Recipe: De La Costas Cream Cheese Flan

One of the delicious desserts served at Carioca’s on the Disney Magic is De La Costas Cream Cheese Flan. Carioca’s is the newest restaurant named for Donald Duck’s friend Jose Carioca (He’s in “The Three Caballeros” movie and ride in the Mexico Pavilion at Epcot.) and is inspired by Rio De Janeiro.  This dessert debuted in October 2013 when the restaurant opened. Now you can make it at home!

De La Costa Cream Cheese Flan with Pedro Ximenez Reduction Sauce

Caramel Base
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water

Cream Cheese Flan
8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup whole milk at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 eggs
2 egg yolks
Pinch coarse salt
Boiling water, for water bath

Pedro Ximenez Reduction
1/2 cup Pedro Ximenez wine (sweet wine)
1/2 cup sugar

Garnish
Sliced bananas
Raspberries

For caramel base:

1. Place a 10-inch round cake pan on top of a folded dishtowel set inside a medium roasting pan. Set aside.
2. Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir until sugar dissolves. Brush sugar crystals from sides of pan with a wet pastry brush.
3. Boil, swirling pan and occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush, until mixture is golden brown, about 5 to 6 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and pour caramel into the bottom of the prepared cake pan. Cool to room temperature.

For cream cheese flan:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Beat cream cheese in an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk until smooth. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and whole milk until smooth, scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Slowly add in eggs and the egg yolks, beating until completely combined. Stir in salt and vanilla extract.
3. Pour mixture over caramel in prepared cake pan set inside the roasting pan. Open oven and place the roasting pan on the center oven rack. Carefully pour boiling water into roasting pan until water reaches halfway up the cake pan.
4. Bake until a knife inserted into the center of the flan comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool in water bath; when cool enough to handle, remove cake pan and cool completely. Refrigerate overnight or at least 6 hours before serving.

For Pedro Ximenez reduction:

1. Combine sugar and Pedro Ximenez in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until mixture is reduced by one-third, about 20 to 30 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature before serving.

Assembly:

1. Run a thin knife around the inside edge of the cake pan to loosen flan. Shake pan gently from side to side until flan moves freely in pan. Invert a large plate over cake pan; holding pan and plate securely together, quickly invert and turn out flan onto plate. (Caramel will pour out over and around flan.)
2. Cut flan into rectangles and top with sliced bananas and raspberries. Drizzle with Pedro Ximenez reduction.

Will you be making this delicious dessert at home? We’d love to hear about it!