A deliciously creamy vegan creme caramel recipe with a "melt in your mouth" consistency and flavors of deep caramel and fragrant vanilla. This impressive flan makes the perfect vegan dessert for dinner parties or special occasions.
Prep Time 30 minutesminutes
Chilling Time 8 hourshours
Total Time 8 hourshours30 minutesminutes
Servings 6(6 x small 180ml) or (4 x large 240ml) servings
I highly recommend reading through the tips in the blog post above and reading over this recipe a couple of times before getting started for success.
Caramel
Place 4 large (240ml) or 6 small (180ml) ramekins on a tray and set aside.
Add the water and caster sugar to a saucepan and place on it a low heat. Stir the mixture with a spoon for several minutes until all of the sugar has dissolved.
Turn up the heat to medium-high and DO NOT TOUCH OR STIR IT from this point on. Keep a very close eye on the saucepan, the mixture will start to boil and bubble. After several minutes it will start to turn a light caramel color in places. Very gently swirl the pan so that it caramelizes evenly. Once the caramel turns a deep amber color, remove it from the heat.
Distribute the caramel between your ramekins, working quickly as it will set very fast. Allow the caramel to come to room temperature and harden (about 30 minutes).
Custard
Add the almond milk, caster sugar, cornflour, and agar-agar powder to a saucepan and place on it a low heat. Whisk vigorously for a couple of minutes until the sugar has dissolved.
Slice the vanilla pod in half and scrape out the seeds. Add the seeds and pod to a saucepan along with the coconut milk, vanilla extract, and salt.
Turn up the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a simmer, while continuously whisking. Continue to simmer for 5 minutes, the custard will start to thicken. Make sure you are constantly stirring the custard to avoid it burning to the bottom of the pan. I recommend alternating between a whisk and rubber spatula.
Remove the saucepan from the heat. Pass the mixture through a sieve to remove any large particles from the vanilla pod. Allow it to cool at room temperature for 20 minutes. Every 5 minutes, whisk the custard to prevent a skin from forming on top of it.
Distribute the custard between the ramekins and smooth out the tops using the back of a spoon. Cover them with clingfilm before placing them in the fridge. Refrigerate for 8-12 hours.
De-molding the creme caramels
Just before serving, very carefully run a sharp knife about 1 inch deep around the inner edge of the ramekins to loosen the custard. Be careful not to go deeper as this can ruin the smooth appearance of the flan.
Place a serving plate on top of one of the ramekins and quickly turn them over. Very slowly start to lift the ramekin, you should be able to hear a "slurp" as the creme caramel unmolds itself.
Storage
These vegan creme caramels are best served within the first 1-2 days once they have been set. Do not remove them from the ramekins until just before serving. I recommend making them the day/night before you serve them.
Notes
Coconut milk: Refrigerate the cans of coconut milk overnight, then only use the thick cream from the top of the cans. This recipe will need 2-3 400ml cans, depending on which brand you use (I find Biona has the best yield of cream)
Agar-agar powder: ¼ teaspoon will give a barely set silky smooth creamy consistency which I personally prefer. If you are looking for a slightly more set flan you could use ½ a teaspoon. I have not tried it, you could likely use another vegan gelling agent (carrageenan, vegeset), although I cannot recommend the quantity for alternatives as all setting agents have different potencies.
Almond milk: If you want to make this flan nut-free, you can use soy milk or coconut drinking milk in its place.