Bánh Flan - Pandan Coconut Crème Caramel
Banh Flan in Vietnam is made out of coconut milk! My take on it is I use pandan to flavour my Creme Caramel!
Ingredients
Caramel (Wet Method)
225ml caster sugar
100ml water
Crème Custard Mixture
400ml coconut milk
8 pandan leaves
375ml full cream milk
6 eggs, organic free range
100gm caster sugar
1 pod vanilla bean
Garnishes
1 Lime
5 Kaffir Lime Leaves
2 young drinking coconuts
1 mature coconut
1 mango firm
Method
[0*] Set out all Ingredients & Equipment to be used.
[1-5*] Pre-heating Oven and Ramekins
Preheat Oven to 160*
Place 2 x Chux Cotton Wipe folded onto bottom of high tray
Place Ramekins in oven for 5 minutes (to warm them up, making them easy to coat with caramel)
After 5 minutes, remove high side baking tray from oven including ramekins.
Leave oven on at 160* (set it for say 15 minutes so it keeps oven hot)
[2-10*] Making the Caramel
Add 250gms of caster sugar in a large wide pot (not too high), add a little water from tap, swirl mixture with finger, and add some more water if required.
Put on stove and set on heat on high
Cook for about 5 minutes and leave mixture alone. (1) do no stir with spoon (2) Swirl pan to melt all the sugar. Once 5 minutes are up, check every 20 seconds and keep a hawk eye on the colour.
Aim for a LIGHT caramel, not DARK caramel as bitterness doesn’t go well with pandan.
When the sugar starts to turn amber colour, lift to smell aroma, if it smells caramelised, lift it off the flame with it is your desired colour and swirl mixture. Make sure you don’t leave it for too long as it takes seconds to go from light à dark à burnt!
Pour it immediately into all the ramekins. Does not matter if mixture is bubbly, the bubbles will dissipate.
Set aside ramekins for 2-4 minutes to let caramel set.
[3-15*] Making Custard
Break and “lightly” whisk eggs in a separate small bowl till mixture is even.
Cut vanilla bean and scrape seeds, place into sugar mixture and break seed clusters.
Slice up pandan leaves (1cm length) and add into food processor. Make sure coconut milk is not solidified or thick, if so, microwave to thin out milk. Add coconut milk into food processor. Blitz the mixture until pandan leaves are super fine. Sift this through into a bowl.
Measure how much liquid coconut milk there is left after blitzing, if its short of 400ml, add some more coconut milk to reach 400mls)
Add full cream milk, blitzed pandan coconut milk, whisked eggs, sugar and vanilla bean together. **lightly** whisk until all “just” combined. Don’t over whisk as this will create bubbles.
Sift entire mixture into a jug.
Scoop off top layer bubbles with spoon
Let mixture set for 2-3 minutes so that any air bubbles can dissipate from mixture.
Pour the mixture into the ramekins on top of caramel, stop with some clearance at top to avoid spillage.
[20*] Bain-Marie Baking/Oven Time
Ensure all ramekins are evenly spaced out in baking tray
Pour into the tray hot tap water (approx. 80*) half way up the height of the ramekins
Oven for approximately:
i. Fan Forced | 160* | 4 ramekins in tray | CW 205ml ceramic ramekins | 30 mins
ii. Fan Forced | 160* | 4 ramekins in tray | CW 205ml ceramic | Covered in Foil | 35 mins
iii. Fan Forced | 160* | 4 ramekins in tray | MW 9x10x6.5 ceramic ramekin | 35-37 mins
iv. At 30 mins open oven, shake individual ramekin to see if it (1) “wobbles twice and sets” and (2) there a slight puff or “rising” of the custard, this means its definitely cooked.
v. Leave in oven for 3-5 mins at a time longer depending on how wobbly custard mixture is.
vi. Use feeling regarding how cooked it is. If it wobbles 3 times, after taking it out to set, it will continue to cook and turn it into 2 wobbles, which is perfectly cooked.
vii. Careful of wobbling too much – as this tends disturb to break the top later of crème, which will mean the custard mixture will fall apart later. Tip – use one ramekin as a tester with probing for wobbling to determine how cooked, and use it to probe for temperature later.
[50*] Take baking tray with ramekins out of oven, let it sit for 5 minutes inside bath for a few minutes equalise temp.
[55*] Glad wrap ramekins and put in blast chiller
If on Fridge mode (to 4*), set for ~55 minutes for a small ramekin | ~65 mins for large ramekin
If on Freezer mode (to -18*), set for ~10 minutes
If you want to speed it up, set in Freezer mode for 5 minutes, and Fridge mode for 35 minutes.
[1.00-1.30*] Prepare Garnishes
Toasted Mature Coconut Strips: Crack with cleaver or hammer, break strips of flesh, slice side of flesh straight, peeled side of coconut flesh into long strips. Peel around 30 strips. Place on baking paper on tray in oven at 160* for 12 minutes. Wait till strips are 50% browned and take out.
Young Coconut Flesh Meat: Use cleaver and open coconut, Remove the juice, cut in half, spoon out long strips (1.5cm thick) of coconut flesh, set aside.
Julienned Kaffir Lime Leaf: Use top soft top leaf, remove stem if hard, slice off stem area, roll 3 lime leaves tightly into a cigar, press down and super finely julienned lime leaf
Thinly Sliced Mango: Finely remove skin on cheeks using a knife, cut cheek off mango, finely slice strips mango cheek into many thin slices like salami.
[1.35-1.45*] Use digital thermometer and every 2 minutes keep probing each custard mix until temperature drops to 4*. Once it has reached this temperature, remove from blast chillier, remove glad wrap, let it sit for 5 minutes to equalise temperature.
[1.50*] Removing Crème Caramel from Ramekin
Grab ramekin using both warm hands for a minute to soften and loosen the custard and caramel
Using a small paring knife, chip 1 cm only into sides of the ramekin to break the seal of custard
Using two fingers, lightly push the edge of the custard so soften seal of custard against ramekin
Pick a plate that has some upward gradient or a bowl with a minor upward gradient (so caramel stays in middle, not spill all over dish).
Place plate/bowl on top of ramekin, and tip upside down. If custard does not drop, leave it there for a minute or two and be patient. The crème caramel should release onto dish.
[1.55*] Plate Crème Caramel and Garnishes.
Ensure enough caramel is on dish, otherwise heat up ramekin with hardened caramel using a microwave, or using a hot water bath in a pot. Add extra caramel sauce onto plate.
Add 3 sliced mangos strips lying face down on plate 3
Add young coconut meat strips standing up on a curve following the rim of plate/bowl
Add mature toasted coconut strips onto of young coconut flesh and give it height
Sprinkle Kaffir Lime leaf over fruit (don’t be too generous)
Squeeze a little Kaffir Lime or Lime juice over fruit (only 1-2 drops as it can be too sharp and bitter)
Specialty Equipment:
2 x Medium Flat Pot
2 x Fine Sieve
Food Processor
Hand Peeler (I.e. Savannah Peeler or equivalent)
Digital Temperature Gauge (0-30*)
High Side Oven Tray (taller than ramekins)
Ramekins (ceramic preferred)
Baking Paper
Glad Wrap
Table Timer
Thanh’s Recipe Notes:
Caramel Cooking Pot– Cook using a wide pot with a flat base, make sure flame doesn’t wrap around sides of pot as this will burn the sugar on the sides. Use a flame to just cover the base, and a wide pot so heat is evenly spread.
Caramel Water – If you add too much water it will take longer to caramalise. All the water needs to evaporate before sugar will caramelise.
Caramel Cooking Heat – If your heat is too low, this will cause sugar to crystalise, if this happens, turn up the heat max, add a little water and swirl.
Caramel colour -
Sugar – Use caster sugar for everything, its easier as it melts faster and has less moisture, and it has a cleaner taste than brown sugar.
Lightly Whisk Eggs – Whisk everything at once, make sure yolk and whites are mixed in but do so very lightly, you don’t want bubbles!
Glad Wrap Technique - keeps all the moisture inside the tray for a more even and less abrasive cook (especially to the top of the ramekin. Do double wrap the baking tray and seal all edges. Caution when putting into oven, glad wrap can melt easily so avoid place glad wrap metal.
Know when its cooked – When it starts to puff up from the middle like a soufflé, a little mountain.
Overcooking – creates bubbles inside.
Cooling Ramekins in Tray – Allowing ramekins to slow cool in water bath allows it finalise cooking, removes it from the hot air in the oven, and allows for a steady cooling process which allows the custard to slowly cool and set, giving it a more unctuous, smooth and “melt in your mouth” texture.
Blast Chiller - Be weary, if the custard gets too hard, its over. The texture will be lost. Keep using the digital probe as every blast chiller is different, some are faster than others. Only the digital probe will let you know when its ready.
Blast Chiller – try not to use the “blast freeze” option, as if your custard freezes, the texture is lost and its over, it also doesn’t allow for a steady cool down, it might be too rapid.
Equalising Custard Temperature – When you pull out custard out of oven and chiller, ensure the temperature on the side and in the core of the custard is the same, let it set for a minutes to equalising before going to next step. This will bring out a smoother texture… hopefully!
Regular Fridge Set Time – Takes around 6 hours. Again use the temperature gauge to know when its 4*
Temperature Gauge Test – Ensure accuracy using a digital thermometer, wait till internal core drops to 4* and you know its set.
Garnish Tips - Garnish using odd #’s as it looks better than even #’s. I.e. 3 or 5 surroundings instead of 2 or 4.
Garnish Tips – The food always looks better when its more tighter on a dish, not touching the rim of plate
Garnish Tips – A few drops of lime juice adds “acid”, and acid brings out flavour in tropical fruit by giving it a sharpness. Ensure you test how soapy, bitter or sour the lime is first, especially kaffir lime. Use sparingly. 1-2 drops of each section only.
Garnish Tips – don’t make young coconut flesh strips too thick, as it will be hard to cut and overpower chips.
Other Tips:
Lay Tea Towel or Chux under ramekin – allows for slower insulation cooking, given a smoother texture
Hot Tap Water instead of boiling water – As above, to slowly cook instead of shock the custard
Foil Covering Ramekins – Cover ramekins with foil to prevent top from hardening. Add 5 minutes to cooking time.
Clearance around ramekins - this is important as it evenly cooks and allows you to cook faster. Crowding the tray slows the cooking and doesn’t allow for even cooking.
Cooking Caramel – The longer you cook the caramel, the darker and more bitter it will be, remove when you see the desired colour knowing the pot will continue to cook it for 5-10 seconds.
Sugar to Caramel Temperatures – Light Caramel is 160*-170*, Dark Caramel is 177*
Saving a crystallised caramel – tablespoon of lime juice, the acid will break it up
Pouring Mixture - Bottom of mixture should have lots of vanilla bean, make sure this gets into the ramekins!
Custard ½ to ¾ up ramekin – when the custard cooks, they expand, so don’t put too much in
Water bath Height – filling it up only half way up the ramekin will prevent any spillage of water and any water getting into the ramekin.
Bubbles – if there are bubbles on the outer ring of the crème caramel but not the inside, try cooking for longer at a lower temperature
Cooling in Water bath – to continue cooking process if you think its just slightly under done.
Room Temperature before fridge – allow ramekins and custard to drop to room temperature first before blast chilling to gradually cool the custard
Cover with plastic wrap before blast chiller – to prevent the top part of the custard from becoming hard
Heat Coconut Milk – if coconut milk in can is really hard, heat up in microwave
Taste – texture should be like a custard