Coconut Cheesecake Flan Recipe

The other week we were snowed in at my sister's house with four kids under three! It was complete insanity and took me about a week to recover from once we made it home. In the evenings, once we had finally put them to sleep we indulged in a little baking and made a different dessert every night.

Following the first snow - it got a lot worse that night.

On night one my sister suggested we make a variation of the classic Spanish dessert: Flan. This is a very popular Spanish dessert, so much so that as a kid I thought it was the only Spanish dessert. There are many variations but my personal preference is the traditional Flan de Huevo. That was until I tried this one!

My sister suggested we make the recipe 'Coconut Flan' from the book  Isabel's Cantina. We only slightly adapted it, namely we add coconut flakes for a little textural element. Because of its smooth creamy texture it is a actually more like when a flan meets a cheesecake who ate some coconut and they make a delicious baby and call it...

Coconut Cheesecake Flan

Ingredients

The ingredients

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup water

1 240 ml or 8 ounce packet of cream cheese, softened

1 400 ml or 14 ounce can coconut milk

1 400 ml or 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut

6 eggs, lightly beaten

A pinch of salt

Recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 325° Fahrenheit or 165°Celsius. 

2. In a small heavy sauce pan, place sugar and slowly pour in water evenly.

3. Place the pan over medium heat and swirl to combine two ingredients. Continue swirling until visibly dissolved.   

4. A clear syrup will develop at this stage, cover the pot with lid and boil for 2 minutes. 

5. Once boiled uncover and gently until the liquid turns caramel coloured.

Making the caramel

6. Immediately and very carefully pour the hot liquid into 23 cm or 9 inch Bundt  pan and gently coat the sides of the pan with the caramel by slowly swirling the  liquid.

The caramel is very HOT, use caution when pouring.

7. In a large bowl combine the cream cheese and salt either by hand with a wooden spoon or with an electric mixer. 

8. Stir in the coconut milk and then the condensed milk to make a thick batter. 

9. Slowly add the eggs, combining gently until just mixed through and pour the cake into the pan.

10. Place in a bay-Marie of water reaching halfway up the pan in an oven tray large enough (as per photo below).

The water should reach half way up the Bundt pan

11. Bake in the oven for approximately 60 minutes or until just set. It should wobble slightly when shaken.

Allowing to cool to room temperature out of the fridge

12. Allow to cool to room temperature then chill in the fridge overnight or at least 4 hours.

Our head chef checking if it is ready the next day

13. Once cooled place the Bundt pan into a bowl with warm water for approximately 3 minutes to unstick the caramel from the bottom of the pan. After this time gently run a knife along the sides of the pan to loose it from the sides and turn it over onto the serving dish. 

It looks so good I feel like making it again!

Buen provecho!

Jamón Pasta Carbonara

This recipe is simple and very tasty but does require two elements to be done simultaneously. While you are cooking the pasta you must be preparing the other ingredients so that the minute they are done you are ready to combine them. This recipe needs fresh, hot, but drained pasta to cook the raw egg just enough that it does not make scrambled eggs. It is very straight forwards. Simply prepare all ingredients first. Then while cooking pasta, cook other ingredients at the same time.

Ingredients 

2 Garlic Cloves

1 Pack Spaghetti (I use wholemeal or brown rice spaghetti). 

150 grams Sliced Spanish Jamón

2 Large Eggs

1/2 Cup of Shredded Cheese such as Parmesan or Provolone (I often substitute with whatever I have on hand, in this case cheddar)

1 Small Bunch of Parsley (in this case I used coriander as a substitute)

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Method

Peel and thinly slice garlic and set aside. 

Whisk eggs and cheese together and set aside. 

Wash and roughly chop fresh herbs so they are ready and set aside.

Place a large pot of water with dash of olive oil and a generous pinch of salt on high heat. 

While waiting for the pasta water to boil, add a tablespoon of oil to a fry pan and heat on medium-low heat. Gently cook the garlic for a minute or so without browning or it will turn bitter. As soon as it is softened add the jamón and gently sauté for another minute or so. 

Once the water is boiled, add pasta to the pot and cook for approximately 7 minutes until al dente. As soon as it is ready drain, but reserve a cut or so of the water the pasta boiled in. 

Immediately after draining and while the pasta is very hot combine with the raw egg/cheese mixture and stir through to allow all the pasta to be coated in egg while simultaneously gently 'cooking' it. 

Once all the pasta is coated add 1/2 - 1 cup of the reserved pasta water to thicken the 'sauce'. 

Add the cooked garlic and jamón and stir through. 

Next add the fresh parsley, and season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Serve and enjoy.