Loyal Readers - Part Trois Of My Trifecta.

I rarely make desserts, but when I do, they are to die for. One of these days, I'll blog my absolutely superb tiramisu for you. Right now, I'll make coconut flan. I had on FoodNetwork the other day (Big surprise there.) And Pauler was on. This is Pauler's recipe.

My mise en place: 1/4 cup sugar for caramelizing 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk 1 1/2 cups coconut milk 2 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 cup coconut 3 eggs 1/4 cup toasted coconut for topping

First, I made the caramelized sugar. 1/4 cup sugar in a saucepan. Just heat up over low-medium heat.

Gently swirl the pan as the sugar melts.

Keep on swirling.

Swirl. Never stir. If you stir, it will leave crystallized streaks in the syrup.

Getting close.

You want a very clear syrup, no sugar crystals.

And a beautiful amber color.

Next, pour the caramelized sugar into a pie pan.

While pouring, swirl the pan to cover evenly over the bottom. This is impossible when you are trying to take pictures of everything. So I missed a few places up at the top. If you don't like it, don't eat it. I DARE you.

Next, I whupped my aigs.

Added in the sweetened condensed milk.

Then the coconut milk.

Vanilla. Always more than the recipe calls for.

Lastly, I added the coconut.

Pour into the pie pan on top of the caramelized sugar.

I was having a hard time believing all this filling would fit into the pie pan.

HA! It didn't. This was left over. I was thinking what would I do with this quarter cup of filling. Then I knew. I had a sort of sinking feeling. If you look at the picture above, you might notice that the pie pan is filled to the rim. And I have to walk across the kitchen from the counter where I prepped everything to the oven to bake. Stupid me. Rosie slaps forehead. I should've poured the batter over next to the oven, or even better, IN the oven. Now, I know where that extra 1/4 cup is going.

Into the flan to replace what I spilled. I cooked it at 325 degrees for about 70-75 minutes.

And here's my lovely flan.

I let it cool, the inverted it over a glass dish.

Isn't this pretty?

I SO wanted to dig into this right now. But I waited for dessert and Mr. Hawthorne.

Next, I sprinkled toasted coconut on top.

Finally, hours later, it's time for dessert. And here's Mr. H.'s slice.

This was absolutely sublime. The taste. The texture. There are no words.