Pumpkin Flan
By Melissa Pitts
Pumpkin flan is the ultimate sweet treat for fall, especially Thanksgiving! If you love flan and pumpkin pie, this is the recipe for you. I took Abi’s mom’s flan recipe which is legendary, and added some canned pumpkin and pumpkin pie spices. The result–a perfect combination of creamy, pumpkin bliss. This is a great Thanksgiving dessert and is sure to please flan and pie lovers alike.
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45-60 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 can of sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)
- 1 ¾ cups milk (either whole or low fat, but not nonfat)
- 3 eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
- 3/4 cup pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 cup sugar
Directions:
- Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F, and bring a kettle of water to a boil for the water bath and keep it hot.
- Spray an 8inch or 9inch cake pan or, if using, 6 ramekins with cooking spray.
- In a blender add everything except the sugar and puree until everything is well blended. Set aside.
- To make the caramel: In a small saucepan, heat the sugar over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar melts and forms a medium-brown caramel- careful not to burn or the sugar will be bitter, about 7-10 minutes. Working quickly, add the caramel to the cake pan or if using the ramekins, coat the bottoms of each (the caramel will harden quickly but don’t worry if it’s not perfect as the heat from the hot water bath will melt it again). Set aside.
- Pour the pureed liquid into the ramekins or pan. Place ramekins/pan in a large glass or ceramic baking dish and fill with about 1-2 inches of hot water from the kettle. Bake for 45 minutes for ramekins, or about 1 hour for a cake pan. The flan is ready when it still jiggles slightly and if you poke the center with a knife, it comes out clean and doesn’t stick to the custard.
- Let cool completely. To remove, place a plate on top, then invert to pop it out. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. Serve it cold or at room temperature.
