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    Where Is My Spoon > Recipes > Romanian > Romanian Desserts

    Creme Caramel or Flan - Romanian Dessert

    Published by: Adina December 23, 2017 · Last modified: March 4, 2022 9 Comments

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    romanian creme brulee or crema de zahar ars

    A popular Romanian dessert - crema de zahar ars - creme caramel, creme brulee or flan. Delicious four-ingredient dessert recipe.

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    Smooth Creme Caramel or Flan – Romanian Recipe

    After my grandmother's Chicken Pilaf, her Macaroni and Cheese and her Easy Meatballs in Tomato Sauce, plus some others of my favorite childhood dishes, it's time for a Romanian dessert today: the smooth crema de zahar ars or creme caramel, one of the very few desserts my grandmother ever made. She didn't bake this wonderful flan often, but when she did, I was in heaven. Another one of her few desserts was this simple Vanilla Pudding Tart that she would make every year on my birthday.

    It was not something she would eat herself, it was made with milk after all and she never ate anything made with milk, but she would make quite a large pot of it for me once in a blue moon or so. She would put it in the pantry, on a lower shelf where I could reach it myself and I would go and scoop a few tablespoons of it every now and then over a three or four-day period.

    I mean, it was best fresh, but as we had it so seldom and as I never got to eat any sweets at all most of the time, I did not mind eating the creme brulee or flan for several days in a row.

    The custard was not as creamy and smooth anymore after a few days, it would start to get dry at the edges and porous on the inside, but it was still sweet and delicious and I loved those little pools of caramel at the bottom of the pan.

    Smooth Creme Caramel or Flan – Romanian Recipe

    How to make crema de zahar ars?

    • This is a very simple dessert made with only four ingredients, something you can prepare in no time at all, actually.
    • Mix together all the ingredients, let them rest for about 10 minutes, so that they are not frothy anymore.
    • In the meantime make the caramel and prepare the baking dish.

    What pot to use for the caramel?

    • My grandmother used to make the crème caramel in an old metallic pot and I have kept one of my mother-in-law's ancient metallic pots just for this purpose.
    • However, if you don't have one, you can make the caramel in a regular saucepan and then carefully but quickly pour the caramel into another casserole dish, a glass or ceramic one would be perfect.

    Make caramel:

    • Caramelizing the sugar is not difficult, but you have to be very careful.
    • Firstly, don't let the sugar burn or it will become bitter, it should have a pleasant, but not too dark, amber color.
    • Secondly, you really have to be very careful when handling the caramelized sugar, especially if you have to transfer the caramel from the saucepan to the casserole dish. The sugar is really HOT and it can cause major burns, so please pay attention. Best is to wear thick kitchen gloves when pouring the sugar and distributing it on the walls of the baking dish.
    Smooth Creme Caramel or Flan – Romanian Recipe

    Bake:

    • This Romanian dessert does need a bit of time in the oven and you have to pay attention, you want to get the baking time right.
    • The custard should be cooked through and not be runny, but still remain silky smooth and soft.
    • The trick to get the right moment is to let it jiggle. If it still makes waves underneath the surface, it is still not ready. It should jiggle only slightly in the middle, then you can take it out and be sure that by the time it is cold, it will be set and cooked through, but still silky smooth.
    Smooth Creme Caramel or Flan – Romanian Recipe

    More Romanian desserts

    Romanian Fried Cheese Donuts - Papanasi

    Cottage Cheese Dumplings - Papanasi fierti

    Cremeschnitte - Romanian Vanilla Cream Pie

    Moist Apple and Cinnamon Cake

    Romanian Strawberry Foam

    slice of romanian dessert with caramel on a vintage plate

    Creme Caramel or Flan - Romanian Dessert

    A popular Romanian dessert - crema de zahar ars - or creme caramel, creme brulee or flan. Delicious four-ingredient dessert recipe.
    5 from 1 vote
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    Course: Sweets
    Cuisine: Romanian
    Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 1 hour hour
    Total Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes
    Servings: 6
    Calories: 251kcal
    Author: Adina
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    Ingredients 

    • Crème:
    • 6 eggs
    • 6 tablespoons sugar
    • 750 ml/ 25.3 fl.oz/ 3 cups full-fat milk
    • 1 vanilla bean or some vanilla extract
    • Caramel:
    • 8 tablespoons sugar

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius/ 360 degrees Fahrenheit. If you are using a glass or ceramic dish instead of a metallic pot for making the crème caramel, place it in the oven as well, so that it can get hot before you pour the caramel into it.

    Crème:

    • Mix together the eggs, sugar, and milk. Scrape the seeds of the vanilla bean and add them to the mixture or add the vanilla extract if that is what you are using.
    • Let the mixture rest while you make the caramel.

    Caramel:

    • You can use a metallic pot, inside of which you can bake the custard as well. If you don't have that, you can make the caramel in a regular pan and pour the caramel carefully into a casserole dish, a glass or ceramic one would be perfect.
    • Either way, add the sugar to the pot or pan. Let it untouched until it starts to melt, then start stirring carefully.
    • Let it caramelize until it reaches a nice amber color, but pay attention and don't let it get too dark.
    • For the next step, it is better to wear protective kitchen gloves, hot sugar can cause major burns. If using the metallic pot, grab it by the handles and start rotating it carefully to distribute the caramel evenly on the bottom and walls of the pan.
    • If using a preheated casserole dish, quickly but very carefully pour the sugar into the dish and quickly rotate the dish to distribute the caramelized sugar on the bottom and the walls of the dish. It is better to heat the casserole dish in the oven before spreading the caramel sugar in it, it will give you a few extra moments time to evenly distribute the sugar before it hardens.
    • Leave the pot or the dish stand for a couple of minutes until the caramel becomes hard, then pour the egg and milk mixture into the pot.

    Bake:

    • Place the dish into another baking dish with somewhat higher walls. Pour some tepid water into the baking dish, so much that the dish containing the crème caramel stands halfway in the water.
    • Bake the crème caramel for about 30 minutes.
    • Check if it is done by carefully lifting the dish from the water and shaking it gently. If it still makes waves underneath the surface then it is still not ready. If so, place it back into the water and continue baking it, checking again after 10 minutes or so.
    • When done, it should jiggle only slightly in the middle, then you can take it out and be sure that by the time it is cold, it will be set and cooked through, but still silky smooth.
    • Let cool completely at room temperature. The crème caramel will lose much of its volume when getting cold, don't worry about it, it is supposed to be so.
    • When cool, place it in the fridge and let stand for several hours or better overnight.

    Serve:

    • Before turning the crème caramel onto the serving plate or platter, run a knife around the edges of the custard, so that it will not stick to the walls of the dish.
    • Place a large plate or platter on top of the dish, grab the plate and the dish properly and turn the dish upside down. The crème caramel will gently fall onto the serving platter and the caramel will distribute itself on top and around the flan.
    • Slice and serve.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1slice out of 6 | Calories: 251kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 196mg | Sodium: 139mg | Sugar: 29g
    Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @adinabeck or tag #WhereIsMySpoon!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Angie@Angie's Recipes says

      December 23, 2017 at 4:48 pm

      The flan turned out just perfect! Happy Holidays to you and your family, Adina.

      Reply
      • Adina says

        December 23, 2017 at 5:56 pm

        Thank you, Angie. Happy holidays to you too.

        Reply
      • JAMES C DETELICH says

        May 01, 2019 at 2:43 am

        My grandmother also put cream of wheat on top of the crust before adding the custard and also at times added fruit cocktail.

        Reply
        • Adina says

          May 01, 2019 at 10:10 am

          Sounds interesting!

          Reply
    2. Kim says

      December 24, 2017 at 4:32 pm

      One of my all-time favorite recipes! Your pictures are gorgeous. I can not tell you how many times I have made a sugar-free flan over the last several months and hated the photos. You have a way with your camera and your food. Thanks so much for sharing. Merry Christmas to you.

      Reply
      • Adina says

        December 25, 2017 at 8:04 am

        Merry Christmas to you and your family too, Kim and thank you for the nice words. 🙂

        Reply
    3. Shashi at Savory Spin says

      December 28, 2017 at 5:22 pm

      Wow - Adina - your version of your grandmothers flan looks spectacular! Love that texture! Hoping you had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year!!! 🙂

      Reply
    4. grace says

      December 30, 2017 at 6:14 pm

      this is such an elegant and delicious dessert! happy new year to you. 🙂

      Reply
      • Adina says

        January 01, 2018 at 12:08 pm

        Thank you, Grace. Happy New Year!

        Reply

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