Sick [Coconut Flan Recipe]

I was fighting a bad cold when I updated last week. I finally healed up and was ready to put all my energy into writing a post. Suddenly, I fell ill again with only one 100% healthy day before my next ailment. These bugs that are attempting to kill me shuts down any desire I have to write or bake. Regardless of how much I sleep, I wake up in pain and tired. During the night, I get coughing fits that fills my mouth with phlegm (note: took me awhile to figure out how to spell this word >.> ) With me dealing with every day stress in addition to fighting an illness, inspiration is not in my vocabulary.

I made this for my family awhile back when I cooked them a 3 course dinner. Dinner was a breeze and they were looking forward to Alvin's Drunken Chicken. It was good, but it wasn't what we expected. The broth was too sweet for our taste so next time, I will cut back on the sugar and Miran. Other adjustments include upping the ginger and maybe add some chili for a spicy kick?

My favorite part of the meal was this coconut flan. I enjoyed the subtle flavor of the coconut mingling with the sweet caramel. Gosh darn, the flavor profile was on point. Because I didn't use up all the caramel, I poured the rest on a parchment paper and let it cool so it hardened into sugar shards. (Those were addictive). My only issue with the flan is the texture. It was dense and not creamy. I never tried flan before so I don't know the correct texture, but I know I overcooked it so I'm not surprised if that's the reason for the lack of creaminess.

Coconut Caramel Flan
From Steaming Basics by Orathay Guillamont

Ingredients
Caramel
7 TBSP (105 mL) water
3/4 cup (175 mL) sugar

Flan
4 eggs
6 1/2 TBSP (97 mL) sugar
1 1/3 cup (325 mL) coconut milk
1/2 cup (125 mL) milk

Directions

1. Pour caramel ingredients (water and sugar) in a pot over medium heat and let it boil until it turns into a nice dark brown shade. Swirl pan around to distribute color (DO NOT use a spoon to stir). Once satisfy with color, immediately pour into ramekins.
2. Whisk eggs and sugar together.
3. Add milk and whisk well. Pour into ramekins.
4. Steam for 15 to 20 minutes (or less) depending on the size of your container. When the edges are set and the center is slightly jiggly take it and allow it to cool to room temperature. Once cooled, keep in the refrigerator.
5. Prior to flipping ramekin, run a knife along the sides of  flan to loosen it. Then FLIP! Enjoy~