Classic Puerto Rican flan de queso is a thing of beauty. While most traditional flan is made with a mix of milk and eggs, the Puerto Rican version includes cream cheese for even more lusciousness and tang. The canned pumpkin and warm spices here add autumnal warmth. You’ll start by making a quick caramel, which might sound scary but is as simple as can be. Just cook water and sugar until the mixture is a deep dark amber color. (Don’t stir the caramel; give it a gentle swirl instead.) You’ll pour that into a cake pan, then top it with a simple flan mixture (made entirely in the blender) and send it off into the oven, where it will bake gently in a bain-marie, or water bath. You’ll know the flan is done when it jiggles in the center like Jell-O. A delicate wobble means it’s perfectly cooked, while a dramatic slosh means it needs a bit longer. Once cooled, you’ll invert the flan onto a platter, allowing the caramel to cascade down the sides for a dramatic presentation, making you an instant hero.
Recipe information
Total Time
1½ hours (plus cooling and chilling)
Yield
10–12 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 350°. Place a 9"-diameter cake pan inside a large baking dish. Bring 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar and ⅓ cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high. Cook, swirling occasionally but not stirring, until caramel is dark amber in color, 5–7 minutes. Carefully pour caramel into cake pan and tilt pan to coat bottom in an even layer.
Step 2
Blend one 15-oz. can pumpkin purée, one 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk, 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature, 1 Tbsp. vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract, 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt, 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg, and a pinch of ground cloves in a blender on medium-low speed until smooth. Add 3 large eggs and 3 large egg yolks and blend on low speed just until combined and no streaks of unincorporated whites remain. Add 1 cup heavy cream and blend on low speed just until incorporated. Pour mixture over caramel in pan. Pour water into baking dish to come ¾" up sides of cake pan.
Step 3
Bake flan until set but center still jiggles slightly when pan is gently shaken, about 1 hour. Remove from oven and let sit in water bath 10 minutes. Carefully remove cake pan from water bath and transfer to a wire rack. Let flan cool in cake pan 30 minutes, then chill until cold, at least 4 hours.
Step 4
To serve, run an offset spatula around outside of flan to loosen. Set a rimmed platter upside down on top and invert flan onto platter in one swift motion. Remove pan.
Do Ahead: Flan can be baked 1 day ahead. Cover and keep chilled.
