Dutch Oven Coconut Flan
Canned coconut cream, egg powder, and a burnt-sugar bottom, baked over coals.
- calories
- 420
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 76
- protein
- 8 g
- serves
- 8, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 55 min
- total time
- 70 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dessert
- Dutch oven
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Gluten free
- Real dishes
- Grab and go
- Shelf stable
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Granulated sugar | 3/4 cup | for the caramel layer |
|---|---|---|
| Whole egg powder | 6 tbsp | reconstituted; equals 5 eggs |
| Water | 3/4 cup | to reconstitute the egg powder |
| Sweetened condensed milk | 1 can (14 oz) | |
| Cream of coconut | 1 can (15 oz) | Coco Lopez or similar; it separates in the can |
| Evaporated milk | 1 cup | stands in for half and half |
| Vanilla extract | 1 tsp | |
| Dark rum | 2 tbsp | optional |
Method
- Build a fire and let it burn down to coals. You want steady heat, not flame.
- Put the sugar in the dry dutch oven over a few coals. Stir until it melts and turns amber, then tilt the oven to coat the bottom. Work fast, it hardens the second it cools. If it seizes, leave it; it dissolves as the custard bakes.
- Open the cream of coconut into a bowl and whisk it until the solid and liquid parts are one thing again. This matters more than it sounds.
- Whisk the egg powder into the water until smooth, then add condensed milk, coconut cream, evaporated milk, vanilla, and rum. Whisk until there are no lumps and pour it over the caramel.
- Lid on. Put about 8 coals underneath and 16 on top for a 12-inch oven. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, rotating the oven and the lid a quarter turn every 15 minutes so it does not scorch on one side.
- It is done when the middle barely moves when you nudge the oven. Pull the coals off the lid and let it sit at least 30 minutes before serving, longer if you can wait.
Flan is normally a cold-kitchen dessert: fresh eggs, half and half, a water bath, an oven you can trust. Two of those are gone at a campsite. Egg powder and evaporated milk cover the dairy and the eggs without a cooler, and the dutch oven under coals is close enough to a low oven that the custard sets without curdling. The condensed milk and cream of coconut are already shelf-stable, so they come along unchanged.
The caramel is the part that goes wrong. Melted sugar sets hard the instant it touches cool cast iron, and swirling it into a smooth coat rarely works even at home. Do it in the oven itself while the iron is already warm, and stop caring if it cracks. An hour of baking turns those shards into syrup at the bottom of the pan, which is where they were headed anyway.
Packing
Cans and the egg powder ride in the food bin. Measure the sugar into a jar at home so you are not hauling a five pound bag for three quarters of a cup.
Variations
- Skip the caramel entirely and pour a spoonful of dulce de leche over each serving instead. Melted sugar over a fire fights back.
- Toasted coconut flakes on top add texture the custard does not have.
- Two eggs' worth of real eggs will work if you are car camping with a cooler; use 5 whole eggs and drop the 3/4 cup of water.
https://www.tasteandtellblog.com/cookbook-of-the-month-recipe-coconut-cream-flan