Disney Cruise Line Recipes: De La Costa Cream Cheese Flan

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This recipe is sure to satisfy your sweet tooth.  Give yourself around about an hour between prep and cook time, but the results will be well worth it.  If you prefer trying is first hand, you can find it at the brand new restaurant onboard the Disney Magic called Carioca’s, which happens to be named after Donald Duck’s parrot in The Three Caballeros, Jose Carioca. Latin influences can be found in both the food and decor.  Click for more cruise line recipes. You can also follow our cruise line recipe board on Pinterest.

Disney Cruise Line shared the recipe of one of the new, delicious desserts  that will  be served in Carioca’s, De La Costa Cream Cheese Flan. Made with cream cheese, caramel and a sweet reduction sauce, and garnished with bananas and raspberries, there’s no doubt this dessert will be a guest favorite.

De La Costa Cream Cheese Flan with Pedro Ximenez Reduction Sauce

Caramel Base
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water

Cream Cheese Flan
8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup whole milk at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 eggs
2 egg yolks
Pinch coarse salt
Boiling water, for water bath

Pedro Ximenez Reduction
1/2 cup Pedro Ximenez wine (sweet wine)
1/2 cup sugar

Garnish
Sliced bananas
Raspberries

For caramel base:

  1. Place a 10-inch round cake pan on top of a folded dishtowel set inside a medium roasting pan. Set aside.
  2. Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir until sugar dissolves. Brush sugar crystals from sides of pan with a wet pastry brush.
  3. Boil, swirling pan and occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush, until mixture is golden brown, about 5 to 6 minutes.
  4. Remove from heat and pour caramel into the bottom of the prepared cake pan. Cool to room temperature.

For cream cheese flan:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Beat cream cheese in an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk until smooth. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and whole milk until smooth, scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Slowly add in eggs and the egg yolks, beating until completely combined. Stir in salt and vanilla extract.
  3. Pour mixture over caramel in prepared cake pan set inside the roasting pan. Open oven and place the roasting pan on the center oven rack. Carefully pour boiling water into roasting pan until water reaches halfway up the cake pan.
  4. Bake until a knife inserted into the center of the flan comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool in water bath; when cool enough to handle, remove cake pan and cool completely. Refrigerate overnight or at least 6 hours before serving.

For Pedro Ximenez reduction:

  1. Combine sugar and Pedro Ximenez in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until mixture is reduced by one-third, about 20 to 30 minutes.
  2. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature before serving.

Assembly:

  1. Run a thin knife around the inside edge of the cake pan to loosen flan. Shake pan gently from side to side until flan moves freely in pan. Invert a large plate over cake pan; holding pan and plate securely together, quickly invert and turn out flan onto plate. (Caramel will pour out over and around flan.)
  2. Cut flan into rectangles and top with sliced bananas and raspberries. Drizzle with Pedro Ximenez reduction.
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Sue Lobo
Sue Lobo is a four-time Condé Nast Traveler Top Travel Specialist (2023, 2024, 2025 & 2026) and Senior Travel Advisor at Atlas Travel Center, one of the most decorated travel agencies in the United States. With more than 35 years of experience in the travel industry, Sue has planned, booked, and personally accompanied trips for thousands of clients — from first-time cruisers to seasoned luxury travelers who have circled the globe multiple times. Sue's areas of deep expertise include ocean and river cruising, European tours, group travel coordination, luxury travel, honeymoon planning, and family vacation design. She is a CLIA-certified cruise specialist and works within an agency that holds IATA and ARC accreditation and maintains an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. Over her career, Sue has been involved in more than 30,000 bookings and has personally coordinated over 200 travel groups — from faith-based group cruises and HBCU alumni trips to women's retreats, family reunions, and corporate incentive travel. What sets Sue apart is not just the credentials — it is the firsthand experience behind them. Sue has personally traveled to more than 20 countries across three continents, including Cuba, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and throughout Europe. She has sailed on dozens of cruise ships across nearly every major line, walked the river cruise routes she recommends, and eaten at the restaurants she suggests to clients. Her recommendations come from personal experience, not brochures. In addition to advising clients, Sue writes extensively about travel for The Traveler's Atlas blog — covering everything from cruise line comparisons and overtourism trends to destination guides and practical travel tips. Her writing is grounded in the same expertise she brings to every client conversation: honest, specific, and built on decades of real-world travel experience. Sue is based in the United States and available to help travelers plan cruises, European tours, group trips, river cruises, honeymoons, family vacations, and more. To work with Sue, contact Atlas Travel Center at atlastravelweb.com.