Does anyone else measure start of Fall season by the appearance of decadent pumpkin spice lattes? Well, you are not alone!! We love Fall in this house even though we don’t get much Fall weather here in Florida. But my kids love anything pumpkin and preparations for Halloween. They always ask me to make this Pumpkin Coconut Flan even when it is not Fall because I don’t need fresh pumpkins for this recipe.
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What is Flan?
Well I’m sure mostly everyone knows what Flan is but once I had few guests who had never tried it. So skip this over and scroll straight to the recipe if you are a flan fan:).
Flan is also known as crème caramel or krem karamel. Flan is a custard like dessert made mainly with milk, eggs, sugar and sometimes vanilla. Variations of flan include additions of condensed milk, evaporated milk, fruits, cream cheese, dulce de leche etc.
Usually flan is baked in a water bath so the caramel in the bottom of the baking cup doesn’t get burned. As baking equipment has evolved, you can also bake it in a thick ceramic baking tray as well.
Once the cooking is done, you let it chill and cut with a knife all around the sides of the dish. Then you flip it over in a serving tray or plate so to let the caramel fall over the sides.
Pumpkin Coconut Flan Recipe Notes
Here are some tips in addition to the recipe to create the best Pumpkin dessert you have ever had. Last year, my toddler was so impatient while I was taking pictures of the flan that she kept trying to grab a piece in between set ups:)).
- Baking time might vary slightly. I have made this flan countless times and I’ve noticed that factors like oven and eggs tend to make a difference on how long I have to bake.
- I tend to use my toaster oven for small dishes. Flan tends to bake faster in toaster oven than full size oven.
- Eggs can be extra large or small. Since this recipe requires a lot of eggs, their size will make a difference. If you use small eggs I would bake a little longer, maybe extra 5 minutes or so so the flan doesn’t come out too jiggly.
- Baking time also varies on the type of baking dish you use. The wider the dish the less thick the dessert will be so it’ll bake faster. I use a loaf baking dish, so that makes for a thicker flan. It almost looks like a brick. So in this case, I have to bake a little longer for the inside to get thick as well.
- I baked this flan in a loaf baking dish, allowing for a rectangular shape that I can cut into slices. Even though flan is a bit jiggly, when cooked well it allows for nice slices.
- I make the caramel for this specific flan with raw brown sugar or coconut sugar because it creates a darker caramel. I love the contrast of orange/black colors so that’s why I pick these sugars for the caramel. Feel free to use regular sugar to make your caramel.
- Also, I personally don’t like to make a lot of caramel for this specific flan. A little goes a long way. On a classic flan, I would make a lot more caramel.
Flan Toppings
You can use either coconut flakes or coconut chips as toppings for this flan.
The above picture where my toddler is picking on the flan’s toppings shows the Flan with Brown Sugar Caramel and Coconut Flakes topping. While the other pictures show the flan with Coconut Sugar Caramel and Coconut Chips topping.
Coconut flakes come sweetened and unsweetened. You can use either or, but the amount of sugar you use to make the flan will vary a little bit depending on which flakes you add. Also, if you don’t like the flakes you can cut them out from the recipe and the essence of this dessert won’t change.
Pumpkin Coconut Flan
Equipment
- Hand Held Mixer
- Standard Oven
Ingredients
- 1 can evaporated milk (12 ozs)
- 1 can condensed milk (14 ozs)
- 7 ozs pumpkin puree
- 1 can unsweetened coconut milk (14 ozs)
- 6 large eggs
- 1 tsp pumpkin spice (powder)
- 4 ozs coconut flakes double up if you'll use these for topping too
- 1 cup coconut sugar for the caramel you can use brown sugar or regular sugar too
- pinch salt
- 3 ozs coconut chips
Instructions
- Put a smal pot on the stovetop in medium heat. Add the brown sugar. Stirr occasionally until the sugar melts. Once it's all liquid, turn heat off and pour the mix on the baking dish where you'll bake the flan.
- Turn oven on at 350 degrees to pre-heat.
- Beat the 6 eggs whole in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer.
- Add slowly the evaporated milk. Then coconut milk, then lastly the condensed milk. I usually use the can opener to open all 3 cans up before I start beating the eggs. Then I use the electric mixer to mix with my right hand and add the milks from the cans slowly with my left hand.
- Add a pinch of salt, pumpkin spice and 4 ozs of coconut flakes. Keep mixing for an extra minute. Finally add the pumpkin puree. Continue mixing a bit longer. Then pour the mix into the baking dish.
- Place the baking dish in a water bath (bigger dish with about 1.5 inches of water) and bake for about 40 minutes. Turn the oven off and let the flan set for a bit. Then put the baking dish on a cooling rack. After about half an hour, transfer into the refrigerator, I usually let it chill for about 2 hrs before serving.
- Once flan is chilled, then cut with a knife all around the edges then flip onto a serving dish or plate. Top with coconut flakes or coconut chips and cut into slices to serve. Repeat:)), I know you will!!!
Video
Notes
- When you calculate nutrition facts, keep in mind that you don’t eat the whole caramel.
Nutrition Label
Nutrition
If you would like to save this recipe for later, please pin the below image to Pinterest. Let me know if you end up making this Pumpkin Coconut Flan and how it turned out:). Feel free to ask questions in comments or tag me in social media if you made this flan.
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Other Pumpkin & Fall Recipes:
- Phyllo Dough Pumpkin Pie (Savory)
- Vegan Stuffed Pumpkin
- Roasted Pumpkin Salad
- Shell Pasta in Butternut Squash Sauce
Beth
I’m a real fan of flan from spending time eating it in Spain and Mexico. I can imagine how tasty and smooth this is! And adding pumpkin puree, oh my!
Sonila
I love flan too. In Europe we didn’t use many flavors for flan but here in Miami I had have so many fruit flavored flans that are delicious so that’s how I thought to make the pumpkin one:)