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1
Put the palm sugar, lemon juice, and 1/4 cup water into a small saucepan, set over mediumhigh heat, and cook, stirring, to dissolve the sugar if necessary until the mixture becomes dark brown and registers 350F on a candy thermometer, about 12 minutes.
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2
Remove from the heat and stir in 1/4 teaspoon of the salt.
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3
Carefully divide the caramel among twelve 4-ounce ramekins.
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4
Put the milk, coconut milk, coconut, sugar, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt into a medium saucepan, set over medium heat, and warm, stirring occasionally, until bubbles begin to form around the edges.
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5
Remove from the heat and let steep for 30 minutes.
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6
Preheat the oven to 350F.
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7
Add the evaporated milk to the coconut mixture.
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8
Whisk the eggs and egg yolks in a large mixing bowl until the yolks are broken, then add the milk mixture in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly.
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9
Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing on the coconut to extract as much liquid as possible.
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10
Set the mixture in a larger bowl filled with ice and water and chill completely until cold.
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11
Divide the coconut mixture among the prepared ramekins and put in a deep baking dish or roasting pan.
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12
Carefully pour enough hot water into the pan, without spilling any into the ramekins, to reach halfway up the ramekins.
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13
Bake until the Han is just set, about 45 minutesthe sides should be firm but the center still quite jiggly.
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14
Cool completely in the pan.
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15
Serve the flan once it has cooled or, for even better results, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
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16
Invert the flans onto serving plates.
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17
If the flan seems stuck, run a thin-bladed knife around the edges of each ramekin, and then invert.
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18
Sprinkle each flan with fleur de sel, if desired.
