Flan de Leche Clásico

This is a rich old-fashioned flan. My friend Marta recalls that, when she was a child in the 1950s, the fresh milk delivered to her family’s home, in Piñar del Rio, had heavy cream floating on the top. Her grandmother’s cook Josefa, who was known for her desserts, always mixed the cream into the milk when making flan.

The only challenging step in making a flan is caramelizing the mold. Experienced Cuban cooks often melt the sugar directly over the burner in the metal mold. I prefer