Coconut Flan - No Bake and Vegan
This is my husband’s all-time favorite dessert, and up until COVID, he could have it anytime he wanted at his favorite Mexican restaurant, Abuelo’s. After the restaurant closed, my daughter and I attempted to make flan at home several times. I happened to stumble upon this recipe, which appeared relatively simple to the ones we had explored before. The recipe is a copycat recipe with slight modifications and the credit goes to Minimalist Baker. This dairy-free recipe has made flan an enjoyable delicacy for both me and my husband.
RECIPE FOR COCONUT FLAN
Ingredients:
NOTE: YOU WILL NEED 4-5 ONE CUP PYREX GLASS CONTAINERS.
To make Caramel (one string paggu)
Coconut Sugar - 1/3 cup
Salt - 2 pinches
Vanilla Extract - 1/2 tsp
Water - 1 tbsp
To make Flan (Custard)
Corn Starch - 2 tbsp
Salt - 2 pinches
Agar-agar powder - 1 tsp
Maple Syrup - 1/3 to 1/2 cup
Vanilla Extract - 4 tsp
Full Fat Coconut Milk - 2 cans
Instructions to make Caramel:
Take a thick bottom pan. Add coconut sugar, salt, vanilla extract, and water.
Heat this up on a medium flame and keep stirring until the sugar dissolves and starts to bubble and thicken. It takes almost 3 minutes. To test the consistency, use your index finger and thumb to dip into the caramelized sugar and separate. If there is one string when you separate, you can turn off the flame.
After it is done, distribute the caramel into your cups equally. This will cool down and harden quickly so ensure that this is done immediately after switching off the stove.
Instructions to make Custard:
Take a thick bottom pan. Add cornstarch, agar-agar powder, maple syrup, and vanilla extract and whisk the ingredients together. It is okay if few small lumps remain.
Add the coconut milk to the pan and whisk vigorously until well combined.
Put the saucepan on high heat. Mix continuously until the mixture comes to boil, keep stirring until the mixture reaches condensed milk consistency. This step should take around 5 to 8 minutes.
Now distribute the mixture evenly into the cups on top of the caramel
Let it cool down for 5 to 10 minutes and then refrigerate for 3 hours to 4 hours
You are now ready to enjoy the “No -Bake Coconut Flan”!
Tips & Tricks
If you are increasing the coconut sugar to 1/2 cup increase the water by 1 to 2 teaspoons and not more
You can add toppings to your flan such as shredded coconut flakes or a drizzle of maple syrup.
The amount of sweet depends on the individual, so experiment a few times to find the right amount of sugar and maple syrup that satisfies your sweet tooth.
To transfer the flan from cup to plate (as shown in cover picture), I used a knife to cut around the flan and turned the Pyrex glass container upside down on a plate to make sure the flan comes out in a shape.