Coconut flan - Bánh flan dừa

Serves 6–8

"A classic Vietnamese dessert, if one were to start Vietnam’s culinary history at the arrival of French colonists in the nineteenth century," says Thi Le, author of Viet Kieu. "Similar to its European brethren, a custard base is prepared and cooked. Ovens are not common in the typical household in Vietnam so the mixture is often steamed rather than baked in a bain-marie. Eat it by itself or tip it out into a bowl with crushed ice, bánh lọt, chewy jellies and coconut milk. Add the flesh of the best durian you can source for a power move."

300 g (10½ oz) caster (superfine) sugar

2 teaspoons orange juice

CUSTARD

3 eggs

6 egg yolks

70 g (2½ oz) light brown sugar

500 ml (2 cups) coconut milk (Aroy-D brand, which is lighter than Kara)

1. Prepare a bain-marie; have a 21 cm (8¼ inch) square glass baking dish handy, to bake your flan in. Find a larger vessel that your flan dish will comfortably sit inside, then half-fill the larger vessel with boiling water as your bain-marie.

2. Carefully transfer the larger vessel to the oven and preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F).

3. Make a dry caramel; place the sugar in a wide-based saucepan over medium heat, slowly allowing the sugar to dissolve evenly without stirring, swirling the pan instead.

4. Once the sugar has liquified (which may take about 5–8 minutes), continue cooking over low heat until the colour turns dark amber.

5. Add the orange juice and continue swirling the saucepan to deglaze the pan. The acid in the orange juice will help prevent the caramel setting rock-solid. 6 When the bubbling stops, pour the caramel directly into your glass baking dish, swirling the hot caramel around the edges of the dish, coating one-third of the way up each side. 7 Leave to cool until set.

6. Make the custard; place the eggs, egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, whisk until the sugar has dissolved. Add about one-third of the coconut milk and whisk to loosen the mixture.

7. Using a spatula (to avoid introducing too much more air), mix in the remaining coconut milk.

8. Strain the custard into your caramel-lined baking dish. Remove any bubbles by either tapping the dish on a solid surface, or lightly blow-torching the surface with a kitchen blow torch.

9. Tightly cover your flan dish with foil; I fold a large sheet of foil in half, to double its tensile strength.

10. Bake the flan; gently place the baking dish in the centre of the bain-marie. The water level should sit just above the level of the custard, so remove or add more boiling water as required.

11. Bake at 160°C (320°F) for 55 minutes, then gently shake the dish and check if the flan jiggles. It should have a slight wobble without any visible liquid seeping out.

12. Carefully remove the bain-marie from the oven and allow the flan to cool in the bain-marie.

13. Serve at room temperature – either straight from the baking dish (as J.Y. has been known to do), or flipped on a serving tray or plate. The flan will keep, covered tightly with plastic wrap, for up to 3 days in the fridge.

14. To flip the flan out, find a serving tray or plate larger than your baking dish. Place the serving tray or plate on your baking dish, holding them together firmly, then flip them both over in a single quick motion.