A favourite from my childhood, this strawberry flan recipe is extremely easy to make and great for entertaining too.
Lush, ripe strawberries are all piled into a sponge flan case and topped with simple jelly to hold it all together. It’s vibrant, sweet, fresh and incredibly light.
If you’re a true strawberry lover, you’ll love this Strawberry Almond Tart or Strawberry Crumb Cake, and this Homemade Strawberry Milk too.
This is my mums recipe and I was reminded of it when she found my first recipe book a little while back. It had a bunch of recipes that I loved, including this one that I had lovingly written out.
Goodness knows where this little book had been hiding all that time but I must have been about 20 when I created it. Even way back then I loved food and finding a way to keep my favourite recipes.
Why you’ll love it
- so easy! Just 7 ingredients and one of them is water
- super quick to make – aside from the setting time for the jelly, this takes about 20 minutes of effort.
- fresh and bright – strawberries at their peak are just cut in half and piled up
- light and a perfect Summer dessert
- You can make the base ahead of time
Strawberries are one of my favourite fruits. Sweet, juicy but firm and so fresh, I have loads of recipes on this blog for the strawberry lover. This Strawberry sponge cake is an even more elegant version of the same flavours.
Is it cake or tart?
Neither and both all at once. Strawberry flan looks like a tart but with the sponge on the bottom is almost a single layer cake. It’s a summer dessert for kids and adults alike and uses minimal ingredients. The sponge flan base takes mere minutes in the oven and is just one of those no-fuss recipes that’s great to have in your recipe arsenal.
How to make it – step by step
The strawberry flan base recipe is mums easy 2-2-2-1 formula. That’s 2 eggs, 2oz sugar, 2oz flour and 1 tablespoon of water. A couple of quick notes;
- To avoid an over-stuffed pantry, I make my own self-raising flour by adding baking powder to plain flour. either version works in this sponge flan recipe.
- Secondly, while mum might work in ounces, I actually grew up using grams so I’ve shown both measures in the recipe. Sadly, 2-55-55-1 doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, though. 🙂
Topping your strawberry flan
The topping on this single layer strawberry sponge cake is just 2 punnets of strawberries and 1 packet of jelly (jello).
What is a flan tin
You will need one special piece of equipment for this recipe – a flan tin. It looks similar to a tart tin but has a raised middle so that when the sponge is inverted it has an outer ridge running around a depression where you put the fillings.
My tin is 11 inches wide but you can use a smaller tin as well. A 9 inch tin will also work and the strawberries will sit higher.
Can I use frozen strawberries?
No. The filling in strawberry flan must be fresh strawberries.
Frozen strawberries release too much water as they thaw which will leave you with a soggy sponge base – definitely not appealing.
I have loads of tips on baking with frozen fruit but when served raw in a tart or cake they must be fresh and ripe.
Can I use other fruits?
Yes, you can definitely turn this into a fruit flan recipe using other fresh fruits that you love.
Berries are definitely my favourite but you could really use anything from peaches to mango. You could also see my Fruit Custard Tart recipe for some design inspiration.
- If using larger fruits make sure to cut them into smallish pieces – this just makes it easier to cut through.
- If using other berries, don’t cut them. Most other berries have a high water content and you don’t want it escaping and making the sponge base soggy. They are small enough that you don’t need to cut them anyway.
- Make sure to use a matching jelly flavour or a neutral flavoured jelly.
Can I add creme patissiere (pastry cream)?
You could add a thin layer of creme patissiere to the base before piling on the strawberries but not too thick or the jelly will run straight over the sides when you add it.
Or you could just make my fruit custard tart which will give you much more room for filling.
Serving and storage
- You can make the flan base up to 2 days ahead and store it in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Once the fruit and jelly have been added, it’s best to eat this within a day or two as the longer it sits the more moisture will soak into the sponge.
- Serve this fruit flan as is. It’s flavourful and needs nothing more but if you must have something, a little unsweetened whipped cream would do the job.
- If you’re lucky enough to have leftovers they should be stored in the fridge
- Strawberry flan can’t be frozen. On freezing the chemical structure of both jelly and berries changes and it will become a soggy mess on thawing.
I doubt you would have enough left to freeze anyway. Since this is so light, you can serve up largish portions of this and still feel like it was a light dessert. I get anywhere between 6-8 serves from mine.
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Beautiful and summery, you seriously have to give this delicious strawberry sponge flan a go. You won’t regret it.
More recipes you’ll love
- Strawberry custard tart
- Passionfruit sponge cake
- Strawberry Sheet Cake
- Strawberry Mousse Tart
- No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake
- Fruit Custard Tart
- Rose Strawberry Lamington Recipe
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Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 55 g caster (superfine) sugar (2oz / scant 1/4 cup)
- 1 tablespoon water (notes)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla paste or extract, optional
- 55 g self raising flour (2oz) (notes)
- 2 punnets strawberries, hulled and cut in half (500g / 1.1lb)
- 1 packet strawberry jelly crystals (jello) (85g / 3oz)
- 1 cup boiling water (250ml / 8.5fl oz)
- 200 ml cold water (7 fl oz)
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F / 160C fan forced
- Grease and flour a flan tin (note 3)
FOR THE SPONGE BASE
- Beat together the eggs and sugar until very pale and thick (it should double in volume). Add the 1 tablespoon of water and the vanilla and beat again. Sift over the flour. Gently fold through until fully incorporated. Pour the batter into your prepared flan tin.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes until just starting to turn golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool, then turn out onto a cake plate.
PREPARE THE JELLY
- Pour the jelly crystals into a large glass bowl (this will allow it to begin setting quicker). Add the boiling water and stir until dissolved. Add the cold water and mix. Place in the fridge until required. The jelly will need to be cold and just starting to set before adding it to the flan.
TO ASSEMBLE
- Give the cold jelly a whisk to make it smooth. Pour about a third of the jelly into the flan base and spread evenly. Top with strawberries. Then slowly and carefully pour the remaining jelly over the top, nudging the strawberries here and there to allow it to seep into all the gaps. You may not need all of the jelly (depending on the depth of your flan).
- Chill to set for 3-4 hours before serving.
Notes
- I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon
- If you don’t have self raising flour, use a combination of 55g (2oz) plain flour and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder.
- When greasing your flan tin make sure to get into all the grooves. Put some flour in the pan and tap the pan to move the flour all around to cover it.
- For best results you should always weigh ingredients like flour and sugar. Kitchen scales are relatively cheap but if you can’t weigh the ingredients, use the spoon and level method (don’t scoop).
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64 Comments on “Simple Strawberry Flan”
Not a good recipe unfortunately. The amount of mix for the recommended size tin is not enough. It’s way too thin and as its such a light sponge it just falls apart when removing from said tin. I can’t imagine how it would have had the integrity to hold the fruit and jelly mix.
Also tastes a big eggy without the vanilla, as the ratio of egg to sugar/flour is quite high.
Hi Trev. As long as your flan tin is the same size as noted in the recipe, it works perfectly. I make this regularly and grew up with it. Definitely no eggy flavour so I think something has gone wrong on your end. It sounds like the batter may have been overmixed.
Could this be made with gluten free flour?
Hello Peggy. I haven’t tested in and different brands of GF flours do all tend to give different results in baking but if you have one you know and trust, then it should be fine.
In the ingredients list for the flan it says 1 tablespoon water (notes) but I cannot see a note for this. Is warm or cold water recommended? Thanks
Hi Sheila. That just refers to note 1 where I mention the size of a tablespoon. Just tap water is fine.
I tried your recipe. Everything went well it came out of the flan tin perfectly unfortunately the middle was not baked enough and it collapsed. Any suggestions ? I used a 9 inch tin
Being a sponge, if it’s not whipped up enough to start or you mix it a bit too much, it can cause it to sink. It may have been undercooked as my pan is larger so will cook quicker.
Found your instructions super easy to follow, but sadly I think i made a few too many substitutions 🙁 had to fabricate self-raising with plain+bicarb (Nigella’s ratio) and use a pastry tin for baking (the kind with perforations and a frilly edge). I can only describe the result as resembling a firm yet stretchy carpet. Going in for round 2 now, with the correct flour, wish me luck!
Thanks so much for this – haven’t been able to buy a pre made sponge base locally for a few months and my partner just loves a peach flan. This was fabulously easy and only 8 minutes in the oven, came out perfect. So pleased and partner was over the moon when I surprised him with it. I used vanilla essence and the flavour was better than the shop bought bases. Excellent recipe and now I have a flan tin, there’s no going back to buying a flan base again! Thanks again xx
This makes my day, Donna, especially since it’s a recipe very close to my heart. I’m so happy you can make it at home now. I’d also love to hear more about yours. Did you slice the peaches? Tinned or fresh? Did you use a jelly topping and if so what flavour? 🙂 Thanks for leaving a review.
Excellent recipe – I have a very large flan tin, so use 3 eggs and 3 oz flour, 3oz of sugar.. comes out wonderfully.
So happy you love this one, Zena. It’s very close to my heart.
I love this flan but no matter what I do I find it sticks to the flan dish and is really difficult to remove . Sometimes the sponge breaks when I’m getting it out. Any suggestions to help would be appreciated I’ve trird melting butter to see if it helps and also used some oil but nothing works.
I recommend greasing really well with butter, making sure to get into all the grooves then flouring the tin. After you’ve floured it, if you see any bare bits, make sure to fix those up too. Also, make sure it is baked through.
I have a flan ton but it’s only about 6” wide. Should I halve your sponge recipe do you think?
Thanks for any advice 🙂
Hi Suzanne, I don’t think halving the recipe would give you quite enough. Maybe make the full amount but just pour enough into your tin until it’s about 1/4 inch below the lip. You’ll have some leftover but you could just bake that in a muffin tin or something and enjoy separately.
so, to make the sponge base, do I use 200 ml cold water?
No, that’s for the jelly. Just use the 1 tablespoon at the start of the recipe ingredients.
Hi,
To set do you put in fridge
Thanks
Hi Sally, yes that’s right 🙂
This is the first attempt to making a flan case i used a 9 inch case
i am so pleased the way it has turned out the filling is tinned mandarin
segments and it looks delicious cant wait to taste this ……
thank you for the recipe.
I’m so happy you love it, Elaine.
No clarity on quantities when adding ingredients for the flan. Add water (no amount) this is done twice.
Hello Viv, the quantities are in the ingredients list. My apologies, I mentioned the water twice. Fixed now. Thanks for letting me know.
Made linzer cookies from your recipes. It came out really well ❤️
Thats great, Swati. Which recipe did you use?
Thank you so much for this recipe ,it amazes me every time I make it that I actually made it .I usually bought flan at the grocery store and always found that they were very dry ,now when I serve it our guests are amazed at how good it is again thank you so far I have made a strawberry flan ,peach flan ,my next will be mixed berries ♥️
This one’s close to my heart, so I’m very happy to hear you love it too. Thank you so much
Thankyou for such an mouth watering recipe , Really find myself to be blessed to read this.
This is the worst thing I’ve ever baked. I followed it to the letter and it’s come out the oven shrivelled and looking like a dodgy omelette. It shrunk significantly in the pan, and even after being baked through it just flopped down to half it’s height. I’m not sure if the beating until it’s double the volume step that ruined it since it made a bubbly mess that sat bubbles on top of the sponge or the lack of fat – a sponge with no butter or oil?!
I’ve no idea what went wrong but I won’t be recommending this recipe to anyone.
Hello Chloe, sorry this didn’t work for you. The lack of fat is correct and not unusual – it’s a classic sponge that is meant to be light on flavour and texture. It’s also been in my family for over 50 years so I know it works. I’d love to help you troubleshoot with a little more info. Here’s some thoughts.
1. Did you beat the eggs until very pale and thick (creating loads of air via miniscule bubbles is what keeps this stable)?
2. Are you folding the rest in very gently (overmixing or aggressive mixing will deflate the air you’ve added)?
3.Is your oven temp out of whack (not uncommon and an oven thermometer can confirm)?
4. Are you measuring your ingredients properly? (too much or too little will cause stability issues so weighing ingredients is always best).
Without knowing more about the exact method your using I can’t narrow it down totally, but these could all explain some of what your describing. Hope it helps
Hi Marie
Made your strawberry flan. Just amazing! Could only get a 28 cm flan tin, therefore doubled the sponge ingredients and it was just perfect. My husband and rest of family absolutely loved your flan.
Thanks so much. Will now try your other recipes.
Take care.
Alex (South African but now living in the UK)
Thank you so much Alex. This recipe is very close to my heart so that means the world to hear. I’m so happy you all enjoyed it 🙂
This recipe looks wonderful and just like what I have been looking for. Would it work well if you doubled it and baked it in two pans?
Hello Sonja, I haven’t tested mixing up a double batch at once but it is quite a large flan as it is.
Been looking for a nice sponge flan base for a while now, andi have found one at last.Thankyou Marie the flan base is delicious, and so simple to make.
Thank you Dorothea, I’m so happy you love it
Am nearly 70 I can’t believe I never tried this made it tonite withe Aeroplane brand jelly Mango and Passion fruit flavor all I had tasted amazing Margaret
I’m so happy you found the recipe Margaret and that you loved it 🙂
This is quite interesting that you call this cake “flan.” When I hear “flan” I think of creme caramel. Is that kinda like the whole cookies and biscuits thing? Besides the naming convention, this looks like delicious! hahaha
Flan can be a number of things. I know the ones you refer to and we call that flan over here too. This is sponge flan but it often gets shortened to just flan. Thanks so much
Did this today so easy and tasted divine. Thank you xxx
Thanks so much for letting me know Philippa. This one is close to my heart, so I love it when someone else enjoys it too 🙂
Omg Greens quick jel is the best! Why can’t we get them in Australia ?
Been trying to buy one of these flan cases but people look at me as if I’m ?
So gonna make this, still have 4 pts of quick jel from last UK visit lol!
You can get the flan tins online or the other place I’ve found them is $2 shops, believe it or not. The Aeroplane jelly brand works well for this one 🙂
just wondering why you have mentioned water twice….is this an error?
Hi Debie, great pick up and thank you. Use it as per the first mention of it, not the second and I will fix the recipe card shortly. I appreciate you letting me know ?
I made the flan base that came out lovely and light but gave a Christmas twist and used up cranberries and the juice for the jelly came out beautifully
What a great swap. I’d love to see that – I bet it was beautiful
Hi Marie -Very Good Recipe.
I tried it with Strawberry Tree Fruit – Arbutus Unedo (which grows in my back garden and bears fruit in October/November in the U.K) and Green’s – Red Quick Jel.
With your flan base it tasted fantastic.
R
Hi Richard, I just googled Arbutus Unedo – wow! It still amazes me how many foods there are to be discovered. Thanks for letting me know about them. That quick red jel would do a wonderful job too. I’m so glad you enjoyed one of my childhood desserts 🙂
Can I use gluten free flour. I would like to make the strawberry flan.
Hello Sheila, I’m sorry but I don’t really have experience using GF flour so I couldn’t say whether it will work or not. If you do give it a try, do let me know how it turns out.
I have used gluten free flour and it works out fine!
Thanks for that feedback Sue 🙂
Wow! I made the strawberry flan and the sponge base is incredibly light! The whole thing was absolutely delicious and so easy to prepare. Many thanks!
Thank you so much Sandra. I’m so happy you enjoyed it.
Hi Marie, Thank you for sharing your recipe, it looks delicious and I can’t wait to try it. Can I ask a question (hopefully not a silly one!). What makes the sponge come out flan shaped i.e. Higher at the sides if it is a pouring consistency?
Hello Sheena, The shape is like this one https://www.amazon.com/20cm-Non-stick-Raised-Loose-Fluted/dp/B007J3JGUQ so the ridge is built in. If you don’t have one or can’t get hold of one, you could try baking 2 thin sponges, then cutting a hole out of the middle of one of them, then using that border on top of the other. Hope that makes sense. Please let me know how you go. I might do a test this way myself and see what the result is like. Thanks so much for stopping by 🙂
Thank you Marie, I have found and ordered one on Amazon UK – I have never seen these before (doh) !!
Now can’t wait for it to arrive!! I will be sure to let you know how I get on x
Great news, Sheena. I can’t wait to hear how you go. I still think I’ll test the recipe using two flat sponges in case I get the query again. Enjoy 🙂
I love all desserts that include strawberries, especially during summer time. This tart looks amazing and I am sure it tastes even better! Have to try it too!
This was one of my favourites when I was growing up so it’s nice to have somewhere to share it with the world now. Please do let me know if you try it and thanks for stopping by.