Bear Leche Flan

5 from 2 votes

This is my fun twist on my mom's leche flan recipe: an incredibly creamy, delicious flan... but cute! It's a unique way to serve flan, making it an interesting centerpiece or gift.

And don't worry about the scraps—you can either eat them (aka the baker's tax!) or blend them to make a super silky flan cream/pudding.

Prep Time15

Cook Time1

Chill time3

Total Time4 15

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Asian, Filipino

Servings: servings

Calories: 342kcal

Author: Bianca Fernandez

Equipment

Kitchen scale/measuring cups
Measuring spoons
saucepan for making caramel
llanera see notes
sieve
deep baking pan for water bath; should be large enough to fit 2-3 inches of water and your llanera!
silicone spatula
large mixing bowl for flan mixture
whisk
serving dish/plate make sure it is rimmed to hold the caramel sauce!
bear cookie cutter
Parchment Paper or wax paper
Piping bags for chocolate designs
tweezers

Ingredients

Caramel:

½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup water

Flan batter:

8 egg yolks
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
12 ounces evaporated milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract or paste

Bear design:

1 tablespoon white chocolate melted
½ tablespoon milk chocolate melted; or dark chocolate
oil-based red food coloring or pink candy melts

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Instructions

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C. Have llanera on hand because the caramel in the next step hardens quickly.

Make the caramel:

*If you want a deeper, stronger smoky flavor, cook the caramel until it is a medium-dark amber color. If you want a lighter caramel, cook until it is a light amber color, similar to a shade or two darker than honey.
In a saucepan, combine ½ cup granulated sugar and ¼ cup water. Heat on medium-low and do not stir. If you need to mix it, you can gently swirl the pan.
As it cooks, the sugar should dissolve, bubble, then turn from a cloudy white liquid to a light golden color.
Once the caramel reaches a light amber color, pour into your llanera, evenly covering the bottom. You can tilt the llanera to distribute the caramel around.
Place llanera in baking tray and let caramel cool as you make the flan mixture.

Make the flan mixture:

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 8 egg yolks and 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk until smooth.
Stir in 12 ounces evaporated milk and 1 tablespoon vanilla until combined. Use silicone spatula to scrape bottom and sides of bowl.
Pour flan mixture through sieve right into your llanera. This will get rid of any eggy streaks.

Bake:

Add room temperature water into the baking tray so that the llanera is sitting in 2-3 inches of water. Lightly cover with lid (do not lock llanera so the top is easy to remove & check for doneness) or aluminum foil.
Bake for 40-60 minutes, depending on the size of your llanera. I recommend checking it at the 30 minute mark.
To make sure it is done, it must pass these 3 tests: (1) the top should be set but still jiggle (2) when touched with a finger it shouldn't stick (3) a toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean.

Chill and decorate:

Let cool at room temperature (uncovered) for 30-45 minutes. Lightly cover and chill in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours (up to overnight) to allow it to fully set.
Once set, remove cover from llanera. Use an offset spatula to loosen the sides of the flan. I like to run my spatula on the sides 2-3 times.
Place your serving dish upside down on top of the llanera. Flip over, tap on the llanera, and the flan should slide out! If it's not coming out at all, flip back over and try to loosen the sides again with your offset spatula.
Use bear cookie cutter to cut out bear shape. You can eat the scraps (baker's tax!) or blend them to make a custard cream.
Melt white and milk/dark chocolate and transfer into their own piping bags. If you want to add blush, dye some white chocolate using oil-based red food coloring. If you don't have oil-based dye, you can use normal food coloring. The chocolate will split, but if you stir in a few drops of canola/vegetable/coconut oil, it should come back together.
I recommend piping the face designs on parchment/wax paper, letting them harden, then using tweezers to place the decorations onto your flan.
Enjoy!
For easier clean up, I suggest pouring very hot (almost boiling!) water into your llanera and letting it sit for a few minutes to let the caramel melt. Pour this out into your sink and repeat as many times as possible!

Video

Notes

Make it ahead! I normally like to bake my leche flan a day in advance and let it set in the fridge overnight. However, if you're in a crunch, the 3 hour chill time is also fine.

No llanera? Use any baking pan that can hold up to 3 cups of liquid, minimum. Round cake pans work quite well! I've also split the caramel and batter evenly among ramekins to make smaller flans.

Baking tip:

Don't feel like whisking? My mom's friend told me that she blends all the flan batter ingredients together on low, until completely smooth!
If you're bringing leche flan to a gathering, I suggest bringing your rimmed serving dish, offset spatula, knife/cake cutter, and flan still in its baking mold to the location. Keep it chilled in the fridge. When you're ready to serve, invert the flan onto your serving dish. It's much easier to transport the flan while it's in its mold, rather than carrying a container where the flan may slide around and break, with caramel dripping everywhere!

Storage instructions:

Refrigeration instructions: Store flan slices in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Freezing instructions: Store flan slices in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Let thaw in fridge overnight or on the counter for 30-45 minutes.

Nutrition