Flavor-Base
Pudding (Caramel Flan) in gelato
Caramel flan (crème caramel) is a set custard of whole milk, eggs, and sugar finished with caramelized sugar. Folded into a gelato base it acts as a combined flavor-and-body paste, adding dairy solids, egg-yolk emulsifiers, and cooked-caramel notes.
Balancing parameters
Per 100 g of product, verified against independent food-science sources (listed below).
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Total Solids | 32% |
| Water | 68% |
| Sugars | 19.4% |
| Fat | 4% |
| MSNF | 6.2% |
| Protein | 4.5% |
| POD (sweetening power) | 19.9 |
| PAC (anti-freezing power) | 22.8 |
Typical use: 8-15% of the mix
Balance pudding (caramel flan) in a real recipe
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Open the balancerHow to use it in gelato
Use caramel flan as a flavor paste at a modest dose. It is roughly 32% solids, of which about 19% is sucrose and 6% is milk-solids-non-fat, so per 100g it raises POD by about 20 and PAC by about 23 while contributing milk protein and egg lecithin. Because it is sugar-rich, count it toward the recipe's total sugar load and reduce added sucrose accordingly to hold serving temperature and scoopability. The egg yolk improves emulsification for a denser, creamier body, and the cooked-caramel flavor arrives without added colorants. It pairs naturally with dulce de leche, coffee, and vanilla bases.
Origin & background
Baked egg-and-milk custards trace to ancient Rome: the 1st-century cookbook attributed to Apicius describes a honey-sweetened milk-and-egg custard (tyropatina), a direct ancestor of the modern flan. The caramel-lined version became a Spanish and French classic (flan de leche / crème caramel) and spread through Latin America during the colonial period. USDA FoodData Central catalogs the finished dessert as 'flan, caramel custard, prepared-from-recipe' (FDC ID 167574).