Everyone loves flan. While the custard is rich, it is easily digestible, and the added coconut here makes it even more so. The important thing to remember if you suffer from GERD is that dessert should not be a habit but a treat. And you really do need to leave room for it. If you feel stuffed after dinner, wait an hour or so before dessert. Just make sure your last bite of food still leaves at least three hours before bedtime. If not, skip it and enjoy dessert for breakfast; otherwise, you’ll pay the price.
Read Related: Best Flan in the World (My Mother’s)
Ingredients
1 c sugar
3 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 can (14 ounces) unsweetened coconut milk
1½ c half-and-half
1½ t vanilla extract
¾ c flaked sweetened coconut, toasted
Instructions
- Put the sugar in a small saucepan with 3 or 4 tablespoons of water. Slowly bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Boil over medium heat without stirring at all until the syrup turns a nut-brown color, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and immediately pour into a deep-dish glass pie pan or 2-inch deep round casserole, tilting the pan so the caramel covers the bottom and a little of the sides. (Don’t worry; this doesn’t have to be perfect.)
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Fill a large roasting pan with about 3/4 inch of water and place on the rack in the oven.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs to break them up. Whisk in the sweetened condensed milk until thoroughly blended. Then add the coconut milk, half-and-half, and vanilla. Blend well. Pour into the caramel-lined pan.
- Place the pie dish in the roasting pan in the oven. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes. Carefully remove the dish from the water bath and set on a rack. Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Then place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the custard and refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight.
- To serve, set a large round platter over the pie pan and quickly invert to unmold the flan. The caramel syrup will run down around it. Sprinkle the toasted coconut on top. Cut into 8 wedges, making sure everyone gets a spoonful of caramel syrup, as well.
