If your friends ask you to prepare a flan, add something that helps make it even better: cajeta In mexico and central america they call it cajeta. In chile it is known as manjar de leche or manjar blanco, in venezuela and colombia its the famous arequipe and in argentina its dulce de leche. But how did flan and caramel ever come together? Flans origins date back to the roman empire. It was prepared with milk, eggs and pepper, and believe it or not, it was even sweeter than the recipe we know today, because it was also made with honey. Mexico adopted this rich dessert, and added not only chocolate, coffee and corn, but also a rich, cooked caramel. The name cajeta (dulce de leche) came about because of the wooden boxes the candy was originally kept in. Its original recipe is based on boiled goat.