Lorena was the first person that Grace interviewed on design*sponge way back in the day, and I remember the first time I saw her Gourmet Collection, and couldn’t believe it wasn’t disposable material! It was so nice then to see that Lorena styled her recipe for Coconut Flan with her own products. As for the recipe—coconut flan! It doesn’t get any better than that, does it? Click here for the full recipe or just click read more below. Enjoy! -Kristina
About Lorena: Lorena Barrezueta is 28 and works from her studio in Brooklyn, NY. She has been making the Gourmet Collection for almost 5 years while taking a break here and there to design handbags and tabletop for some well known companies. Over the course of the past couple of years she has also spent a total of 8 months working as a visiting product design instructor at a design school in Japan. She found that she loves working with people and helping them get to wherever they’re going. She hopes to somehow have the chance to do that again in the future.
Flan de Coco (Coconut Flan)
prep time: 20 minutes
time from start to serving: 5 hours
Stove Top Caramel
1 cup of sugar
1 2qt round glass mold
1 large roasting pan
Pour the sugar into the glass mold and place over medium to low heat. Cook until the sugar is completely melted and the caramel is a nice medium amber color. Be sure to constantly stir the sugar with a spoon so as to not burn the caramel.
As soon as your caramel is ready immediately remove from the heat and VERY carefully tilt the dish so that the caramel evenly coats the sides and bottom of the mold. Let the mold cool and place inside of the roasting pan and set aside.
Flan Filling
1 can of coconut milk
1 can condensed milk
5 whole eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 pinch of salt
1 large mixing bowl
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix all of the ingredients in a blender or with a mixer and pour the custard into the caramelized mold. Then pour warm water into the roasting pan to create the ‘baño de maria’ / bain marie (see photo below) / a make-shift double broiler / a water bath. The water should ONLY come to halfway up the side of the mold. Carefully place on the middle rack of your oven, and cook at for 45-50 minutes. Test the flan to see if it’s done by inserting a knife in the center. If the flan is still soft, let it cook a bit longer until the knife comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool. Cover with foil and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. When you are ready to serve, carefully run a knife around the inside of the mold to loosen the flan. Place a dessert plate on top of the flan and invert to pop it out. Garnish with some fresh fruits.
Why Lorena chose this recipe:
My mom’s been making flan for years so it’s just a yummy peek into my childhood. I also like this specific recipe because it has a very mild coconut taste.
