#FlanFridays: Toasted Coconut & Rum Flan

Flan never gets old. Ever. It’s such a fancy dessert that invites taste buds to get excited about textural newness — at least for those that don’t eat it regularly. This coconut one is not a new experiment here on Flanboyant Eats, but it is an altered version that deserves a single serving plate, a shot of espresso and a lovely glass for some good, good, rum.

Texture  has been my lone challenge in converting non-custard lovers into aficionados of the rich postre. With all of the different flavors I’ve come up with (I think I’m up to 52 now!), texture is subject to change depending on the special ingredients I use. For the most part, the custard itself  stays firm enough not to separate like an ailing couple,  but soft and smooth to the tongue like newly weds…. at least in theory!  The consistency I accomplish has more to do with the amount of eggs and cook time, which is standard and 90% the same every time.

Modifying la textura is simple enough and always a pleasure when it involves a special request. One faithful buyer of many flans, my kickb0xing instructor “F” loves and swears by  a coconut flan. Not coconut-flavored through extract, etc… but with real shavings and coconut milk.  I’ve offered up every single flavor to her but nothing does her in like toasted coconut. She dances all the way out our door with two full-sized flans. While someone else might like the coco lightly toasted, she requires it nice and crispy, making the intensity of the coconut not as strong.

If you’ve been keeping up with food trends, you’ll have noted how wildly popular coconut is right now. So en trend!  Nothing new over here, though. I’ve been playing with coconut as long as I can remember, mostly in our arroz congri. Oh my. What a piece of delicious work that dirty rice turns out to be! I’ll save that for another day, but you’ll be sad if you miss it!

While making “F’s” flan de coco during my last visit home (now a permanent situation), I decided to tickle myself and play around with additional flavors. Since I love Malibu Coconut Rum, the genuis bulb went off and off to dousing my custard with rum I was! Drunken goodness here! Not only did I substitute my cow’s milk for coconut milk, I also splashed the plated flan with mas ron.

Perfection. The consistency of this version of my more basic coconut flan was a bit creamier — exactly how most people like it. And a major coconut explosion! The rum set off everything, having softened up a bit the crispier coco shavings.

In the end, the masterpiece for summer sugar coma’s has been written in stone. Thrice approved by “F”, mom and dad, the most important tastemakers when it comes to flan.

Of note: If I were serving this as individual 4 or 6 oz. servings, I’d plate it with a really nice flat coconut wafer topping it. In this case, the action of being devoured as soon as said coconut lover straps her seatbelt (because yes, she eats one on the way back home!) doesn’t call for such over the top details. 😉

HAPPY # FLANFRIDAYS! 

Eat well, love unapologetically, pray with true intention, and take care of yourself.

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Enjoy

TOASTED COCONUT RUM FLAN

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 14 oz. coconut milk
• 1 cup coconut  rum
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup sweetened coconut shavings
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Method:

Whisk eggs in a medium sized bowl. Add and combine sweetened condensed & coconut milk, rum, 1/4 cup of coco shavings and vanilla extract.  Set aside. Add sugar to an 8″  flan mold and caramelize on medium-high heat until it is golden color, stirring constantly with wooden spoon. Make sure not to burn sugar.  When sugar is fully liquified, carefully  coat entire flan mold, covering all sides, using  circular motion (I suggest using a brush if you are not experienced in handling extremely hot caramel).

Close flan mold.

Add 3 cups of water to a 4 or 6 qt. pressure cooker. Gently place flan mold in cooker and close lid. Place jiggler on lid. If your pressure cooker jiggler has different PSI settings, set it to 10 or 15. Cook on high for 10 minutes, or until pressure cooker starts hissing. Turn off heat and allow all of the pressure to release itself, or for another 5 minutes.

Remove from pressure cooker after all pressure is released. Refrigerate for 8-9 hours or overnight for best taste. Remove from refrigeration 30-45 minutes before serving to loosen some. To serve, using a butter knife, loosen the sides of the flan all the way around. Take a large plate, place upside down on top of flan and flip. Set aside to toast coconut. In small skillet, add remaining coconut shavings and cook on medium heat until they brown, approximately 5 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes. Sprinkle all over flan and enjoy!

Serves 8.