Imagine you’re sipping a drink from a pineapple under the Caribbean sun — warm breeze on your skin, ocean waves rolling in and the bright, joyful spirit of Puerto Rico all around you. That same tropical spirit has made its way to Universal Mardi Gras: International Flavors of Carnaval this year, carried in by a dessert rooted in island tradition, family memories and vibrant Puerto Rican flavor.
Senior cook Victoria Jennings channels that spirit into her Coconut Flancocho, the featured dessert at this year’s Puerto Rico booth. When the culinary team invited Team Members to create and present a dish in a Mardi Gras bake-off for a chance to be featured at the event, Victoria knew it was her moment to honor her Puerto Rican heritage.
She thought back to the ingredients she grew up with — pineapple, coconut and guava — and a childhood memory surfaced: making flancocho with her mother.
“I remembered my mom and I made a flancocho, a flan layered with cake,” Victoria says. That memory inspired her to add a Mardi Gras twist using Puerto Rico’s most iconic fruity flavors, transforming the dessert into a coconut flan layered over pineapple cake. “I wanted to switch up the flavors and create a piña colada version,” she says. She finishes it with rum whipped topping and a Coquí frog decoration, a playful nod to the island’s beloved symbol.
As the dessert took shape, pastry chef Angel Santiago became a key part of Victoria’s process. Victoria credits him with helping her refine the dish from the very beginning. “Chef Angel was my mentor throughout the process,” she says. “He gave me critiques about the dish and how to balance out the flan and cake.”
For Chef Angel, the experience was just as meaningful. “Mentoring Victoria has been really exciting for me,” he says. “Victoria has done an amazing job with this dessert, and it makes me so proud. When my Team Members create something and put it out on the table, I see their talents shine through and it makes me so happy.”
For Victoria, this dish truly represents her family’s story. “Both my parents were my inspiration,” she says. “Every year, we would visit Puerto Rico and my dad would teach us where we’re from.” Flancocho is typically a holiday staple in her family, a dessert meant to be shared. “I always had fun eating this dish during the holidays. We’d all cut slices and share it together,” she adds.
Now, Victoria’s Coconut Flancocho brings a burst of tropical sunshine and shared celebration to Mardi Gras — a dessert layered with memory, mentorship and unmistakable Puerto Rican pride. Check out the Puerto Rico booth, where every bite invites guests to savor the flavor of the island, in the New York area of Universal Studios Florida next to Revenge of the Mummy.
What is your favorite booth at this year’s Mardi Gras event? Let us know in the comments below!
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