This famous French dessert consists of a vanilla custard with a texture similar to flan, and a delicious salted caramel on top. It's super smooth, perfectly sweet, and so light! This flan is vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free! SO GOOD!
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📘 What is Creme Caramel
Creme caramel, also called Flan, is a dessert that first appeared in France during the middle ages, around 1400. It consists of a custard creme that is infused with vanilla and topped with a layer of caramel.
It is now popular all around the world, from Latin America (Milk Flan) to the Philippines (Leche Flan), and Viet Nam (Bánh Flan). Each version has slightly different ingredients and processes.
Most recipes usually call for eggs to firm up the creme, but here we are going with a combination of coconut milk and agar to get a rich and creamy consistency with a firm texture.
🥣 How to Make Vegan Creme Caramel
1. The Caramel
We start by preparing the caramel. To keep it refined-sugar free, I went with a combination of maple syrup and coconut sugar. You combine them in a small saucepan and bring to a boil to dissolve the sugar and let it caramelize a bit.
I'm also sharing another way to make a more traditional caramel in the recipe notes if you don't want to use maple syrup and coconut sugar. The latter version is a bit simpler and yields a slightly better caramel flavor, but makes use of white sugar. The choice is yours!
Next, divide the caramel into 4 small ramequins and let it harden at room temperature.
2. The Vanilla Custard
In the meantime, you prepare the vanilla custard. Almond milk is combined with coconut cream for richness, maple syrup for a delicate sweetness, and vanilla for flavor. Then we have cornstarch and agar that will help the creme firm up once cooled.
For the vanilla, you can use vanilla extract, or the seeds from a fresh vanilla bean if you are looking for a deeper flavor.
Here is a quick tip if you want your creme caramel to look good: let the vanilla custard cool down a bit (2-3 minutes) before pouring it into the ramequins. I found out that if you pour it while still very hot, the creme tends to crack a bit on top.
Finally, refrigerate for at least 8 hours before flipping over a plate. The caramel will "melt" over the creme caramel! It is sweet, a bit salty, and so creamy!
If you want to make this creme caramel fancier, I highly recommend making the salted coconut topping! It consists of shredded coconut and coconut flakes combined with maple syrup and salt that are toasted until golden brown and crunchy.
I hope you will all love this creme caramel! They are full of vanilla flavor, rich, and melt in your mouth! The caramel on top goes perfectly with the vanilla creme.
💬 FAQ
- Are flan and creme caramel the same? Basically yes, it is the same dessert. The denomination changes depending on the country.
- How do you eat caramel flan? There are two ways to enjoy this delicious dessert: Flip on a plate and let the caramel coat the vanilla pudding, or simply dig with a spoon in the ramekin.
- Which is best, vanilla extract or a vanilla bean? Both yield great results! Seeds from a vanilla bean give the pudding a deeper, fresher flavor, however, it is more expensive than vanilla extract.
- How long does creme caramel keep? Creme caramel will keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
More Plant-Based Dessert Recipes
- Easy Vegan Caramel Rice Pudding
- Vegan Gluten-Free Madeleines
- Vegan Île Flottante
- Matcha White Chocolate Flan
Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Creme Caramel (Flan)
Ingredients
Caramel*
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 tablespoon coconut sugar
- ¼ teaspoon white vinegar or lemon juice
- a generous pinch of salt
Creme
- 1 and ½ cup unsweetened almond milk
- ¾ cup coconut cream
- 3 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- ¾ teaspoon agar powder
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Salted Coconut Crumble (optional)
- 2 tablespoon shredded coconut
- 2 tablespoon large coconut flakes
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Start by preparing the caramel. Add the maple syrup, coconut sugar, salt, and white vinegar to a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring regularly until it starts to boil. Once boiling, let it boil for about 30 seconds, keeping an eye on it to make sure it doesn't burn.
- Immediately remove from heat and divide the caramel into 4 small ramequins. Tilt each ramequin to spread the caramel in the bottom. Set aside and let it cool for at least 20 minutes.
- In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the almond milk, coconut cream, and maple syrup. Add the cornstarch and agar and whisk to dissolve.
- Heat over medium heat, whisking constantly until it thickens (usually just before boiling). Once it has thickened, remove it from heat, stir in the vanilla extract, and whisk again.
- Cover the saucepan with a lid and let it cool for about 5 minutes before pouring it into the ramequins over the caramel. I recommend letting it cool a bit because if you pour it immediately over the caramel it will make it melt and it won't result in good-looking creme caramel.
- Let the creme caramel cool a bit at room temperature before transferring it to the refrigerator. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight, the creme caramel will set and the caramel will melt.
- To serve, run a knife along the edges of each ramequin, cover with a plate, and flip it. The caramel sauce will be on top and coat the creme. Serve fresh, topped with the salted coconut crumble!
Salted Coconut Crumble (optional)
- Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, mix the shredded coconut, coconut flakes, maple syrup, and salt.
- Spread the coconut on the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Let it cool completely before using.
Notes
- For a more traditional caramel: place ¼ cup sugar in a medium saucepan. Add 1 tablespoon of water and a pinch of salt. Heat over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until the sugar is dissolved and starts boiling. After another 1-2 minutes, it will get nice golden brown color. At this point, remove from heat immediately as you don't want the caramel to burn, and divide into the ramequins.
Nutrition
Agar comes in flakes and powder - you do not mention which is used. They can’t be used interchangeably.
In the photo it looks like powdered Agar rather than flake.
Agar powder.
Hi Thomas, I'm anxious to try this recipe. Question: what form of agar is this - flakes? or powder? Thanks. 🙂
Hi Andrea,
Agar powder, will fix the recipe!
Hi Thomas, your "flan" seems perfect, and your photos are absolutely amazing 🙂 Thanks for sharing this recipe ! I will do it very soon !!
You're welcome 🙂 Merci !
hi, how long do they store for?
About 3 days in the refrigerator.
Hi, i just wanted to make sure, in the video it says coconut milk and on the recipe it says coconut cream which both are 2 separate things lol which one is the correct one to use?
Hi Lena,
Both will work, however coconut cream yields a slightly firmer consistency (I always go with coconut cream when I make these flans).
Hi Thomas,
Thanks for the recipe ! Why using vinegar here ?. .. can I use lemon juice instead ?
I use vinegar to keep the caramel from hardening too much and stay at the bottom of the ramequins.
Can i make one large one instead of 4, have you tried? Cant wait either way
I think it should work! Just be careful when flipping it to not bread the flan as it has a fragile texture.
what a beauty. can I use tapioca instead of cornstarch for this one?
I think tapioca should work!
Hii, I'm from Brazil and just want you to know that your recipe is amazing and it's in this part of the world! Loved your blog s2
Great! Thanks for your feedback Marjana 🙂
What can I substitute the almond milk for?
I am allergic to almonds and cashews.
Soy milk, peanut milk, oat milk, etc.
Okay honestly, I wanna marry you. There are just too many recipes. I love them all. I thought I was adventurous in the kitchen. Then I got introduced to you. I'm like... he's the one!
Thanks for the kind words!
I found this recipe on Pinterest while searching for vegan flan. I had a can of coconut cream on hand so I used that instead of coconut milk. Other than that one substitution, I followed the recipe exactly. I even made the coconut crumble. I was concerned about the creme sticking to the ramekin but all four came out cleanly. The end result looked exactly like the pictures shown in the recipe! I was very pleased and so were my dinner guests. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Awesome! Thanks so much for your great feedback Lindsey 🙂 I'm glad you liked these flans!
Can I use more almond milk instead of coconut milk?
Hi Thomas,
I made this last night. I had already started the recipe when I realized I only had coconut cream in the pantry but went ahead with using that. They slipped out of their ramekins perfectly and they were picture perfect. The taste was sublime and I could have eaten another one (and I am not a dessert person). The flavor was absolutely perfect, the caramel also spot on. So quick and easy to make too and love that it is make ahead. Fantastic - thanks Thomas - love your recips
Awesome! I'm glad the recipe worked well for you 🙂
Thanks for your rating and feedback!
This looks awesome, does it work in one large dish as opposed to individual ramekins?
Hi Allison,
I have never try, but I think it should work. Just be careful when flipping!
I know you used Agar powder and someone mentioned powder and flakes cannot be used interchangeably. I only have Agar flakes - will they work or do I have to order powder? If flakes will work, does the recipe or technique have be modified in any way?
If using agar flakes, you need to use more (about X3 according to some websites).
Bonjour! Would using soymilk rather than almond, and canned coconut cream rather than milk, work?
Hi Clementine,
Sure, feel free to use soy milk instead of almond milk. Coconut cream will work as well, resulting in a very slightly firmer texture!
thank you, and would using cane sugar rather than maple syrup be fine?
Yes! Check out the recipe notes!
This is so fantastic. Wonderful Texture and perfect flavor.
Thanks for your rating Jeremy!
Wow, so excited to try this recipe! Thanks for sharing - it’s so hard on my diet to find anything sweet. I’m allergic to coconut so can I use just almond milk?
If you don't use coconut, the creme will be softer, so you might want to increase a bit the thickeners.
Wow, this looks great! I’m so excited to try it! I struggle to find anything I can eat as I am so allergic to so many things including coconut. Can I just use almond milk instead?
AMAZING! Salted coconut topping was even more amazing.
I've been vegan for a few years now and miss having flan. This flan is even better than the flan you'd get at a restaurant.
MAKE THIS FLAN! Super easy.
Thanks so much for your feedback Cici! 🙂
Hello, how do you do so that your flan doesn't crack? When I serve mine it always looks all crack.
Hi Mario,
Make sure your flan mixture is not too hot when pouring into the ramequins. Let it cool a bit, give it another good whisk and then pour into the ramequins.
What size ramekins?
About 2.5-inch ramekins.
Can you link the plastic ramekins you used.
I got them at the store, I'm not sure where to find online. Maybe check Amazon.
Thomas , it is a great recipe for creme caramel! I added a dash of curcuma to the creme. The taste and look are amazing. Together with the delicious topping one can say, “the best dessert ever” ! Thank you!
Thanks for your feedback Afsaneh!
This could be interesting... didn't want to use up part of a tin of coconut milk (400g) so used all of that and made up the volume with soy milk. Didn't have cornstarch so upped the agar to 1tsp. Then I noticed what I thought was vanilla extract was almond extract.. oh well milk is boiling now might as well give it a crack.
From the agar container it says it'll thicken on cooling... we'll find out. Even if a bit sloppy ae can still eat em out of the ramekins 🙂
Well, hope it still went good 🙂
Hmm doesn't seem to let me reply to my comment. Anyway yes was perfectly good without cornstarch and with almond essence. Will make again with vanilla (I think seeds from pod would work best). Do you use more milk to bring down the fat content? And how does the cornstarch change the texture as seemed fine to me with just agar.
Sadly kids didn't like it. Maybe too grown up for them 🙂
Great! If you add more milk, the consistency will change. It's the coconut cream that also helps the creme firm up. Cornstarch gives it a creamier texture.
I'm thinking kids will like it more with vanilla 🙂
Hi Thomas
This looks SOOOO good, can't wait to try. Only thing is, my nutritional testing suggests I may have a food intolerance to Agar. Can you think of an alternate ingredient that might work reasonably well here?
Thanks 🙂
Sharon
Hi Sharon,
You could try adding some potato starch to make it thicken more, but you won't get the same texture I'm afraid.
What if I don't have full fat milk? What can I substitute it for?
You could use another milk and increase a bit the agar/cornstarch. I haven't tried it without coconut cream so I'm afraid I can't recommend amounts.
Hi Thomas. Sorry if recipe posted long ago.
I can’t have cornstarch. Can I replace it with arrowroot starch you think? Thanks!
Hi Lynn,
I'm not really familiar with arrowroot but I think it should work.
This Crème Caramel is absolutely divine! The texture is just awesome. Thank you for sharing this great recipe, Thomas.
Thanks so much for your feedback Rhea! 🙂
what can i replace the agar with?
There is no similar substitute I'm afraid.
Lord doesn't that look great
In the photo that shows all the ingredients laid out on a tray, what is the substance that looks solid (white)--almost like vegetable shortening? Is that supposed to be the coconut milk? The recipe says full-fat coconut milk, which here in the U.S. does not have that much solids in the can. In the comments, there's one where you say " It’s the coconut cream that also helps the creme firm up." So in the recipe is it the solid AND liquid parts of canned coconut cream? In the video, it looks like it's all liquid, unless you're really shaking and stirring the can of coconut cream. A little clarification on that would help. It would also help if you specify in the quantity "4 creme caramels" what size they actually are? I had to read through the comments to find the size of the little plastic cups you used. Also-- you say this makes four, but in the video, there are six on the tray. So which is it? These are super tiny-- about the size of a Jello shot. I'd want to, like, quadruple the recipe to make four 4-ounce desserts.
It is the coconut cream you can see on the tray. You should use full-fat coconut milk with a high fat percentage so there is at least 30-50% of solid cream (or simply use coconut cream for a slightly firmer texture, which I actually prefer). In the video, the coconut can was shaked before and it was during a warm day so the cream was very soft.
Regarding the size of the cups, you can make 4 large ones or 6 smaller ones. I do not have the exact size of the cups, but I would say 1/2 cup per ramekin if making 4.