Instant Pot Flan (Crème Caramel)

Imagine this…Sweet aromatic caramel,
divine creamy egg flavor,
silky smooth texture,
slowly melts in your mouth.

Oh, it feels like heaven! The best thing about it? It’s quite simple and easy to make. With an Instant Pot, you can even cut the cooking time in half! So you can easily make this ahead in a big batch for parties or your dinner guests. 😀

Flan, Crème Caramel, Caramel Custard, Caramel Pudding…no matter what you call it, learn how to make flan. Jacky wins my heart every time he makes this Instant Pot Flan! hehe~ 😀

Tips for Instant Pot Flan (Crème Caramel)

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This Flan (Creme Caramel) Recipe always turns out amazing in the oven. Since we bought our Instant Pot, we’ve been curious if Instant Pot Flan will match up to our oven flan!

So, we’ve converted and tested the recipe using both High Pressure and Low Pressure. I think we ate like 10 flans each within the week. 😛

1. Oven vs. Instant Pot Pressure Cooker

Compare to the oven flan, Instant Pot flan turns out to be ridiculously silky smooth every time. I mean I was totally blown away!!!

Pressure cooker’s moist cooking environment is perfect for flan. Plus, it cuts short half of the cooking time.

From now on, we’ll be making all our flan in Instant Pot. 😀

2. High Pressure or Low Pressure?

When we cooked the Instant Pot Flan with low pressure, they don’t set as well as the ones from high pressure. So, high pressure is your friend for pressure cooker flan. 🙂

3. Caramel Syrup

We like our caramel to be slightly burnt to yield a deep flavor. The bold flavors from the burnt caramel match really well with the vanilla. It also comes out with a stronger color for better presentation. So, adjust to your personal preference.

Wow your crowd with Heavenly Smooth Instant Pot Flan! 🙂

Step-by-Step Guide: Instant Pot Flan

Make Caramel Syrup

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Heat ½ cup (100g) white sugar and 2 tablespoons (30ml) cold water in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Swirl occasionally until dark golden brown (mahogany) in color.

Watch How To Make Caramel Syrup Video:

Can’t see the cooking video? Watch it here.

Then, divide the caramel syrup into six 177 ml ramekins (as shown in below photo).

Then, allow the caramel syrup to cool.

Make Milk Mixture

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Heat up 1 cup (250ml) 2% milk and 1 cup (250ml) heavy cream in a medium pot.

Add ¼ cup (50g) sugar, 2 teaspoons (10ml) vanilla extract, and a pinch of sea salt to the hot milk, then stir until the sugar fully dissolves.

Temper Eggs

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Beat 3 extra large eggs lightly in a medium bowl.

Slowly bring the eggs’ temperature up by pouring warm milk mixture into the eggs a little at a time.

Continue to whisk and pour the remaining milk mixture into the eggs.

Pour Flan Mixture in Ramekins

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Pour the flan mixture in the caramel-filled ramekins through a strainer.

Then, tap ramekins against the counter to let the air bubbles rise to the surface. Remove all the bubbles on the surface with a spoon or a blowtorch.

Cover each ramekin tightly with aluminum foil.

Pressure Cook Flan

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Add 1 cup (250 ml) of cold water in Instant Pot Pressure Cooker.

Place steamer rack in the pressure cooker.

Then, put the covered ramekins on the rack.

With Venting Knob at Venting Position, close the lid, then turn Venting Knob to Sealing Position.

• Pressure Cooking Method: Pressure Cook at High Pressure for 9 minutes + Natural Release

Turn Venting Knob to Venting Position. When Floating Valve drops, open the lid carefully.

Chill Instant Pot Flan in Fridge

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Remove ramekins from the Instant Pot. Set pressure cooker flan aside to cool.

Refrigerate pressure cooker flan to firm for at least 4 hours (preferably overnight).

Serve Instant Pot Flan (Crème Caramel)

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Run a knife around the ramekins and invert onto a plate. Then, serve silky smooth & divine Instant Pot Flan cold!

Tools for Instant Pot Flan

• Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker
• 3 inches x 1.5 inch Ramekin set – we also use this set for many other recipes in the oven such as our Instant Pot Green Tea Creme Brulee – another killer dessert
• Stainless Steel Steaming Rack Stand – We normally use the trivet that came with our Instant Pot Pressure Cooker. If you don’t have one, this option is quite popular among pressure cooker users.
• Fine Mesh Strainer
• Optional: Culinary Torch – this is a decent basic torch we’ve been using for caramelizing our creme brulees. You can also use this for melting cheese, glazing meats, or roasting peppers.
  • Butane Fuel – remember to get butane fuel for your culinary torch. 😉
• Whisk
• Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl Set
• Aluminum Foil

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More Instant Pot Dessert Recipes You’ll Love

Instant Pot Creme Brulee

Instant Pot HK Egg Custard