Cream Cheese Flan (Flan de Queso)

Flan de Queso! An easy-to-make rich, silky and creamy custard made with sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and cream cheese.

This isn’t your traditional Cuban flan. In fact, I believe flan de queso is how Puertoricans make their flan. And I gotta say, it’s my favorite way.

There are tons of different variations of flan but my aunt, who is Cuban, always taught me to add just a touch of cream cheese to flan for a super creamy texture. Not sure where she learned this but I gotta say this is how I’ve always known how to make flan. And now I’m sharing it with you! I know a lot of people are intimidated by making flan but I promise it’s way easier than it looks.

But wait, before we jump into the gist of this recipe, I want to mention something. As you can see in the photo below, I used a pie plate for this flan de queso recipe. This can and will work however you will have some mixture leftover (about 1/2 cup or so) which you can transfer into a ramekin or save for french toast. Ha!

I highly recommend using a 9-inch round cake pan instead of this pie plate in the photo.

Ok, with all that said, let’s make flan!

Ingredients For Flan De Queso

• Granulated sugar. This is what you need to make that delicious caramel that goes on top.
• Sweetened condensed milk
. This adds to the creamy texture and sweetness of the flan.
• Evaporated milk. This also adds to the rich, creamy texture because it has less water than using regular milk.
• Softened cream cheese. Not traditional for Cuban flan but it’s my fave ingredient! It makes it SO smooth and luscious. All you need is 4 ounces which is half a block. Make sure it is softened at room temperature. If it’s too cold, you’ll end up with lumps in the mixture.
• Room temperature eggs. They incorporate better in the milk mixture when they are at room temp. If you have cold eggs, you can run them under warm water for a few minutes to bring them to room temp.
• Vanilla extract + salt. Flavor enhancers!
• Water bath. Similar to cheesecake, the custard cooks way more evenly when you bake it in a water bath.

How To Make Flan From Scratch

• Let’s make the caramel. In a saucepan, melt sugar over medium-high heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning until it turns an amber color. Don’t walk away. Sugar can burn so easily. Once you get liquid gold, remove it from the heat and pour the caramel into a 9-inch round cake pan, moving it around to coat the bottom of the pan.
• Make the milk mixture. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a high-speed blender, add sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, softened cream cheese, room temp eggs, vanilla, and salt. Blend until smooth. Pour the milk mixture over the set caramel in the round pan.
• Make the water bath. Place the round pan in a large roasting pan. Carefully fill the roasting pan with about 2 inches of hot water.
• Bake until set. You’re going to bake the flan for 40-50 minutes until the center is just set. If the outer rims look set but the middle jiggles when you gently shake the pan, the flan is done. You will be tempted to continue to bake it but then you run the risk of it getting a rubbery texture.
• Chill the flan. Carefully remove the pan from the water bath and allow it to cool for 30 minutes at room temperature. Place it fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight so the flan can fully set.
• Flip the flan. Remove pan from the fridge. Run a knife around the sides of the round pan to slightly loosen the flan. Place a large plate on top of the round pan and invert the pan (flip it over) so the flan transfers onto a large plate.

Does flan de queso need a water bath?

Yes, it does. Just like cheesecakes, a water bath adds moisture to the oven helping flans cook more evenly without letting the eggs curdle or without resulting in the custard having a rubbery texture.

How long is flan good for in the fridge?

You can leave the flan in the same plate you transferred it to for 1 day covered with aluminum foil however you definitely want to eventually store it in an airtight container to avoid it from spoiling. It lasts about 5 days in the fridge in an airtight container.

If you have a bunch of caramel leftover in the pan after you flip over the flan, you can transfer it to a jar and use it to top each individual slice of flan as you serve it.

I hope you make this and LOVE it as much as I do!

You may also like:

• Arroz Con Leche (Cuban-Style Rice Pudding)
• How To Make Cuban Coffee (Café Cubano)
• Pastelitos de Guayaba + Queso (Guava Cheese Pastries!)
• Coconut Rice Pudding (Arroz Con Leche De Coco)