This creme caramel is luscious, creamy, and has a strong caramel flavor. Although it may seem intimidating to make, this recipe is made in a blender, using just a few ingredients, and a few minutes of hands-on time. The secret to perfect creme caramel that is not eggy or clumpy is all in the baking method. Follow my exact tips and tricks, and you will feel like a pro when you slice into it to reveal a smooth and creamy texture.

Creme Caramel is a dessert that exists across many cultures, and it is known as flan in many Spanish-speaking countries. I am not sure if there are any key differences between a flan and creme caramel, but they both have a caramel top and a creamy custard bottom.
The traditional way of making creme caramel requires making the custard over the stove top, using milk, eggs, and sugar. In this recipe however, you don't need to cook the custard, and it all comes together in a blender.
The ingredients are simpler too; rather than using milk and sugar for the custard, we just use condensed milk. I have tested this recipe countless times and it is always perfect; I don't tend to stray from these exact ratios.
The trick however is to bake it perfectly. It's important to not over bake creme caramel to make sure it doesn't taste "Eggy" and it doesn't have a non smooth texture.
Ingredients You Will Need for Creme Caramel
Here is the simple list of ingredients you need:
For the custard:
- Whole Milk
- Condensed Milk
- Eggs
For the Caramel:
- Sugar
- Water
For my recipe, you'll also need a large blender. If you only have one of those small blenders, you can blend the custard in batches.
How to make Creme Caramel - Step By Step
The first thing to start on is the caramel, because it takes a bit longer than the custard. Place the sugar and water in a medium saucepan and place it on medium high heat.
In my recipe, I make a larger than usual amount of the caramel because I love having the extra pooling around the custard when flipped over. This means the caramel will take a bit longer to caramelize, but it's worth the wait. It should take anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes, depending on your pan size and stove.
Once the water and sugar start to boil rapidly, stay nearby and keep an eye on it. It will slowly turn into a darker shade of yellow, then an amber shade, then a deep orange. Never mix the caramel, simply allow it to bubble away on its own.
Once you notice the caramel turning a deep orange, start swirling the pan around. This swirling motion helps reduce the bubbles so you can see the colour better. As soon as you observe a deep orange shade, remove it from the stove.
TIP: If you make the caramel too light, it will be too sweet and won't have the caramel flavor. But if you leave it to get too dark, it will taste a bit burnt. It's important to stay nearby and make sure you remove it when it reaches the right shade.
I usually blend the custard when the caramel is bubbling, just so it is ready to go when the caramel is finished.
Do this by combining the milk, condensed milk, and eggs in a blender. Also, preheat your oven to 325F.
Blend the mixture for a few seconds until you noticed that it is combined into one homogenous mixture. Do not blend it for too long. It's fine if you observe bubbles or foam forming at the top. Let the custard stand until the caramel is ready.
Once the caramel is ready, while hot, pour it into your baking dish. If you're using small ramekins, pour a bit of the caramel at the bottom of each ramekin.
When you pour it, it will make the baking dish very hot, so be careful not to touch it with your fingers. It will also harden within a few minutes of touching the pan, which is completely fine.
Next, pour the custard on top of the caramel. Then, create a water bath. Place the creme caramel pan inside a larger baking dish, then pour boiling water inside the larger dish. The water should come up to about halfway up the creme caramel dish.
Gently pick up the large dish and place it in the oven. Bake it for roughly 40 to 50 minutes. There are important baking instructions in the next section that you must review. Its best to not rely on time and instead rely on physical signs that the creme caramel is baked.
How to bake Creme Caramel to perfection
The trickiest part about making creme caramel is knowing when to take it out of the oven without overbaking. A perfectly baked creme caramel will have very small minimal holes around the outside, but no holes in the centre once cut, with a perfectly smooth and creamy texture.
Follow these instructions for baking:
- Don't rely on the baking time of 45-50 minutes. After about 40 minutes of baking, you need to test it.
- Do this by shaking the pan gently. If it ripples like liquid or water, it's not ready yet. It needs to jiggle like set jelly. Close the oven door and check back in again in 5 minute intervals.
- Once you think its there and it jiggles like jelly, you can also insert a knife in the middle to double check. If it comes out with clumps attached, it's not ready. It needs to come out clean with some streaks.
- Once you think it is finished, remove it from the oven and allow it to come to room temperature in the water bath for roughly 1 hour. The residual heat will continue the cooking process.
- Once its cooled, cover the top with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge overnight.
Here are three Signs that your creme caramel is over-baked:
- It will have an eggy taste. Over baking brings out the egg flavour in an unpleasant way.
- It will have a curdled texture that is not smooth or creamy.
- It will have a lot of visible holes all over. It's fine to have some small holes on the top and sides, those are quite hard to avoid, but when you slice into it, the inside should be perfectly creamy with no holes visible at all.
How to Flip and Release Creme Caramel
The next day, when you're ready to serve, start by running a butter knife all around the edges of the pan. Then, turn the water tap on to hot water and run the water on the sides and bottom of the pan for a few seconds. This helps the caramel to release.
Place a platter that's large enough on top of the pan, then swiftly flip it over. Gently tap the bottom of the pan and slowly raise it. If the creme caramel gets stuck, just repeat the process of using the knife to run it around the edges and running water on the bottom.
It should release, and the liquid caramel will pool around the custard. Slice into pieces and serve with a few spoonfuls of caramel on top.
Serving size from this recipe
This recipe will make enough for a 9" round pan. You may have a little bit of the custard leftover if your pan is thin like mine (which I highly recommend - you can find it here). My pan is about 5 cm thick so I had a bit leftover that I used to make 2 small ramekins with it. If your pan is thicker, you'll be able to fit all of the custard in.
I have also baked it in a standard 9"x5" loaf pan, and it fits perfectly.
Both pans will make roughly 10 small slices. It's best to serve small slices of creme caramel because it is decadent and sweet!
The best time to eat it is the next day. However, it will keep for about 2 days in the fridge. After that, the texture will get dense and it won't be as pleasant.
For more dessert recipes, check out:
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Creme Caramel Recipe with Condensed Milk
Ingredients
For the caramel:
- 1.5 cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup water
For the Custard:
- 8 eggs
- 2 cans sweetened condensed milk 2x 300 ml cans
- 600 ml whole milk fill up the same condensed milk cans
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 325 F
- Make the caramel by adding the sugar to a pot without touching the edges, and pour over the water. Do not stir it or move the pot and remain close by to watch it
- Allow it to come to a boil over medium high heat. Once it starts bubbling away, it will slowly change color to yellow, then amber, then a deep orange. Stand nearby and observe the stages, which should take about 20 to 30 minutes. Once it turns a deep orange, swirl the pan around to remove the bubbles and observe the color.
- Remove from the heat and pour it into your cake pan ensuring you cover the whole base by moving the pan around (careful as the pan will get hot). It will solidify within a few seconds of hitting the pan, which is completely normal.
- Next prepare the custard by blending together the eggs, condensed milk and whole milk. If your blender is small do it in 2 batches (half the ingredients for each batch). Blend for just a few seconds until the mixture is homogenous. If there are bubbles or foam that forms on top, that's okay.
- Pour the custard on top of the caramel (which has solidified by now) all the way to the top.
- Place the pan in a larger baking dish and add boiling water half way up the pan's edge.
- Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes. Check the custard at around 40 minutes by jiggling it slightly. If it ripples like water, it's not ready. You need it to jiggle like set jelly. You can also insert a knife in the middle. It should come out mostly clean with a few streaks (not with little clumps). If it needs more time, leave it in the oven and check back in 5 minute intervals.
- Take it out and allow it to cool at room temperature inside the water bath for at least an hour. It will continue to cook in the residual heat.
- Place it in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- When ready to serve, run a knife along the edge pressing against the edge of the pan to avoid cutting into the custard. You can also run warm water on the sides and bottom of the pan to release it.
- Place a plate with a raised edge on top of the pan and flip!
Notes
- It's important to ensure you don't over bake the creme caramel. Read the section of the blog post titled "how to bake creme caramel to perfection" to get all of my tips. Over baked creme caramel will taste eggy.
Comments
Hi! I tried your recipe and I was so worried when I accidentally splashed some of the boiling water in the custard but it still came out good. My only question is, how do you clean bottom of your pan from the hardened caramel? It’s like a thick layer of candy 🙁
The best way is to just soak it water for a few hours! Once you soak it, it will melt and come right off! I'll definitely add this note to the recipe. I'm glad it turned out well for you!
Hi! This is my husbands favorite! Can I make it in a Bundt pan? If so, would you adjust baking time? Thanks!
You sure can! I would watch it closely for the signs of jiggly-ness right at the 40 to 50 minute mark just to be sure!
Amena, I have tried this 3 times and all the time (praise be to God), I have been able to bake it to perfection. The timing is the key for sure. For those of you who might be in the same boat as I am, I live in an apartment and wehave electric stovetops so the caramelization of sugar took longer than it did on gas stovetops ( i tried at my mom's).
Also, i struggled with the caramelization for a while and always came close to giving up. But i learned that before we set the pan on the stove, mix the sugar and water a little bit before letting it cook. It evens out and helps the process go faster.
My oven took almost an hour to bake it but the key is that the texture is like jelly and not like water. It was tempting to pull it off at the 50 min mark but i felt 325 was not cutting it so after that i raised the temperature to 350 which helped too. Again this is my oven and maybe some people have stronger ovens and 325 will work best in most cases. In the end my top part did not look as brown as Amena's did which had me doubt myself but when the flan came out the next day, it was smooth and sturdy! My guests loved it and I had only 1 small spoon left for myself 🙂 Everyone commented on how smooth and even it was sweet wise and someone asked if i made it using a ready made box ! Love all the recipes by Amena but this has to be my most favorite one 🙂
So wonderful hearing your experience with this Safa! I agree - the sugar can take a while to caramelize. I will definitely test it with another stove top and see how long it takes, and try your little trick. As for ovens, I'm glad you knew to adjust the temperature based on your own oven. So glad this worked out for you!! It's such a delicious dessert.
This reciepe is amazing! ButI have a question, I have made this 4 times and it was never baked in 40 minutes. Always 1 hour and a half. Do you use conventional or conviction oven?
Thank you!
I use a convection oven. I feel like of all the times I have baked it I have probably averaged 50 mins or so. The pan you are using could also introduce variability. But generally, in the recipe, I erred on the side of caution and gave the lower end of a possible baking time just so people don't over bake it! That is the worst; over baked creme caramel!
Salam Amina. I have trouble following recipes to a T and usually end up "winging it" at some point, but your directions sound spot on so I'm going to try to trust you and follow the recipe as written. 325 degrees sounds low to me and I think maybe my oven isn't as hot as most, I've over baked many creme caramels because they just weren't getting done at a low temp. Would it hurt to bake it at 350? By the way, I love the way you added "breathe" before flipping it! Too funny😄
This recipe was great! Your instructions on how to see if it was done were spot on. My husband and I disagreed when to take it out but I read your directions carefully and based it on that. He was happy that we took it out at that time because it set up perfectly and was so easy to slice without it falling apart or it being clumpy. This is the first custardy thing I’ve made successfully! Thanks!!!
Yay! I am so happy to hear that Lindsay! Well done 🙂
I made this for Thanksgiving, along with flourless chocolate cake and pumpkin pie, and everyone is clamoring for a creme caramel encore for Christmas dinner!
The best, the easiest and the most reliable. There truly is no room to mess this up. The texture is creamy and delicate. If only more things in life were this full-proof. Just make it already!
Haha thank you for the vote of confidence Jill! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Amazing, made this recipe on 2 separate occasions and comes out perfectly each time. I just followed recipe exactly as written.
Thanks for the great feedback! Really happy you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Salam Amina, my favorite sweet even though I am not a sweet eater :-)(hope it makes some sense) my Mom used to make this for us and just love it.
I will attempt this as you explained the recipe so well and can't wait to show off to family and friends. I do remember when my Mom(MHDSRIP)made it the caramel on top was darker than I have seen ........
Cheers!!
Hi Henry! That's wonderful - I hope you do try it. If you want a darker colour, simply leave the caramel on the heat until it darkens a little bit more 🙂
Very nice recipe !!!!
I want to try it but the condensed milk in the recipe stubbornly stop me to do it , cuz i can't bear this much swwwweeet. Can i use evaporated milk in exchange of condensed milk . If so, what will be the ratio of sugar in the pudding?
Hi Mona! You can try substituting just one of the sweetened condensed milk cans for evaporated milk. It should theoretically work - let me know how it goes! I haven't tested it myself. 🙂
Amazing! it took me 2 tries to get the caramel right but now i know how to do it for next time. Like the comments said, it takes longer on an electric stove (almost 40mi).
My convection oven took 40min like u said and it was brown on top. Thank you for another amazing recipe!!
Super easy and delicious!!!
I'm so glad you enjoyed it Lina!!
I can't get the sugar to caramelize without it getting crusty white and crystallizing.
Hi Mimi - in order to prevent the sugar from crystallizing, you need to make sure that the water and sugar are not touching the sides of the pan, and don't stir it with a spoon. You can also add a squeeze of lemon! That should do the trick 🙂
Hello
This recipe looks amazing!! But do u coat pan with anything bfor baking
Hi Carol! No you don't need to coat the pan with anything. You can just start pouring the caramel straight into the pan as is. Good luck! 🙂
This recipe was so easy to follow and it came out delicious! Will definitely be making it again soon ????
I love cream caramel!!
Thank you for the recipe.
Is it possible to reduce the sugar?
Would it still come out tasty?
And by how much?
Please share your experience.
Thank you!
Hi Caroline! Since I use sweetened condensed milk, I actually can't reduce the sugar amount. Reducing it will alter the recipe and I haven't tested it! Sorry about that! But do try it and see if it and see if it is not too sweet for you 🙂
I'm so glad Dema! Thanks for the feedback! 🙂
Worked out well for me, first time ever making this and I was so happy by the simplicity of it and the ease - I halfed all the quantities and it filled the dish perfectly...
Not sure if the top layer had gotten to browny golden as it was the egg mix cooking - but it tasted great!
That's so great to hear! I'm glad you were able to execute it perfectly 🙂
I”ve been making caramel custard for many years bow and have tried all sorts of recipes. But this one is BY FAR THE BEST caramel custard I’ve ever made. Thank you 🙂
That makes me so happy Shermina! Thank you so much 🙂
Looks delicious !
I am looking forward to trying it very soon, I like the condensed milk addition !
Can I ask you what do you use the pan for other than creme caramel ?
Thank you ????
Hi Nouran! I use it when I make a layered cake as well - I split the batter between two pans, it works great for that. 🙂