Flan is a delicious, silky custard topped with a thin caramel layer. This recipe uses milk steeped with whole coffee beans to give the flan a mild coffee flavor and aroma without losing the creamy white color of the custard. It’s also sugar-free, using allulose sweetener for the caramel and monkfruit sweetener for the custard. Allulose is ideal for making sugar-free caramels and sticky desserts because it is slightly milder than monkfruit and doesn’t crystalize.
On the Ingredients
- Allulose is a naturally occurring sugar found in figs, raisins, wheat, maple syrup, and molasses. However, the amount found in these foods is so small that it’s synthesized from fructose for commercial use. However, it doesn’t affect the body the same way as fructose. It doesn’t crystalize like monk fruit and erythritol so you can make caramel with it.
- Monk fruit sweetener is a natural sugar alternative made from the luohan guo fruit, cultivated in Asia for hundreds of years. Its sweetness comes from mogroside, so it doesn’t affect the body like other sugars. Since it’s sweeter than white sugar, monk fruit sweeteners are often mixed with erythritol, a sugar alcohol. Monk fruit is non-caloric, sugar-free, and doesn’t raise blood sugar. For most people, it tastes the same as sugar, though sweeter, with no aftertaste. Monk fruit may have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Studies in animals and test tubes suggest monk fruit may inhibit cancer cell growth. Though few studies have been conducted, monk fruit has been eaten for hundreds of years in Asia and is used in Chinese medicine. (Read more about monk fruit.)
Recipe Note and Substitutions
If you want to make this recipe with traditional sugar, replace the allulose and monk fruit with the same amount of granulated sugar.
White Coffee Flan
6
servings15
minutes50
minutes3.5
hours4
hours35
minutesFlan is a delicious, silky custard topped with a thin caramel layer. This recipe uses milk steeped with whole coffee beans to give the flan a mild coffee flavor and aroma without losing the creamy white color of the custard. It’s also sugar-free, using allulose sweetener for the caramel and monkfruit sweetener for the custard. Allulose is ideal for making sugar-free caramels and sticky desserts because it is slightly milder than monkfruit and doesn’t crystalize.
Ingredients
1 tbsp water
1/3 heaping cup allulose sweetener
4 eggs
1/4 cup monkfruit sweetener
2 cups milk
1/2 cup whole coffee beans
1 tsp vanilla extract
Whipped cream for garnish (optional)
Directions
- Combine the water and allulose sweetener in a small saucepan and heat over low heat. Stirring occasionally, heat the mixture until it thickens and turns a dark mahogany brown.
- Divide the caramel between six ramekins and leave it to harden.
- Combine the coffee beans and milk in a small saucepan. Bring heat the milk until just before boiling, then turn off the heat and let it sit for 30 minutes.
- Strain out the coffee beans and discard them. The milk will have a strong coffee scent but will still be white.
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs, monkfruit, and vanilla. Slowly pour in the milk and whisk to combine. Strain the mixture through a sieve, so your flan is uniform.
- Place the ramekins in a sheet cake pan or casserole dish. Divide the custard between them.
- Pour an inch of water into the pan around the ramekins. Bake for 40-50 minutes until the custards are set.
- Carefully remove the ramekins from the water bath and let them cool to touch. Place the flans in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
- After the flan has spent 3 or more hours in the refrigerator, run a butter knife around the edge of the ramekin to separate the flan. Place a small serving plate over the top of the ramekin and flip it over, using your hand to secure the ramekin. Brace the bottom of the ramekin with your thumbs while you grip the plate and give it a few shakes until the flan is released from the ramekin and drops onto the plate.
- Remove the ramekin and serve as is, or topped with whipped cream!
