Monday, February 20, 2012

Recipe Redux: Dark Chocolate Flan with Coconut

"Chocolate Love is in the Air" is this month's theme for Recipe Redux. Oh how I LOVE that theme! That theme rings pure delight. I'm one of those that loves chocolate period. I love both milk and dark chocolate. I can't help it. However, as the word has been getting around, it's the dark chocolate that is loaded with antioxidants to contribute to a healthier you in of course, mindful moderation. The phenols contained in dark chocolate can help relax our blood vessels allow for lowering blood pressure.

I started to experiment with dark chocolate for Recipe Redux on a different tangent.  I started to create an Americanized Filipino dessert adding dark chocolate to it, but it didn't turn out well.  However, I won't give up on that one and I'll continue tweaking that recipe. On the other hand, I kept thinking some more and thought of one of my favorite desserts, which I only have once in a blue moon. This amazing dessert that I love is...drum roll please...flan!! It can be found all the way back originating in Rome.  It made its way down to England and Spain...and I know it made its way down to the Philippines as well.

So now...I present to you my version of Dark Chocolate Flan with Coconut!

Ingredients:
1/3 cup of sugar
2 eggs & 2 egg whites
12 oz of coconut milk
1 can of fat free sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup of Hershey's Cocoa (100% cacao & unsweetened)

1/3 cup of shredded coconut flakes

Directions:
Preheat oven 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Melt sugar in a sauce pan. When fully melted, transfer sugar onto a pie plate and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk eggs until light and foamy. Then whisk in coconut milk, condensed milk, cocoa, and coconut flakes. Whisk all together very well.  Transfer mixture onto pie plate. Fill a large casserole dish a little over halfway with water. Place pie plate with mixture into casserole dish with water. Place casserole and pie plate into oven. Bake for an hour or until consistency of flan is firm.

Remove flan from oven and set aside to cool. Consistency and taste of flan is better when flan has been placed in the refrigerator for a few hours.

You may want to toast a few shredded coconut flakes in the oven for a few minutes to add on top of the flan as garnish if you wish.

Please do enjoy this antioxidant packed dark chocolate flan to the fullest!

Also, please stop by down below to check out the other wonderful chocolate recipes my colleagues have drummed up for this month!:)

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21 comments:

Deanna - Teaspoon of Spice said...

Oh my - you can almost see the antioxidants oozing out of this dark dessert beauty - looks amazing!

Janel said...

Wow that looks so decadent! Almost fudge-like!

Kristen @ Swanky Dietitian said...

This looks just incredible! So decadent! :)

JeJe Noval, R.D. said...

Thank you, Deanna!:)

JeJe Noval, R.D. said...

Thank you, Janel!:)

JeJe Noval, R.D. said...

Thank you, Kristen!:)

Kat (Eating The Week) said...

I've never tried making flan, but your post makes it sound doable! The coconut flavor in this must be wonderful.

JeJe Noval, R.D. said...

Ohhhh yes it is very, very easy to make! Thank you for stopping by, Kat.:)

Hot Chocolate said...

Wow its looking very delicious..

Margherita said...

This recipe is truly amazing. I'm bookmarking this and definitely gonna give it a try really soon!
Love&Light
Margherita

Serena said...

I've never made chocolate flan...what a great idea! Yum! Love how it looks so dark and rich!

JeJe Noval, R.D. said...

Ohhhh yes it is very, very easy to make! Thank you for stopping by, Kat.:)

JeJe Noval, R.D. said...

Thanks, Hot Chocolate!:)

JeJe Noval, R.D. said...

Thank you, Margherita! I hope you like it when you try it.:) Thank you also for stopping by!:)

JeJe Noval, R.D. said...

Thank you, Serena...and thank you for stopping by!:)

Regan Jones, RDN said...

I've never been a big flan fan, but I think it's b/c I never thought of doing a chocolate version. This sounds delish!

Alex @ delicious-knowledge.com said...

Yum! Looks super easy to make, thanks for the recipe!

JeJe Noval, R.D. said...

Thank you, Regan.:) I was trying to think "out of the norm"...but after I had published this, I looked up chocolate flan recipes to see if there were any others...and others thought of it too.:(...but it was fun to make it anyway!:)

JeJe Noval, R.D. said...

You're welcome, Alex and thank you for stopping by! And yes, this is really, really easy to make.:)

Anonymous said...

What a rich looking cake. Did you use canned coconut milk or refrigerated? Yum.

JeJe Noval, R.D. said...

Hi Liz,
Thank you for stopping by!:) Yes, I did use canned coconut milk, although I should try it with the refrigerated/frozen or even fresh coconut next time.:)
JeJe