A sweet custard dessert with a caramelized sugar topping, popular in Spanish and French cuisine. An open pastry or sponge cake containing a sweet or savory filling.
From Old French 'flaon', derived from Medieval Latin 'flado', possibly from a Germanic source related to 'flat'. The word originally referred to any flat cake or pastry before specializing to the custard dessert.
Flan's name connects it to flatness - it's essentially a 'flat cake' that evolved into something much more elegant. The dessert's journey from simple flat pastry to sophisticated custard mirrors how many culinary terms preserve ancient cooking methods while the foods themselves transform.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.