This simple Flan de Coco (or coconut flan) is an easy dessert to prepare all year round with pantry ingredients! The caramel sauce on top complements perfectly this Latino silky custard.
The best part of this recipe is that most of the ingredients might be in your kitchen! This dessert uses canned coconut milk and condensed milk, sugar, shredded coconut, and fresh eggs. That's it.
If you want to also try the original Cuban flan, you should bake this one. These are great options if you celebrate Cinco de Mayo or just would like to travel through the flavors! In the same category, you can try the classic French creme brulee or the Vanilla egg custard.
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📋 Ingredients & Equipment Needed
The ingredients used in this recipe are simple, affordable, and accessible.
- Sweetened condensed milk: There is no way around it, this is a staple in the recipe.
- Coconut Milk: It adds more coconutty flavor but you can swap for evaporated milk if you wish
- Shredded coconut: If you are using coconut milk, it can be okay to skip it and maybe put some coconut flakes on top of the flan instead.
Useful utensils to bake:
- A pot
- A large mixing bowl
- A whisk
- An oven-safe baking dish, I use an 8-inch cake pan
⏲️ How To Prepare It?
This dessert is relatively quick to prepare. You just need to add one ingredient after the other and mix in between. That's about it!
First, let's prepare the caramel. In the pot, pour the sugar and water and bring it to a boil over medium heat. It will take 7-8 minutes to become a golden caramel. Do not walk away from the pot once it has reached a boil.
TIP: Do not stir, just jiggle the pot by holding the handle.
Now, pour the caramel into your oven dish and QUICKLY spread it around in the dish by moving the dish.
Next, in a bowl, beat the eggs until you obtain a uniform yellow tone (picture 1). Then, add in the coconut milk, condensed milk, and the shredded coconut and mix some more (picture 2).
Lastly, pour it into your oven dish, on top of the caramel. Place your dish on a baking sheet and pour water into the baking sheet to create a water bath. Bake for 50 minutes at 350F.
Water-bath ou 'Bain-marie' promotes a slow and even cooking for your flan.
Controversial opinion: I don't always do it and my flan does not crack. If you have ever done my Classic Cuban flan recipe, you know that I just place the flan pan right in the oven.
📖 Variations
Since there are not a lot of ingredients in this coconut flan recipe, there are not a whole lot of substitutions you can do.
Coconut milk: You can use evaporated milk if you prefer. The flavour of coconut will still be there but not as pronounced.
Coconut extract: If you are not using coconut milk, you can enhance the flavour by adding a few drops.
Toasted coconut flakes: for an extra crunch and a cute garnish, add some pieces of shaved coconut to your flan.
💭 Recipe FAQs
Your flan needs to cook slowly and evenly. Do not put your oven higher and less time to be faster.
Not really, a flan is typically accompanied by caramel and is cooked in the oven. However, a pudding is cooked on the stove and would contain a starchy agent to thicken it.
Wait until it cools down a little bit and make sure you can handle your baking pan (aka not too hot) before turning your flan into a plate. You can also wait until it is fully cooled, the caramel will not harden, it will be 'juicy'.
More Latino Desserts
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating on the recipe card below & and a comment about your experience. Follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram, thanks!
📖 Easy Flan de coco
Equipment
- 1 Pot
- 1 large mixing
- 1 Whisk
- 1 oven-safe baking dish 8-inch
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoon water
- 5 eggs medium
- 1 can condensed milk 354ml
- 1 can coconut milk 400ml
- ½ cup shredded coconut + some more to garnish
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven at 350°F.
- In the pot, pour the sugar and water and bring it to a boil over medium heat. It will take 7-8 minutes to become a golden caramel. Do not walk away from the pot and do not stir, just jiggle the pot if you wish.
- Pour the caramel into your oven dish and QUICKLY spread it around in the dish by moving the dish.
- In a bowl, beat the eggs. Add the condensed milk. Stir.
- Then, add the coconut milk. Mix some more.
- Add the shredded coconut (¾ of a cup). Stir again.
- Pour it into your oven dish, on top of the caramel.
- Place your dish on a baking sheet and pour water into the baking sheet to create a water bath.
- Bake for 50 minutes at 350F.
Notes
- Bain-marie or water-bath promotes a slow and even cooking and gives a creamy flan
- Cooking longer and lower keeps a level of moisture in the oven and gives a silky texture.
- Use evaporated milk or regular milk (2%) if you don't want to use coconut milk but add a few drops of coconut extract
Carolyn Hetke says
I can t wait to try this...it seems so summery! I am tempted to serve grilled pineapple with it..maybe pineapple marinated in tequila and then grilled!
Mélanie says
This is such a great idea with the grilled pineapple!! Oh and marinated, you speak my language Carolyn!
Jan Fagan says
I can’t find ingredients listed for the caramel sauce. Nancy Fuller used only 2 TB of water to one cup water. I’m thinking of using 1/4 cup water to one cup sugar. I have all the pantry ingredients and excited to try
Mélanie says
Thank you, Jan for bringing it to my attention! I don't know what happened here! I just updated the recipe card! Happy baking!
Olivia F.C. says
This is a straightforward recipe to follow. It turned out lovely. I’ve never been a fan of coconut, but I now have to say, I am a coconut lover. :-) Each bite was perfectly balanced with a subtle coconuty taste, perfect to my liking. Merci!
Mélanie says
Thank you so much! I'm so glad you loved it!