dairy free holiday treat (serves 8)

Like many other adults, I have had my bouts with Lactose Intolerace. I have experimented with this recipe for Flan/Creme Brulee/Custard to make it "milk-free". It's one of my holiday faves -- it's nice to have the oven on when it's cool outside and it makes the whole house smell nice!


For the Flan you'll need;
1 can (13.5 oz.) coconut milk (this is non-dairy but still lends a yummy creamy flavor)

2 cups of vanilla soy milk

2 whole large eggs

4 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. of Mexican vanilla (this is a secret)

Pinch of salt

For the caramel sauce you'll need;

1/3 cup water

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. lemon juice

For the caramel;
In saucepan, combine the water, sugar and lemon juice over medium heat. Mix until the sugar dissolves. Swirl pan for even cooking. Stop cooking when liquid turns golden. Immediately pour the syrup into a 1 quart souffle dish, covering the bottom and sides.

For the flan;

1.	Preheat oven to 350F.
2.	In saucepan on medium, heat coconut milk and cream. In a separate pan boil 3 quarters of water.
3.	In a large bowl, gently whisk eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt. Whisk warm coconut milk and soy milk into egg mixture slowly. (If you do this too quickly, you will cook the eggs.) When the mixture is creamy, pour it through a fine strainer.
4.	Pour flan mixture into souffle dish over the caramel syrup. Fill roasting pan halfway up with hot (boiled) water. Cover loosely with aluminum foil to create a "bain-marie" (water bath) and place in oven. Remove the foila nd place the souffle dish in the roasting pan for about 1 hour or ramekins for 30 minutes. When knife inserted in center of flan comes out clean, it's done.
5.	Remove flan to cool. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
6.	To loosen flan from dish, slide knife around mold. Place serving dish on mold and invert. Shake gently if flan does not release.

Enjoy dairy-free! YUM!