into the cream mix until blended.
- Pour the custard into each ramekin, on top of the caramel.
- Place the ramekins into a casserole dish and fill it over half way with hot water. Again, be careful no water gets inside the ramekins.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Take the casserole dish out of the oven, but leave the ramekins in the hot water for another 10 minutes.
- Using tongs, take out the ramekins and let them sit for at least 4 hours, or overnight, in the fridge. When ready to eat, take a knife and slowly run it along the inside edge of the custard to release it from the ramekin.
- Turn the ramekin upside down and slowly jiggle the custard onto the plate. You will have a beautiful golden sauce that is now on the top!
These look great! If you have an electric pressure cooker like an Instant Pot it’s really easy to make these in the pressure cooker. For individual ramekins like this (cover them with foil so water doesn’t get in) cook on high pressure for 6 minutes and then allow pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes before opening the lid. Adjust the time as needed.
Awesome insight for the recipe – thank you for the feedback!
I just tried this as well as in the oven. The instant pot one turned out really bad! Did I do something wrong? Maybe I put it in for too long? When you say 6 min then 10 do you mean after 6 min, to cancel and then release for 10 and not to cook it again for ten min right? https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
Wait, how much erythritol and water should we use? There are no amounts listed, just question marks. Thanks.
Oh I see it now. It’s in the Preparation but when you go to print it out, it’s not listed there.
Made these last night but the caramel came out burnt tasting. Suggestions? The custard part was delicious
hi, how long do i have to wait for the erythriol to convert into the caramel? i kept mixing it but it just didn’t seem to turn into that caramel looking texture and look. Thank you
Hi! Can I use Xilitol instead of Erythritol? Thanks!
Yes, you can. However, it will be a bit sweeter since xylitol is sweeter than erythritol.
To get the sweetness level right, try using 3 tablespoons of the xylitol to replace the 1/4 cup of erythritol in the flan and a 1/4 cup of xylitol for the caramel.
I’m sorry to say, this was a disaster. Instead of flan, I got soup. The flan didn’t set after leaving it in the fridge overnight. I think 30 minutes in the oven was not nearly enough…or something else is missing. I followed the recipe to the letter. Very disappointing.
i just made this and it came out amazing as far as texture and taste. I had a problem with the caramel sauce. I put the sugar sub in the pan, let it heat up and then when i added the water and butter the sugar hardened and then eventually melted again but it looks nothing like the pics. Any idea where i went wrong? should i have added the water and butter immediately after putting the sugar?
when making regular flan you heat the sugar until it caramelizes you don’t add anything.. I am going to make this keto recipe today and do a trial with not adding the water. I will let you know how mine turns out.
What am I doing wrong? my caramel sauce comes out like hard candy and not saucy. I cooked it until it turned amber. Did I cook it too long?
The tops of mine were dark brown (almost burnt). I followed the recipe exactly and double checked it. The only substitution I made was using swerve granulated could this have caused it?
Flan is French
My son made this for me yesterday. It was AMAZING!!!
I made this for the 2nd time today, after the flan soup disaster that happened yesterday. The flavor was on point, so I decided to try it again for a Cinco de Mayo dessert option. I made a couple of tweaks. 1. Discovered that swerve, when melted naturally turns brown. So, I used that for the caramel syrup. The trick to not having it crystalize is to add all ingredients stir and heat up together.
2. I added 1/8 teaspoon of Xanthan gum to the filling, and that seems to have solved the setting problem. Looking forward to enjoying this tonight. Cheers!
I’m glad the second time turned out better – I’m super happy to hear you enjoyed it! Thank you for the added tips for people that have ran into issues with the recipe 🙂
Can this be made ahead and frozen for an event?
Freezing can change the texture, and it may lose its silky, smoothness. However, you can store the flan in the fridge for up to four days.