In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water and cook over medium heat until a thick, light brown caramel syrup forms. You may need to stir it gently with a spatula if hot spots form and it starts caramelizing unevenly.Pour carefully into 6-cup [1.5 l] baking dish and move it around to cover the bottom and sides of the pan. Be careful, as hot caramel is indeed very hot, and the pan will get very hot too. Set aside to cool down until the caramel hardens.
2. Making quesillo mix
In a large bowl, combine eggs, sweetened condensed milk, and coconut milk and whisk to mix. Sieve to get rid of undissolved egg parts. Pour carefully into the baking pan, trying not to disturb the caramel layer.
3. Cooking
Bake in a hot water bath (bain-marie) in an oven preheated to 320 ºF [160 ºC] for one hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and water bath. Cool to room temperature. Chill. Loosen edges of flan, place a serving plate on top of the mold (one which will retain the syrup), and invert.
4. Serving
Chill before serving (about 2 hours in the fridge).Garnish with the coconut flakes (optional).
Video
Notes
The traditional recipe does not call for coconut flakes, you can do without them if you wish.