Sunday, October 2, 2011

Coconut Flan

This is another easy and delicious dairy-free version of one of our favorite recipes. The most difficult part is working with the hot water bath.

You can make one big flan, or individual servings in ramekins. The traditional way to serve it is to invert it onto a platter and let the golden syrup run all over. Or if you don't have the time to let it cool, just scoop it out of the pan and be sure to spoon a little syrup on top.

Ingredients
4 large eggs (we like it slightly more eggy, more like an egg custard so I use 5 eggs)
14 oz of Coco Lopez
14 oz of water
1 1/2 tsp Mexican vanilla
1/2 c white sugar

Also, you will need a smaller baking pan that fits inside a larger baking dish.

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).
Boil water for the water bath.

Using a mixing bowl and beaters, or a blender, blend the eggs, Coco Lopez, water, and vanilla.

Take the smaller baking pan and melt the sugar on the stove top on medium-low heat, until the sugar turns golden brown.

Place the smaller pan (with the sugar syrup) inside the larger pan. Pour the egg mixture on top of the sugar syrup. Place both pans on the oven rack, then add the boiling water to the larger pan. The level of the water should be at least as high as the egg mixture in the pan.

Bake for 30 minutes, then carefully test with a knife. The egg mixture will remain jiggly, but it's done when the tester comes out clean. Keep checking the flan every 5 minutes until it is done. Be careful not to over cook; the eggs will set up as they cool.

Being extremely careful, lift the two pans out of the oven. The water in the larger pan is HOT! Carefully lift the smaller pan out of the boiling water and let it cool completely.

You will want to make this ahead of time so the flan has time to completely cool. If you're making it a day in advance, be sure to refrigerate it over night. When you pull it out of the refrigerator, you will want to soak the bottom of the pan in hot water to warm the syrup.

Before serving, you can flip the pan onto a plate with a lip (remember the syrup will run every where).

NOTE: If the flan is not completely cooled it will lose it's shape when you remove it from the pan. It still tastes yummy, but it doesn't look as pretty.