Dairy-free coconut flan

After last week's coconutty adventure I had a few opened cans of coconut milk and cream in the fridge that I just had to use (or lose). As I sifted in Google for coconut milk recipes I saw a recipe for flan. Being of a Latino heritage I know flan all too well. It's eggy, sugary, milky goodness. How can I possibly make it just a little more guiltless without losing out on the flavor and texture? 

I had a eureka moment and grabbed my leftover coconut and got to work.

For starters, I used a combination of the coconut cream and coconut milk instead of evaporated and condensed milks. Then, instead of white sugar I used a 50/50 combination of coconut sugar and raw honey for the sweet topping as well as the custard. Finally, instead of the 6-8 eggs a traditional flan recipe calls for I used only 4.

I'm rather pleased with the result. The texture is smooth and velvety. It lost nothing of the sweetness and flavor a traditional flan has. As a matter of fact, the honey gave it an extra sweet kick. I may just dial the honey back a tad when trying this recipe again.

Now in terms of the density of the custard, people have their preferences, I tend to like the thicker, almost cheesecake-like flans. Some like the delicate custard version. This recipe definitely gives us the delicate custard variety. 

My biggest advice though is to refrigerate the baked custard for at least 4 hours. This allows for the flan to set and the flavors to bloom. I was super greedy and tried to have a bite before actually putting it in the fridge and almost thought this was a baking fail. The custard was falling apart and it was incredibly sweet. How amazing an overnight chill in the fridge is!

And lastly, be sure to enjoy with a cup of strong coffee..

Ingredients:

1 can of coconut cream

3/4 can of coconut milk or

2 cups of coconut cream/milk mixture

1/3 cup of raw coconut

1 tsp of real vanilla

Zest of one lemon

1/2 cup honey (I'd do 1/4 cup next time)

1/2 cup coconut sugar

Preparation:

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees

In a saucepan, heat the coconut milks with a 1/4 cup coconut sugar and about an 1/8 cup of honey (I originally used about a 1/4 cup, but I'd dial back on the sweetness). One the milks start bubbling, remove from heat and let cool for 5-10 minutes. Add the tsp. vanilla and zest.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs then whisk into the coconut-sugar mixture.

Take half of the 1/3 cup of raw coconut and toast if desired. Combine with the raw coconut and whisk into the mixture.

Bake for 45-50 minutes.

Once baked, remove from oven and let cool. Once cooled, refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Coconut-banana pudding

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Wow it's been three years since my last post! Boy does time fly. But I'm back and  stocked with a bounty of new recipes!

To kick things off I'm keeping it simple, a different take on the classic banana pudding.

Even though banana pudding isn't exactly a "sinful" dessert I wanted to take a stab at reducing the fat, sugar and make it flourless. As a extra special add on I've made a delicious whipped topping made of coconut cream versus heavy cream. For all you lactose-intolerant foodies, this is for you!

The only thing that isn't homemade are of course the Nilla wafers. I can certainly bake those from scratch as well - but that's for another day's post!

And now for the recipe - believe me, you'll love this sweet alternative!

Coconut-banana pudding

Adapted from the classic Nilla back-of-the-box recipe

For the pudding:

1/2 cup of coconut palm sugar

1/3 cup corn starch

3 tbs. coconut flour
3 cups coconut milk
3 egg yolks

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

3 ripe bananas

3 tbs. raw coconut, toasted

In a double boiler mix the sugar, corn starch and coconut flour. Add the coconut milk. Slowly add the egg yolks while whisking so the eggs won't "cook."
Mash one banana and add it to the mixture.
Add one tablespoon of toasted coconut
Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla.

Cook for 15-20 minutes, whisking every few minutes until the mixture thickens in consistency, like pudding.

While the pudding is cooking, add parchment paper to a baking dish and spray Pam.
Once the pudding is ready, add enough to coat the bottom of the dish. Arrange slices of bananas and nilla wafers on top. Add another layer of pudding. Feel free to arrange more Nilla wafers on top or leave as is.

Place the baking dish in a 350 degree oven and bake for 15-20 minutes.

After baking, remove from the oven and let cool. Once the pudding cools, place in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight.

Once you're ready to eat, scoop up some pudding onto a cup and garnish with more Nilla wafers, bananas, toasted coconut and whipped topping (recipe below). Enjoy!

For the whipped topping:

1 cup coconut cream

2 tbs. powdered sugar or coconut sugar

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

beat one cup of coconut cream with 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla for 3 minutes or until fluffy.