This is a simple everyday silky-smooth flan recipe that uses condensed milk, eggs, milk, sugar, and flavor extract. It's a very versatile recipe that you can customize in many ways. The recipe comes from my mother-in-law in Santander, Spain.
Melt the sugar over low heat until golden brown, about 4–5 minutes.
Carefully pour melted sugar into a 6-cup baking pan (I used a Pyrex pan), and rotate to coat the sides with the caramel. Set aside to allow to cool. It's really HOT so be really careful.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Open and pour the contents of the sweetened condensed milk can into a mixing bowl and retain the can.
Fill the empty can TWICE more with whole milk and add to the bowl.
Add 4 eggs to the mixing bowl.
Mix well with an immersion blender or electric mixer.
Pour flan base into the pan that you’ve prepared with caramel.
Cover well with aluminum foil and place the covered pan into another baking pan. We’ll create a water bath for the flan by setting the pan within a pan onto your oven’s middle rack. Once in the oven, fill the outer pan with hot water.
Bake flan in water bath 1 hour to 1 and a half hours, until completely set. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the counter for a half hour.
Chill for 4 hours or overnight in the fridge.
When ready to serve, carefully invert the flan onto a plate with edges. You may need to run a knife around the sides of the pan to allow it to release. Make sure all the gorgeous caramel syrup pours out over the flan and around the edges!
Scoop, serve, and enjoy!