Quinoa Flan – Andean Caramel Custard
The classic caramel custard with a twist from northwestern Argentina: cooked quinoa is blended smooth with the milk and folded into the egg mixture. The result stays silky but eats more substantially, and it brings protein along with it.
Two steps decide the outcome, and both get skipped. Rinse the quinoa until the water stops foaming — that foam is saponin, the bitter coating the seed carries, and it will taste like soap in a dessert. And bake it slowly in a water bath: high heat curdles the eggs and leaves the flan full of little holes.
The caramel is not stirred. A spoon in the syrup crystallizes the sugar; swirl the pan instead.
🔎 What is dulce de leche? — where it comes from, what goes in it and how it differs.
Ingredients
- 300 g sugar (for the caramel)
- 100 ml water (for the caramel)
- 1 large 1/2 cup cooked quinoa, well drained
- 500 ml whole milk
- 8 eggs
- 4 egg yolks
- 300 g sugar (for the custard)
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 200 ml heavy cream (double cream), to serve
- 40 g sugar (for the whipped cream)
- Dulce de leche or fruit in syrup, to serve (optional)
Method
- 1
Caramel: put the 300 g of sugar and the 100 ml of water in a skillet (frying pan). Do not stir — a spoon crystallizes the syrup; swirl the pan if you need to move it. Once it turns an even amber, pour it carefully into a 24 cm ring mold and tilt to coat, holding the mold with a cloth: it heats up instantly and burns. Leave it to set on the counter.
- 2
Rinse the quinoa: put it in a bowl of cold water, rub it between your hands and drain. Repeat about seven times, until the water no longer foams. That foam is saponin, and it tastes bitter and soapy — in a dessert there is nowhere for it to hide.
- 3
Start the quinoa in cold water and cook it for 12-15 minutes counting from the moment it comes to a boil. Drain, cool immediately under cold water to stop the cooking, and drain well again.
- 4
Blend the cooked quinoa with the 500 ml of whole milk, using a stick blender or a countertop blender, until completely smooth and free of grains.
- 5
In a large bowl, combine the 8 whole eggs with the 4 yolks, the 300 g of sugar, the lemon zest and the quinoa-milk blend. Mix, do not whip: every bubble you beat in becomes a hole in the finished flan.
- 6
Pour into the caramel-lined mold and cover tightly with foil. Set it in a roasting pan with water to make a water bath and bake at a low 150-160 °C for about an hour and a half, until the custard is set.
- 7
Let it cool completely on the counter before it goes into the refrigerator. Unmold carefully and serve with dulce de leche, fruit in syrup or homemade whipped cream.
Flan Every Which Way
Who said flan always has to taste the same? Here we show how versatile the homemade caramel custard is, with ingredients that turn a simple dessert into something surprising. One technical principle, many versions — find your favorite.
