{"id":317,"date":"2025-08-03T02:43:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-03T02:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/familiakitchen.com\/?p=317"},"modified":"2025-08-08T14:47:19","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T14:47:19","slug":"marisas-always-puerto-rican-requested-flan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/familiakitchen.com\/es\/marisas-always-puerto-rican-requested-flan\/","title":{"rendered":"Flan puertorrique\u00f1o de mi mam\u00e1 Marisa: siempre solicitado"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This is the Puerto Rican flan my mom, Marisa Jim\u00e9nez Caviness, served at least every other time people came over \u2014 which was a lot because we owned a little hotel in Condado, about two miles from Old San Juan. It was called El Canario, after her favorite color: yellow. The hu\u00e9spedes came mostly from the States, and Mami and Dad invited the regulars, who came season after season, across the driveway to our condo for drinks (daiquiris and pi\u00f1a coladas<\/a>) \u2014 and dinner, which usually started with Mom\u2019s arroz on pollo<\/a> and ended with her famous flan. The guests always asked for seconds of this postre \u2014 and so did my sister and me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cGet ready for your family or dinner guests to ask for the recipe. I never met anyone who didn’t love it.\u201d\u2014Marisa Jim\u00e9nez Caviness<\/mark><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Mom makes flan in a traditional round mold with a hole in the middle. \u201cThe hole makes it prettier,” she says. Her secret ingredient is 2 jiggers of a citrusy liqueur. Mom is partial to Cura\u00e7ao if she has it. If not, Grand Marnier or any fruit-flavored one will do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This recipe came from her<\/em> mother, my grandmother, Roc\u00edo Servera Jim\u00e9nez of Mayaguez and later San Juan, who wasn’t much of a cook, truth be told. \u201cShe must have gotten it from a friend or one of her sisters,\u201d Mom guesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mom recommends serving this flan when \u201cyou want a good dessert for a good dinner.\u201d If you make it for Thanksgiving, Mom cautions, you’ll need two: Each feeds about 8 people. And nothing will be left. \u201cI never met anyone who didn’t love it,\u201d Mami says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ready to Make Marisa\u2019s Puerto Rican Flan?<\/h2>\n\n\n
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My Mom\u2019s Marisa\u2019s Puerto Rican Flan<\/h2>\n\n
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  • <\/li>
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  • <\/li><\/ul>3.8<\/small> from<\/small> 15<\/small> votes<\/small><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/em>\n\t\t\t<\/div> <\/div>\n\t\t
    \n Cuisine: Puerto Rican<\/mark><\/span> <\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\t
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    <\/span>Servings<\/span>

    8<\/p>servings<\/span><\/div>

    <\/span>Prep time<\/span>

    20<\/p>minutes<\/span><\/div>

    <\/span>Cooking time<\/span>

    1<\/p>hour <\/span>

    15<\/p>minutes<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n \n\t\t\n\t\t\t

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    Ingredients<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
    • <\/span>

      14<\/span> oz<\/span> sweetened condensed milk<\/span><\/p><\/li>

    • <\/span>

      14<\/span> oz<\/span> water (fill the same condensed-milk can)<\/span><\/p><\/li>

    • <\/span>

      3<\/span> eggs, lightly beaten<\/span><\/p><\/li>

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      1<\/span> tsp<\/span> vanilla extract<\/span><\/p><\/li>

    • <\/span>

      1<\/span> lemon, zested<\/span><\/p><\/li>

    • <\/span>

      2<\/span> jiggers<\/span> fruit-flavored liqueur, like Cura\u00e7ao or Grand Marnier<\/span><\/p><\/li>

    • Caramelized Sugar Topping<\/strong><\/li>
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      3<\/span> Tbsp<\/span> sugar<\/span><\/p><\/li><\/ul>\n \t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

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      Directions<\/h3>\n\t\t\t
      • Preheat oven to 350\u00b0.<\/li>
      • Make a ba\u00f1o Maria or water bath: Find a medium-large pan that is wider than your flan mold. Fill the pan with enough water to reach halfway up the side of the flan mold. Place the pan with the water on a middle rack in the oven. <\/li>
      • With a mixer in a large bowl, lightly beat the condensed milk, water, eggs, vanilla, lemon zest, and brandy. Set aside.<\/li>
      • Pour sugar into a nonstick pan over medium-low. In about 5 minutes, the sugar will start to liquify and turn light brown. Watch it carefully: Once the sugar starts caramelizing, it can quickly burn. Gently shift the pan so that every last bit of the sugar melts and turns pale gold. <\/li>
      • Remove from burner and pour into your flan mold, so that the melted sugar covers an even, thin layer of the bottom surface. Let it cool and harden, about 3 minutes. <\/li>
      • Gently spread the milk-egg mixture over the hardened caramelized sugar.<\/li>
      • Lower the flan mold into the hot water in the water bath. The water should not reach higher than halfway up the side of the flan mold (so that it doesn\u2019t splash into the custard). <\/li>
      • Bake for about one hour and 15 minutes. Starting at 1 hour, check for doneness: insert a knife or a toothpick into center: if it emerges clean, it\u2019s done. The flan should look springy-firm and custardy-plump.<\/li>
      • Let the flan cool for about an hour. Cover and place in refrigerator to chill.<\/li>
      • Half an hour before serving, take the flan out of the fridge. Circle a knife around the mold interior to loosen the flan edge. Gently flip onto a pretty serving plate. The caramelized sugar will slowly trickle over the flan sides onto the plate.<\/li>
      • Serve cool or at room temperature. And \u201cget ready for your family or dinner guests to ask for the recipe,\u201d says Mom. <\/li><\/ul>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\t
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        Notes<\/h3>\n\t\t\t
        • Alternately, instead of caramelizing the sugar on the stovetop, Mom says, some of her Puerto Rican friends prefer to do so in a 375\u00b0 oven. Again, keep a close eye on the sugar in the flan mold once it starts to turn light brown, so it doesn\u2019t burn.<\/li><\/ul>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n \n\t\n\t\t\t