Single Pebble Project: Coconut Flan with Rosebuds and Coriander

Baking is a solitary job, but my kitchen is crowded with cooks. I draw much of my inspiration from others’ work, and I love how food can be a glimpse of their lives, a seat at the family table. Propped up in bed, I read cookbooks like novels, and the scents and flavors of each recipe are like characters in the story. In this way, the warm cinnamon in a Spanish stew echoes footsteps left by Andalusian Moors, and the jewel-bright citrus in a holiday cake recalls long-ago pilgrims, returning home from Jerusalem laden with exotic fruits.

So when I have the opportunity to work with a chef, and see what things look like from someone else’s kitchen, I jump at the chance. On a chill, grey, afternoon this December, I sat down with Chef Chiuho Duval, to share a pot of Jasmine tea and to see if we might collaborate on desserts for her restaurant, A Single Pebble, which is acclaimed for it’s traditional Yangtze valley cuisine. After she approached me, my mind began to race through the palette of rich spices that are available to Chinese chefs, and my notebooks filled with scribbled ideas, and sketches of plated sweets.

It was a lovely conversation, and for me, a delightful challenge emerged: to develop a dessert menu to complement the complex and flavorful food that Chiuho’s kitchen serves. Those pages of ideas and pictures have until spring to grow into finished plates but I decided to start right away, with this Coconut Flan, infused with the heady scents of rosebuds and coriander seeds. I wanted a silky, creamy dessert that would be a refreshing balance to a highly spiced, or fiery meal. Coconut is widely used in Chinese cuisine, including in some classic sweets, like the delicious steamed coconut buns that are often served at Dim Sum. Like good cream, fresh, rich coconut milk has a complex, almost floral taste, and I wanted to underscore that with the addition of crushed, dried rosebuds, and coriander seeds, which are beautifully aromatic, and add a haunting flavor to both savories and sweets.

And... it worked. I loved how the flan dissolved on my tongue, and the subtlety of the coriander added an unexpected complexity without overpowering the flavor of the coconut. Click on "Read More" below for the recipe!

Coconut Flan, Infused with Rosebuds and Coriander
by Jen Smith

I made one 8” flan, and one 4 ounce mini- this should also make about 12 minis, in which case I would double the amount of the topping.

Caramel Topping
½ cup sugar
several tablespoons water

Flan
2 cups whole milk
1 cup coconut milk
⅝ cups sugar
1 cup + 2 Tb unsweetened, shredded coconut
4 eggs
3 egg yolks
1.5 tsp whole coriander seeds
1.5 tsp dried rosebuds
¼ tsp sea salt
Rosebuds, and coarse sea salt for serving, optional.

Infusing the milks:
Combine the coconut milk and whole milk in a medium saucepan, and bring just to a simmer. Use a mortal and pestle to coarsely crush the rosebuds and coriander. Add them, and the shredded coconut, to the milk mixture, cover the pan, and let steep for 30 minutes. While it is steeping, make the caramel topping.

To make caramel topping:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put an 8” round cake pan, or twelve 4-oz ramekins on a sheet pan, and put them in the oven to warm. Put sugar in a small, heavy bottomed sauce pan, and add enough water to moisten, taking care not to splash any sugar crystals onto the side of the pan.

Put pan over medium heat, and cook until the sugar caramelizes, and turns to a rich, dark reddish brown color, not stirring, just swirling the pan as necessary if the sugar cooks unevenly.

Remove pan or ramekins from oven, and pour a bit of the hot caramel into the bottom of each one, tilting (working quickly) to spread the caramel to the edge of each one. Set aside.

While you are waiting for the caramel to cook, fill a teakettle with water and set on the stove, remove when it comes to a boil.

Make the custard:
Strain the milk mixture through a fine sieve, pressing on the solids to remove any liquid. Clean the saucepan, and put the strained milk mixture back on the stove, just until it begins to steam. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and egg yolks. While whisking constantly, pour the steaming milk mixture into the eggs in a thin stream.

Strain the mixture again, and pour it into the cake pan.

Set the filled, 8” cake pan into a larger pan, such as a roasting pan, or 10” cake pan. I like to set a pad under the flan, like several layers of paper towels, or a thin cloth. Carefully pour hot water into the larger pan until the water level comes at least halfway up the sides of the flan pan. Set in oven.

Bake until just set- somewhere around 30 minutes for a larger pan, or 20 minutes for the small ones. Check frequently, and remove from oven when they are just set, and somewhat jiggly in the middle.

Remove from water bath, and cool on a rack. Cover with plastic, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, and up to a day or so- this refrigeration time is important because it gives the caramel topping time to melt, and infuse the top of the flan.

When ready to serve, run a thin bladed knife around the outer edge of the flan, and place a serving plate on top of the flan pan. Invert. The flan should come out, but if it doesn’t, flip it right side up, and slide the knife in between the flan and the pan, wiggle to break the air seal, then invert a second time.

I like to let this sit at room temperature for 45 minutes before serving for an extra silky texture. Serve in wedges, or as individual flans, garnished with a rosebud, and with a sprinkle of good sea salt, such as Maldón, or Fleur de Sel.