Sweet Corn Flan: A Fall Twist on a Classic Latin Dessert
Who loves corn as much as I do? Corn is one of my favorite fall ingredients, and I love finding fresh, sweet corn in Belgium at the farmer’s markets. I recently made a corn flan for a dinner party, and it was a hit, so I decided to share the recipe. Adding cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves gives it a warm fall flavor.
Making the Caramel
Let’s begin by creating the caramel base for the corn flan. Over medium-high heat, combine one cup of sugar with half a cup of water. Cook this mixture for about 5 to 6 minutes, keeping a close eye on it as it can quickly transition from golden brown to burnt. Remember, the key to perfect caramel is attentiveness! It can go from perfect to burnt in a blink of an eye.
Once the caramel reaches a beautiful golden color, carefully pour it into your pan. Gently swirl the pan to coat the bottom evenly. Be cautious, as the caramel will be very hot!
Preparing the Corn
While the caramel simmers, prepare the corn. Simply use a sharp knife to remove the kernels from the cob. Don’t worry about getting perfect kernels; we’ll blend them later. You can also use frozen sweet corn kernels if you can’t find fresh corn.
Cooking the Corn with Milk and Spices
In a heavy saucepan, combine one and a half cups of evaporated milk, the corn kernels, and your spices – cinnamon and nutmeg. Cook this over medium heat for about 5 minutes to warm the milk, soften the corn, and infuse those lovely spice flavors. The scent is heavenly! Before blending, remove the cinnamon sticks and cloves.
Blending the Corn Flan Mixture
After removing the spices, transfer the corn and milk mixture to a blender. Blend for about 3-4 minutes until perfectly smooth. The timing depends on the strength of your blender. You guys know that by now, I swear by my Vitamix! Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve to catch any remaining corn particles.
Now, combine all the remaining ingredients of the corn flan in the blender. Ensure the corn-milk mixture isn’t too hot, as we’ll add raw eggs. Add the condensed milk for sweetness and a dash of salt to balance the flavors. Finally, add the eggs! These are essential for that classic flan texture. Blend everything for another 3-4 minutes until completely smooth.
Baking the Corn Flan
Remember, we only have one shot at getting this right! Place your corn flan pan in a larger pan. This creates a bain-marie, which ensures even cooking and prevents cracking. This step is crucial for a perfect flan.
Carefully pour the flan mixture into the pan. Now, place the larger pan in the oven. Add water to the outer pan, filling it halfway. Then, loosely cover it with tin foil for the first 15 minutes of baking. For the last 15 minutes, bake it uncovered.
The Grand Finale: Flipping the Flan
The moment of truth has arrived! Our corn flan is done, and it’s time for the grand flip. First, use a butter knife to loosen the edges of the flan. See the caramel oozing up? That’s a good sign! Then, carefully flip it onto a tray or serving dish.
And there you have it! A beautiful and delicious corn flan. Check out my passion fruit tembleque recipe for a dairy-free Latin dessert option.
PrintFall Eats: Sweet Corn Flan Recipe
Corn flan is a variation of the classic flan, which uses milk, sugar, and eggs. We also add warm fall spices like cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 8 Servings 1x
- Category: Desserts
- Cuisine: Puerto Rican
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
Caramel:
1 cup of white granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
Corn flan:
2 cups of fresh sweet corn (around 3 ears)
1 1/2 cup evaporated milk
3 sticks of cinnamon
3 cloves
1/8 of freshly ground nutmeg
1 can of condensed milk
5 eggs
1/2 tsp of table salt
Instructions
Make caramel:
- Heat sugar and water on medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Once the sugar starts turning golden, remove it from the heat and set aside.
Make Flan:
- Preheat oven to 350
- In a saucepan, mix corn kernels, evaporated milk, and spices. Let it cook on medium heat for around 7 minutes. Let it cool for 5 more minutes.
- Remove the cinnamon sticks and cloves and blend in a blender with the remaining ingredients until smooth, around 3-5 minutes, depending on the strength of your blender.
- Place the pan with the caramel inside a larger, deep pan where there’s at least 1/2 inch space between the smaller and larger pan on the sides.
- Pour the flan mix into the smaller pan and place in the oven.
- Add water to the outer pan until halfway. The “baño de María” is essential as it allows the flan to cook evenly.
- Loosely cover the pan with tin foil, and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the tin foil and let it bake for 15 additional minutes or until the fork comes out clean in the center.
- Once done, remove from the oven. Let it cool. Use a butter knife to loosen the edges. Place a tray on top of the pan. Ensure the tray is slightly larger than the pan so the caramel doesn’t spill over.
- Tip: You can plate it with fresh fruit like blueberries or even a few pieces of caramel-covered popcorn.
