Coconut Custard - "Flan de Coco"

I wanted to share a recipe my family and I have come to love. This is something I usually make during the Holidays and it's always eaten up immediately. It's FLAN DE COCO or Coconut Custard. (This recipe makes 2 custards - 24 servings.)

Ingredients:

1 can Cream of Coconut
1 can Evaporated Milk
1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk

1/2 cup sugar
2-3 drops vanilla extract or lemon juice
1/4 cup of water

5 large eggs

Materials:

2 - 13" Cake pans (for double boiling in the oven [baño de Maria])
2 - 8" round cake pans (for the flan)
Non-stick pan
Metal spoon
Cake Mixer
Spatula
Oven

Instructions:

PREPARE CARAMEL

1. Pour sugar and water into non-stick pan and heat at med-high temperature.

2. Add 2-3 drops of vanilla extract or lemon to the pan.

3. Stir the caramel mixture with a metal spoon since it will get very hot (plus it's easier to clean up later).

4. Heat mixture for 10-13 minutes ...

... until mixture caramelizes to a golden brown.

*****WARNING! Caramel will be extremely hot. Handle with care.*****

5. Place 8" round cake pans on a safe surface (not on a plastic surface or on top of a plastic table cloth since the caramel will heat the pans and can melt any surface it is on). Then pour half of the mixture in one pan and the other half in the other.

6. Take the pans while the caramel is hot and roll the pans to allow the caramel to spread evenly on the bottom.

xxx TIP: To Clean Pan and Metal Spoon xxx

+ Fill the pan with soap and water and place over low heat. Fold some paper towel and place in pan and use metal spoon to slowly stir around the pan to clean up excess caramel. Then place in the sink under cold running water to cool down.

PREPARE CUSTARD

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.

2. Place eggs into mixer and mix until creamy.

3. Add Sweetened Condensed milk to mixer.

4. Fill can of condensed milk half full WITH WATER and pour into mixer.

5. Add Cream of Coconut to mixer and mix.

6. Add can of Evaporated milk to mixer and mix.

7. Now that the custard is mixed, pour evenly into both round pans on top of the hardened caramel.

8. Place rectangular pans into the oven.

9. Carefully place the round custard-filled pans into the rectangular pans.

10. Now carefully pour water into rectangular pans and fill to 1/4" below rim of round pan.

11. Bake custards for 40 minutes and test with a toothpick to make sure the custard is ready. If the toothpick comes out clean, it's ready to cool. If not, bake for an additional 10 minutes.

12. When custard is finished baking, place on a cooling wrack for about an hour ...

... then place in the refrigerator over night.

13. Flip over onto a flat plate for presentation (caramel on top) and serve.

¡Buen provecho! (Bon Appetit)

How to Increase Milk Supply for Breastfeeding Moms

As many of you already know, I'm a first time mom. When I found out I was pregnant, I already decided that I wanted to exclusively breast feed (EBF) my LO (little one). I don't know anyone personally who has breastfed their LO's after going back to work, so I began searching on Babycenter.com and reading what has worked for other EBF moms.

I was recently asked how I was able produce more milk before going back to the workforce and decided I should share what has worked for me.

My answer: FENUGREEK (speak to your physician or Lactation Specialist to see if this is right for you).

Here's what you'll need:

Fenugreek Tea Bags

Fruit Punch Drink Mix (I only use half a serving - the full serving is too sweet for me).

16 oz bottle of water

Remove 6 oz from the bottle and bring to a boil. (If you have a Keurig, use that to heat your water.)

Place 3 Fenugreek Tea Bags inside an empty cup.

(Here I'm using my Keurig to add hot water for my tea.)

Stir the tea bags then set aside and let it steep for 12 minutes.

Pour Fruit Punch mix into the bottle. (I prefer the Fruit Punch mix better than any other because it's the only one that best masks the bitterness of Fenugreek. You can experiment with other flavors if you don't like Fruit Punch with your Fenugreek. The taste takes some getting used to.)

Remove the tea bags from the cup and pour the tea into the water bottle. Place the lid on the bottle, shake and refrigerate.

You need to drink 3 bottles per day to see results.

It took me two days of taking Fenugreek to see any real difference in my milk production. Hopefully this works for you. Use Fenugreek together with power pumping (pumping every 1 - 2 hours) for best results.


If you try this, I would like to hear from you. Did this work for you? What other flavors did you experiment with? Hope to hear from you!