Flan Casero (Homemade Spanish Caramel Custard) vs Cannelés de Bordeaux: Caramelized Rum and Vanilla Pastries

Both desserts lean on milk, eggs, extra yolks and vanilla, yet they arrive at very different textures. The flan keeps those ingredients as a pure custard, sweetened with condensed milk, baked gently in a water bath and served chilled, so it turns out silky and smooth beneath a cascade of amber caramel. The cannelés bind the same base with flour, add butter and dark rum, rest the batter for up to a day, then bake hot until a deep mahogany, crispy exterior forms. One is cool and spoonable; the other is a firm, aromatic pastry served at room temperature.