This piece is a lightly adapted excerpt from Mia Castro’s new cookbook, Cocina Puerto Rico .

When I think of Puerto Rican desserts, the first that comes to mind is flan — a richer, more flavorful cousin of the classic French crème caramel. It’s a delicate custard made with evaporated milk, condensed milk, and eggs, gently baked in a caramel-coated pan inside a steamy water bath.

Flans are a foundational dessert in Puerto Rican gastronomy and are notoriously tricky — even my abuela won’t make them because she’s had too many go sideways. After making more flans than I can count (and messing up a fair share), I developed this failproof recipe for Vanilla Bean Flan ; here are some troubleshooting tips that will help ensure your flan turns out perfectly, too.

Photography by Patrick Marinello; food styling by Yekaterina Boytsova

Darker caramel will give you more flavor.

Nail your caramel

I use the “wet” method (adding water to sugar) to make my caramel, which gives more control and helps prevent burning.…