• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Mutt & Chops

Food with purpose and sometimes re-purpose

  • Home
  • Previous Posts
    • Breakfast
    • Brunch
    • Entrée
    • Sides
    • Salads
    • Breads
    • Desserts
    • Snacks and Party Food
    • Drinks and Cocktails
    • Re-Purposed
    • Besides Food
  • About
  • Contact Mutt & Chops

Pudim de Leite (Brazilian-Style Flan)

June 21, 2017 by Lori 4 Comments

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Flan ring on a serving platter covered in caramel sauce

This just might be the quintessential Brazilian dessert: pudim de leite, better known in the US as flan.  In Brazil, pudim de leite is made in a family-sized ring (unlike flan, which is usually made in individual ramekins).

Just so you know, I have a bit of history with this recipe.

My mom would make pudim de leite, but I never really learned the recipe.  My boys missed vovó’s recipe after she was gone.  They asked me to make some.  I tried.  I really did.  But I could NOT get the darn caramel sauce to work no matter what!  See, mom used to melt the sugar directly in the tube pan.  My sister Karen told me she makes it the same way.  Well, I felt like a total failure because I tried to replicate mom’s technique and I kept getting it totally wrong.  So, I gave up.

I’m not always the most patient person…ok, those who know me well…stop rolling your eyes!  I recognize that opportunity for self-improvement  😀

Fast forward to Father’s Day 2017.  My brother Mike told me he wanted me to cook him something yummy for his dad’s day, and of course, I was all in.  I love my baby brother and his family.

We were thrilled to have Mike, Catherine and the boys over last Sunday.  I thought I would treat him to a childhood memory by making pudim de leite as a dessert (in addition to brigadeiros, which my older nephew specifically requested from Aunt Lori).  But that meant I had to research that darn caramel sauce.  Well, gosh darn it, I did!  And I delivered a pudim de leite that my Sam told me tasted just like vovó’s.

But here’s the deal.  The tube pan I used was wide enough that a single portion recipe produced a very short pudim de leite.  AND, I sincerely felt that although the taste reminded everyone of mom’s version, the texture was a little thin and lacking.

So ok, it’s not my mom’s recipe.  But this pudim de leite is the bomb.  Ask Steve.  As he ate his wedge, he grabbed me, turned me to face him, made eye contact, and stated, “Lori, this is YUM!  I mean like, SO GOOD.  No seriously, Lori!  This is a 10!”

so let’s make this brazilian-style flan, guys!

Ingredients for making the flan

Can you believe something so decadent, so luscious, so AMAZING can be made with five little ingredients?  Well, it’s true!  Please note that the whole milk and half & half are combined in the picture.

Disclaimer: you need a bit of patience.  This is easy, but takes time.  I find it easier to manage the time by making it the day before.

Making the caramel sauce for the flan

You’ll want to start with the caramel sauce.

Melt sugar in a large heavy pan (I use my porcelain-coated Dutch oven).  Keep stirring.  It will start to liquefy, create chunks of browned sugar, and then fully melt.

Making the caramel sauce for the flan

Once all the sugar has melted (which was shortly after this photo), cook it for a bit to get a rich, mahogany caramel color.

Making the caramel sauce for the flan

Then carefully add water.  Don’t be alarmed when the cooler water, mixed with the caramel liquid, bubbles and blisters, creating solids again.

Just keep stirring and dissolve the solids once more.

Making the caramel sauce for the flan

Allow the mixture to cook for a bit until it has thickened to a syrup.  Make sure to keep stirring.  Caramel can very easily burn.

Caramel sauce for the flan in the bottom of the tube pan

Once thickened, pour the caramel sauce into the bottom of a solid tube pan.  DO NOT USE a spring form pan.  Caramel will leak out and that will be a disaster.

Be sure to turn the pan around so that the caramel coats about half-way up the sides.  The coating helps release the custard when the flan is done.

Set the coated pan aside and preheat the oven.

Time to make the custard.

Flan custard ingredients in the blender

Put the custard ingredients into a blender and process just until blended.  You don’t want too many air bubbles.

Flan custard ingredients poured into the tube pan

Pour the mixture into the tube pan, over the caramel sauce.

HERE’S A TIP!  To reduce the number of bubbles in the finished custard, and to keep the caramel sauce and custard as separate as possible, pour the custard mixture in by deflecting it off the top of the tube.  Since mine has a hole, I covered it with plastic wrap.

Flan in the tube pan, covered with tin foil, in a bain-marie

Then cover the tube pan with tin foil, place it in a bigger oven-safe dish, and pour in hot water up to the halfway mark of the tube pan.  This is called a bain-marie.  Where you bake something in a liquid bath to ensure a slow, even bake.

Bake for 1 1/2 hours.  I know, it’s a while.  But that’s how long it takes.

When done, remove the tube pan from the bain-marie, take off the tin foil, and allow it to cool.  Then put it in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight.

Using a knife to free the edges of the baked flan from the tube pan

Just before serving, pull the pan out of the refrigerator and use a thin, long blade to work around the edges of the pan and the tube.  This will help loosen the custard for serving.  Careful not to cut into the custard or it will break when flipped out of the pan.

Getting ready to flip the flan from the pan to the serving platter

Center a serving platter over the tube pan.

Place one hand under the tube pan and another over the serving platter and FLIP the two over quickly.

Most of the caramel sauce will come off with the custard, but you may need to use a spatula to release any still stuck to the pan.

Flan ring on a serving platter covered in caramel sauce

After the flip, you have this FABULOUS ring!

Oh, oh, oh.  Seriously pretty.  Seriously amazing.  We’re talking OMG stuff, people!

A wedge of flan on a plate covered with caramel sauce

Cut a wedge, spoon some caramel sauce over it, and then embrace the hedonistic pleasure.

Steve’s right.  It is YUM!  And it is also SO GOOD!  And finally, it is a 10!

I know you’ll think so too.

Wedge of flan on a plate covered in caramel sauce with text banner

 

Flan ring on a serving platter covered in caramel sauce

Pudim de Leite (Brazilian-Style Flan)

Lori
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 6 hrs 15 mins
Cook Time 1 hr 45 mins
Total Time 8 hrs
Servings 8 -10

Ingredients
  

  • FOR THE CARAMEL SAUCE
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup water

  • FOR THE CUSTARD
  • 2 cans 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 measure of the empty can of whole milk
  • 1 measure of the empty can of half and half
  • 4 eggs

Instructions
 

  • Start by making the caramel sauce.
  • In a heavy, wide-bottom pan, melt the sugar over medium heat.
  • Stir the sugar frequently so it does not burn.
  • Once the sugar has melted into a liquid and all solids have dissolved, cook it for a minute more, stirring constantly, until it is the color of mahogany.
  • Carefully add the water. The caramel may blister into crunchy skins. Keep stirring until all the solids have melted back down and the mixture becomes thick and syrupy.
  • Pour the caramel syrup into the bottom of a solid tube pan.
  • Tilt the pan and work the caramel up the sides about halfway, leaving a caramel coating on the sides of the pan. This will help the custard to release after cooking.
  • Preheat the oven to 350° F.
  • Add the sweetened condensed milk, half and half, milk, and eggs into a blender.
  • Blend just until fully mixed.
  • Pour the milk and egg mixture into the tube pan, aiming the flow directly over the tube. Pouring the custard mixture over the tube first will help prevent over-mixing of the caramel and the custard, as well as reduce the number of bubbles in the custard after baking.
  • NOTE: If your tube pan has a hole in the tube, seal it with plastic wrap for this step, and then remove the plastic wrap after pouring.
  • Place the tube pan in a large, oven-safe dish with raised sides (such as a roasting pan).
  • Seal the top of the tube pan with tin foil.
  • Fill the roasting pan with hot water to half the height of the tube pan to create a bain-marie.
  • Bake on the center rack for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
  • Lift the tube pan from the bain-marie and carefully remove the tin foil so as not to burn yourself in the trapped steam.
  • Allow the contents of the pan to cool.
  • Once cooled, refrigerate for a minimum of 6 hours, preferably overnight.
  • Before serving, use a long, thin, sharp knife to work the edges of the pan, both on the sides and around the tube. Carefully keep to the edge of the pan. The custard is very soft and will be easy to cut into, which may make it break when flipping.
  • Place a large serving dish with raised sides upside down and centered on top of the tube pan.
  • With one hand under the tube pan and one hand over the upside down serving dish, flip the two so that the serving dish is on the bottom and the tube pan on top.
  • The custard should now be transferred to the serving dish, as well as a large amount of caramel sauce.
  • Use a spatula to remove any caramel sauce still in the tube pan and pour it over the custard ring.
  • Serve cold.

Notes

You will need a one-piece tube pan for this recipe, not a spring form tube pan. The uncooked contents will be too runny for a spring form pan.

Thanks for sharing!

Filed Under: Desserts, Snacks and Party Food Tagged With: Caramel, Caramel Sauce, Comfort Food, Custard, Eggs, Flan, Half and Half, Milk, Pudim de Leite, Sweetened Condensed Milk

Previous Post: « Sinful Baked Mac and Cheese
Next Post: Pan Seared Ribeye with Compound Butter »

Reader Interactions

Other Posts

Wilted arugula and bacon salad in a platter
Back yard view
Watermelon cocktail in a glass with ice, garnished with a wedge of watermelon and mint
Feature image of salad on a plate with chopsticks
Combo White Pizza
Turkey lettuce wrap on a plate
Triple berry cream tart on a table
Prepared tomato watermelon feta salad on a serving platter

Comments

  1. Bill says

    June 21, 2017 at 7:08 pm

    This is one my favorite desserts! Your description and photos make this perfect! Worth the effort to make, for sure.

    Reply
  2. Lori says

    June 21, 2017 at 7:51 pm

    Bill, you are so right! This is such a Brasilian favorite (spelling deliberate there, as I’m sure you know). Your appreciation for the description and pics touch my heart. And your validation of the time commitment is a testament to how truly yummy and praise-worthy this dessert really is. Always a pleasure to hear from you.

    Reply
  3. Karen Nichols-Rexwall says

    June 22, 2017 at 2:41 am

    Good show Lori! This is seriously divine. My husband Ronnie is all over it and each time I make one it rarely lasts more than 1 day. This is often served for breakfast in Brazil (it is a typical farm breakfast dish), and Ronnie was surprised when he saw it offered in the breakfast buffet at hotels in Brazil. Here in Europe they use the french name Crem Caramel (or Krem Karamel in Swedish). And as the name suggests, it should be creamy and that’s the way I love it but for many years mine was all spongy (because of all the air bubbles), and I couldn’t figure out how to make the creamy one until I learned a tip: blend with the lowest setting for 10 minutes, let rest for 5 minutes, blend again for 10 minutes and let rest for 15 minutes before pouring the mixture into the form. I pour it straight over the syrup and no more air bubbles, hurray!

    Reply
    • Lori says

      June 22, 2017 at 9:18 am

      Thanks, Karen. Good tips.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




I accept the Privacy Policy

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Welcome to Mutt & Chops!

Lori and her two mutts

Hi! I love cooking tasty food from scratch, re-purposing leftovers, and trying food from different cultures. Oh! And I love my little mutts too! Read more…

Subscribe for email updates of new recipes!




Top Posts & Pages

  • Shrimp spring rolls on a cutting board, with mint sprigs and peanut dipping sauce Lower Carb Shrimp Spring Rolls
  • Blueberry cheesecake shooters feature image Blueberry Cheesecake Shooters
  • Passion fruit mousse on doilies Passion Fruit Mousse – Quick and Simple
  • Feature image of the Béarnaise compound butter, with a slice cutt off, on a an antique cutting board. Béarnaise Compound Butter – The Flavor of Béarnaise Sauce without the Fuss
  • Kolache featured image Sausage Kolaches
  • Baked Portuguese pizza with one slice cut, portrait orientation Portuguese Pizza (Pizza à Portuguesa)
  • Baked parmesan and panko tilapia feature image Baked Tilapia with Parmesan and Panko Crust
  • Salmon and herb pizza feature image Salmon and Herb Pizza
  • Pizza biancaneve cut with a slice being served Pizza Biancaneve (White Pizza)
  • Balsamic fried cabbage in a serving bowl, feature image Balsamic Fried Cabbage with Applewood Smoked Bacon
  • Flatbread pizza feature image Flatbread Pizza with Beef, Mushroom, and Caramelized Onions
  • Feature image of plated cioppino in a bowl with grilled sourdough crostini Easy Cioppino – A Delicious Seafood Stew
  • Pork tenderloin sandwich with fries Iowa-Style Pork Tenderloin Sandwich
  • Brazilian Beef Stroganoff Brazilian Beef Stroganoff (Estrogonofe de Carne)
  • Platter of boneless, skinless chicken thighs Grilled, Boneless Chicken Thighs
  • Carrot Cake with Apricot Filling Carrot Cake with Apricot Filling
  • Pate chaud featured image Pate Chaud (Bánh Patê Sô)
  • Sliced sausage breakfast pizza on a pizza peel Sausage Breakfast Pizza with Country Gravy
  • Shrimp stuffed mushrooms Shrimp Stuffed Mushrooms
  • Feature image of polenta on a platter next to a glass of chardonnay Lori’s Fried Polenta

Search

Archives

By Category

By Date

Footer

Connect

Lori is a self-taught cook, homemaker, and a refugee from the corporate world. Read More…

Terms and Conditions
Privacy Policy
Cookie Information
Privacy Tools

© Lori Kemph and Mutt & Chops, 2016-2019. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Lori Kemph and Mutt & Chops with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Copyright © 2023 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. View our cookie information page for more information. You can opt-out if you wish. Accept Reject
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
SAVE & ACCEPT
164 shares
  • 48
  • 8