Coconut Ube Flan

Adapted an easy version of my family’s flan recipe and added two of my favorite dessert flavors: Ube and coconut.

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup of sugar 

• 13.5 ounce can of unsweetened coconut milk 

• 14 ounce can of condensed milk

• 3 eggs, room temperature

• 1/2 tablespoon of Ube flavoring 

• 2-3 tablespoons of shredded coconut (plus extra for topping) 

• Whipped cream

Preparation:

The first thing to make is the caramel. All you need is 1 cup of granulated sugar. It’s easy to mess this step up so don’t be discouraged if you have to do it again. On medium heat, add your sugar to a small saucepan. Keep an eye on it. Once the bottom sugar starts to melt, mix it with a non-stick spatula. Keep mixing while the rest of the sugar dissolves it’ll be ready once it reaches an amber-bronze color (a golden brown). If it’s too dark, or you can smell a hint of something burnt, that means it’ll be bitter. You don’t want that. Working quickly, add the melted sugar to a 9.5” glass pie dish. Make sure the bottom is evenly and fully covered by the melted sugar. Let it cool and harden for at least 15 minutes. 

Baking:

While the caramel is setting, preheat your oven to 300°. Have a cookie sheet and about two cups of water ready to boil.  Now it’s time to make the custard. In a large bowl, whisk together the milks, eggs, and flavorings. At the end, fold in the coconut. 

Next, boil about two cups of water. As the water is boiling, pour your custard over the caramel in the pie dish. If you hear some crackling, that’s normal and means the caramel is set. 

The flan will be cooked using the bain Marie method. Place your dish with the flan in the center of the cookie sheet (this is how I make it). Now place your cookie sheet and dish into the oven. Before you close the door or push in the flan, add your hot water to the sheet so that it reaches the halfway mark of the pie dish. Do this carefully to avoid adding water to your custard. If you need more water, add more gradually. Bake for at least 1 hour but no more than 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool. Set in the fridge for at least 4 hours, 8 hours is better, overnight is perfect. To de-mold the flan, cut around the edges using a small spatula. Place a cake server on top of the dish, and flip it over quickly. Here’s how I do it.