Coconut Flan with Caramel

I made this dessert for Steven last night, it was so delicious!! I would say this is the ultimate coconut dessert!! We loved it!! This custard is at its best when prepared a day in advance and refrigerated so the flavors can mellow. My patience only lasted for 1 hour, I couldn’t help myself, it smelt too good to keep in the refrigerator;-p And while I had actually made quite a large portion of this custard, with the intention of saving some leftovers for later, when Steven and I had finished our meal, we realized that we’d devoured every last bit of custard.

Caramel
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup hot water

Custard
1 cup fresh or canned coconut milk
1 cup milk
¼ cup sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 325F

Make the caramel:
Cook the sugar in a small heavy saucepan over low heat, swirling the pan constantly, until brown. Stir the hot water into the caramel, being careful to guard against splattering. Boil the mixture, swirling the pan occasionally, until the sugar is thoroughly dissolved. Pour the caramel syrup into 1 souffle dish or five ramekins. Tilt the molds to coat all of the surfaces with the caramel.

Make the custard:
Combine the coconut milk, milk and sugar in a medium saucepan over low heat. Scald until the sugar dissolves completely. Remove from the heat.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and vanilla. Gradually whisk the hot coconut milk mixture into the eggs, blending thoroughly.

Strain the custard through a fine sieve into a bowl. Carefully pour into the caramel lined dish or ramekins. Line a large roasting pan with 2 layers of paper towels. Put the dish in the roasting pan and add hot water to reach halfway up the side of the dish. Bake in the center of the oven for 50 minutes (30 minutes if using ramekins), or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the dish immediately from the hot water. Allow to cool in a cold water bath. Chill thoroughly.
To serve, run a knife around the edge of the custard and turn out onto dessert plates.