Coconut Flan

Do you love flan?  It kind of seems like one of those things that you either love or hate.  Well as you might have guessed, I love it.  I pretty much grew up on it--my mom has been making flan for as long as I can remember and it is definitely a favorite back home.  I have seven siblings so between the eight of us, a pan of flan always disappeared way too quickly.  Now that I have my own little family, my share of a batch of flan is considerably larger and I cannot even begin to tell you how happy I am about that.  This creamy, custardy, caramel-y dessert is definitely one of my top favorite foods of all time.  So enough of the back story...I had half a can of sweetened condensed milk and half a can of coconut milk in my fridge the other day (leftover from other recipes) and I was trying to figure out what to do with them.  Then inspiration hit me--adapt my mom's flan recipe to make coconut flan.  It's like the angels were singing, I swear.  The idea seemed ingenious and let me tell you, the real thing did not disappoint.

Coconut Flan

Number of Servings: 6
Time to Prepare: 3 hours 15 minutes (including cooling time)

• 3/4 to 1 cup white sugar, divided
• 1/2 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 (13.5 oz) can coconut milk
• 1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla or coconut extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place 1-2 Tbsp of sugar in a small skillet over medium-low heat.  Let it melt, shaking the pan as needed to evenly distribute the sugar.  Watch it carefully because it will burn quickly.  Once all the sugar is melted and caramel colored, pour it into an 8 oz ramekin, making sure it coats the bottom.  Repeat this process five more times so you have six ramekins with caramelized sugar on the bottom.

In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup sugar, sweetened condensed milk, coconut milk, evaporated milk, eggs, and extract until very well combined (the coconut milk on its own gives the flan a subtle coconut flavor so if you want a more coconut-y punch, use coconut extract). 

Place the ramekins in a roasting pan and fill with hot water about 1" deep.  Bake until custard is set, about 1 hour.  A knife inserted in the center should come out clean (a few custardy bits are ok, but definitely not liquid).  Remove the ramekins from the water bath and let cool for a few minutes.  Run a knife around the edge, place a plate or bowl over the top of the ramekin, and flip over to invert the flan onto the plate/bowl.  Refrigerate for about 2 hours to chill completely.  (Or, you know, try it warm if you have the patience of a three-year-old.  I may or may not have tried it warm on several occasions and you probably won't regret it.)

Source: adapted from my mom's flan recipe