I’ve been craving flan. Something cold and refreshing but creamy and custardy, you know? I must’ve been scrolling through so many instagram pictures of freshly made flan for about a week now. But okay, get ready to judge me- because the weird thing is that I have never even had flan before! I think the pictures are always so captivating that I can just 100% imagine how creamy and delicious it would taste! Also all the baking shows and competitions make it seem like flan is such an intricate and fluffy dessert. (It’s okay, you can say it- I admit I’m a total weirdo for craving something that I’ve never even tasted before haha.)
This recipe is a little different than the normal flan recipe. I chose not to do a sugar layer because…well I honestly just didn’t want that taste or texture. I wanted pure pillow softness in every bite. Also I chose my base to be coconut cream because I’m pretty obsessed with this magical ingredient. Coconut cream/milk hasn’t failed me in my chocolate tarts or earl grey mousse, I knew it wouldn’t fail me now! Without the syrup however, I needed to add something to make this dessert POP. Enter pistachios. The green and yellow specks honestly add so much vibrancy to the dessert, without skewing the texture or taste! Overall I’m extremely pleased with how this flan turned out. I would definitely bake it again, it’s light enough to enjoy after a full meal- but tasty enough that you may just eat it as a full meal instead!
- 1 (14 oz) can of coconut cream, cold
- 1 (14 oz) can of sweetened condensed milk
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
- 1/4 cup pistachios, chopped finely
- Preheat the oven to 325F.
- Open the coconut cream can gently. Only take the solidified cream out and place into a blender. Discard the liquid.
- In the blender, add the remaining ingredients: condensed milk, egg, vanilla extract, and cornstarch. Blend on high until smooth and creamy.
- Pour mixture into springform pan or 9" cake pan. Place pan into larger tray and pour water into bigger tray so that it fills up half way on the side of the pie dish.
- Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until the middle of the flan can still jiggle when lightly shaken (like set jello).
- Very carefully, remove the flan from the oven. Discard the water.
- Allow the flan to chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours.
- When ready, flip onto a plate. Using a small sieve, lightly dust the outer edge of the flan with pistachio crumbs.
