Think of this dessert as something between chocolate mousse and ice cream.
Chef John's Cheesecake Flan
1 tub (12oz) light cream cheese product (room temperature).
Recipe Summary Chef John's Cheesecake Flan
A cheesecake-like custard bakes over a layer of caramel in my attempt at making flan that tastes like cheesecake. Much to my (pleasant) surprise, I ended up with a flan-flavored cheesecake instead, thanks to the power of caramelized sugar. Careful, that thin layer of caramel can be overpowering. Whether or not you make a successful graham cracker crust topping, I hope you give this gorgeous recipe a try soon.Ingredients | Cream Cheese Dessert Recipes Without Eggs
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
Ā½ cup white sugar
2 tablespoons white sugar
Ā½ cup cream cheese, at room temperature
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Ā¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons milk
Ā½ cup white sugar
Ā½ cup graham cracker crumbs (Optional)
2 tablespoons butter, melted (Optional)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C). Rub the insides of four 5 1/2-ounce ramekins with oil.
Melt 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, without stirring, in a skillet over medium heat. Swirl the skillet occasionally until sugar caramelizes to an amber color. Quickly pour caramel into each ramekin to cover the bottoms. Place ramekins in a baking dish.
Combine cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, vanilla extract, salt, and eggs in a bowl. Whisk until smooth.
Heat 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk until almost simmering. Stir in sugar and pour into the cream cheese mixture.
Ladle mixture into the ramekins. Fill the baking dish with enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
Bake in the preheated oven until custard is just barely set, 45 to 60 minutes. When shaken, custard should jiggle as one mass. Remove ramekins from baking dish and let cool to room temperature.
Mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter and spread some of the mixture over each flan. Refrigerate until fully chilled, at least 2 hours.
Run a knife along the edge of each chilled flan and invert onto a plate. Drizzle any remaining caramel on top.
I used four 5 1/2-ounce ramekins, and had a little custard mixture left over, so you can probably get 5 out of this recipe if you use slightly smaller ramekins, or fill them with less batter.
Ramekins can also be greased with melted butter.
Nutrition data for this recipe includes the full amount of custard. The actual amount consumed will vary.
Info | Cream Cheese Dessert Recipes Without Eggs
prep:
10 mins
cook:
50 mins
additional:
2 hrs 20 mins
total:
3 hrs 20 mins
Servings:
4
Yield:
4 5 1/2-ounce flans
