Coconut Flan Recipe

How to make it

---

• Add the sugar and regular water to a pot, stirring continuously. Cook at high heat until you get a golden caramel. Take out your rammekins and coat a layer of this caramel in each. Note: There will be a decent amount of caramel left over. Use this for serving when the flan is done.
• In another pot, put on a medium-low heat and mix the condensed milk (at the grocery, I usually find the condensed milk in a can with a colorful parrot on it. You may have seen these around) and hot water.
• Add the cinnamon (cinnamon stick works well here. It extracts just the right amount of cinnamon. And of course, this is the natural state). If you are using vanilla bean, cut the bean in half and scrape shavings off of it a couple of times (I scrape 5-7 times). Do not worry if big chunks of vanilla fall into the mixture. You will discard them anyway. Cook milk until it reaches boiling. Remove the cinnamon stick (vanilla scraps will be removed later). Turn off heat.
• Immediately beat the egg yolks in a bowl. Pour milk into eggs and stir continuously and thoroughly. Grate zest of 1 lime into mixture. You may add just a pinch of its juice (just a pinch! We don't want this to be lime, but coconut flan!). Mix a bit. Let this sit for 5-10 minutes.
• Pour coconut milk in separate, large bowl. Add the previous mixture here. Mix well, then strain (put a strainer on top of another bowl). The vanilla shavings will be left in the strainer.
• Pour the mixture into your caramelized rammekins. Bake them in a water bath (get a large baking pan that is deep. Fill water 3/4 of the way. Place the rammekins in here to bake. This is called a "water bath") for 30 minutes at 350°F. To take flan out of rammekin: Using a wet knife, lightly poke around the very edges of the dessert that is inside the rammekin. On a large serving platter when this first step is completed, flip the rammekins over and pat slightly until each flan is out. Put this into refrigerator since it is a dessert that should be served chilled.
• SERVING SUGGESTION: When dessert is calling, take out your serving platter with the arrangement of coconut flans. Pour the remaining caramel AROUND each flan (don't pour on top; the flan IS the shining star). You should see a pool of caramel in this serving platter. If you have coconut shavings, place some onto the centers of each flan. Add a mint leaf as well. Enjoy!