Halloween Special: Pumpkin Flan

You know I was going to title this post 'Fall or Autumn Special' but then I changed it because that term does not reflect the reality of those of us living in the tropics. Regrettably, we miss out on this beautiful transition of seasons. For us equatorial folks, the swathes of green foliage don't fade away into dazzling amber, maroon, gold and bronze hues. Green remains green and the weather remains hot and humid all year round. That being said, this season does see different varieties of pumpkin, squash and gourds flooding the markets (mostly imported 😄) and Halloween vibes kick in which help to liven things up a bit. 

This October, I'm bringing you a Halloween Special pumpkin dessert. Truth be told, I don't cook all that much with pumpkin or butternut squash so this is a recipe I am rather excited about. While on the subject of Halloween, the twins have had their costumes ready for over a month but with the current social restrictions, we don't know if there will be any scope for trick or treating 😕 We are keeping our fingers crossed! 

I'm assuming most people are familiar with flan. In case you aren't, flan is a dessert that is creamy in texture and has two distinct layers - a clear caramel layer and a custard layer. The basic ingredients in a flan recipe are eggs, milk, and sugar. This dessert is usually baked in a ramekin or circular pan that is placed in a water bath in the oven until set. When it is time to serve, the serving plate is placed face down on the ramekin, and then the ramekin is flipped upside down for the flan to slide on the serving plate with a runny amber caramel pooling all around it. This dessert is sometimes called Crème Caramel (a recipe that I have previously posted on the blog and is quite popular). You can have have so many varieties with this flan - cheese, coconut, rum, coffee, vanilla, chocolate, Dulce de Leche etc.

This flan is different because of the addition of pumpkin. I was browsing Instagram recently and my eyes were instantly drawn to this recipe that had been posted by feedfeed. It looked so good and I was surprised to see how simple the recipe was. The most tricky part in this recipe is making the caramel but once you do that, there is no other cooking involved. You chuck the rest of the ingredients in a blender, blend for a few seconds and add the mixture to the caramel coated ramekins and let the oven do its job. I made a mental note to try it out ASAP. Unfortunately, canned pumpkin purée is not something we get here readily so I had to make my own at home. Using the canned variety saves you about half an hour so if you get it then good for you.

My children LOVED this Pumpkin Flan. They ate it three days in a row until there were no more left. My husband and domestic helper gave their seal of approval too. I loved the smooth creamy texture, the perfume of the spices, the degree of sweetness that was just right and the fact that you could appreciate the subtle flavor of the pumpkin. This recipe is definitely here to stay.

I really hope you try this recipe. Refer to the notes below for tips and substitutions. 

This year I also made Pumpkin Spiced Chocolate Chip Bread for some friends. This is a recipe I've posted previously on the blog and it is a pretty good one. If you happen to have excess of pumpkin or squash, you can try it as well 😁

My kids LOVE Halloween. They have been dressing up and going trick or treating with their friends since they were three years old. And truth be told, I absolutely love dressing them up. So far we have covered all the easy costumes - witch, pirate, angel, princess, superhero, my little pony and mermaid. Methinks we need to start getting more creative in the coming years 😄

Happy Halloween in advance 👻

Pumpkin Flan

Prep Time: 20 min (if using store-bought pumpkin purée); 50 min (if using homemade pumpkin purée)

Baking Time: 40 min to 1 hr (depending on the size)

Chilling time: 4 hours to overnight

Serves/Makes: 6 x 4-inch flans or 1 x 10-inch flan

Recipe category: Dessert/Spanish

Recipe level: Easy

Recipe source: Adapted from here

Ingredients:

1-1/4 cup refined sugar

1 can evaporated milk

1 can sweetened condensed milk

3/ 4 cup pumpkin purée (canned or homemade)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp good quality vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

5 eggs

Method:

1. If you have canned pumpkin purée then awesome but if not, you can quickly make your own at home. Chop the pumpkin into roughly equal sized chunks. Coat the pumpkin with olive oil and roast in a preheated oven at 200 deg C (400 deg F) for around 20 minutes. Insert a fork into the pumpkin to check for doneness. Let the pumpkin cool and then blend (without adding water) to a thick and smooth purée. 

2. Preheat oven to 175 deg C (350 deg F). In a heavy bottom pan over medium heat, caramelize the refined sugar, stirring occasionally for about 8-10 minutes until the sugar turns clear and an amber color. Watch this very closely as it can burn very quickly.

3. Quickly (but carefully) divide the caramel among six oven-safe ungreased 6-oz ramekins (~ 4 inch) or one 10-inch cake pan. Swirl to evenly coat the bottom of the ramekins/pan. Set aside.

4. In a blender, combine the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, pumpkin purée, ground spices, vanilla extract, pinch of salt and eggs. Blend about 5-10 seconds until uniformly smooth. Do not blend it for longer as we do not want to incorporate too much air into the mixture. 

5. Pour the flan mixture over the caramel in the ramekins/pan. Place into a roasting pan and fill with hot water until about 1-inch full.

6. Bake in the oven for 40-45 min (in case of 6 ramekins) or 1 hour (in case of 10-inch pan) or until just set. The flan will be firm but still jiggle slightly in the middle; a toothpick inserted into the center of the flan will come out clean.

7. Remove from oven and let it sit in the water bath for about 15-20 minutes. Then cover the ramekin or pan with aluminum foil and place flan into the fridge for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.

8. When ready to serve, use a knife to gently loosen the sides around the rim. Place a plate on top of the ramekin or pan. With a steady hand, swiftly flip over and give it a tap. Remove the ramekin or pan. 

Serve cold as it is or with garnishing of choice (refer notes). 

Notes:

• If you are making your own pumpkin purée, you can either use orange pumpkin or butternut squash
• If you have pumpkin spice mix, just use 1.5 tsp of that instead of the ground spices in the ingredient list
• If you don't want to caramelize the sugar, you may use prepared caramel sauce
• You can decorate the flan with pumpkin seeds or toasted walnuts for an element of crunch

Cheers,

Megha