Pumpkin Flan

Two pumpkin posts in a row? Overkill? Probably—my husband isn’t complaining though, and my house smells absolutely edible. Flan purists will turn their nose at this gringo version of flan, but I gave a piece to our Salvadorian neighbor, a self proclaimed flan aficionado, and he LOVED it. So clearly, it must be good.

Like pumpkin bread, this is one of those recipes that I really only make October through December. Obviously, there is nothing actually preventing me from making pumpkin recipes mid-July, but would the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte be as exciting if it was readily available all year round? Probably not, so I like to keep these things special. And actually, I have come to love this flan so much, I think it might make its first appearance at Thanksgiving this year since I have appointed myself head of desserts (I should probably let my family know that at some point). Don’t get me wrong, I love plain old pumpkin pie, but sometimes, it is fun to add a little variety to the typical Thanksgiving dessert spread. Last year, I brought pumpkin cheesecake, and that was a huge hit.

In terms of preparation, this can be made a day ahead (or possibly 2 if you really don’t have time the day before). Flan seems like one of those dishes that would be really difficult to make, but besides needing to move rather quickly when pouring the caramel into the souffle dish (see Step 2) there is nothing very technical about this recipe. So with that said, get baking and enjoy!

And next week, I will post something with meat…and vegetables. I think I need more balance in my life, but I suppose pumpkin could count as a vegetable too?

Here is what you will need:

 I almost forgot to include the most important ingredient!



Secret Ingredient

Step 1: Heat a 2-quart souffle dish or round ceramic casserole in middle of oven. Cook 1 cup sugar in a dry 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring slowly with a fork, until melted and pale golden. Cook caramel without stirring, swirling pan, until deep golden, about 5 minutes.

Step 2: Quickly and carefully remove hot dish from oven and immediately pour caramel into dish, tilting it to cover bottom and sides. (Leave oven on.) Keep tilting as caramel cools and thickens enough to stay in place.

Step 3: Scald whole milk with evaporated milk in a saucepan and remove from heat. (Basically heat it until it is just at a boil.)

Step 4: Beat eggs and remaining cup sugar with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.

Step 5: Beat in salt, pumpkin, tequila, and spices.

Step 6: Pour milk mixture through a sieve into a bowl and beat into pumpkin mixture in a slow stream until combined well.

Step 7: Pour custard over caramel in dish and set in a water bath of 1 inch hot water. Put pan in middle of oven and lower temperature to 350°F. Bake until golden brown on top and a knife inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 1/4 hours, possibly longer.

Step 8: Remove dish from water bath and transfer to a rack to cool. Chill flan, covered, until cold, at least 6 hours.

Step 9: To unmold flan, rest souffle dish in about 2 inches of warm water for 30 seconds. This helps warm the caramel. Then take a thin knife around flan to loosen the flan from the sides of dish. Wiggle dish from side to side and, when flan moves freely in dish, invert a large serving platter with a lip over dish. Holding dish and platter securely together, quickly invert and turn out flan onto platter. Caramel will pour out over and around it.

Source: Epicurious.com

Ingredients

2 cups sugar
1 cup whole milk
2 (5-oz) cans evaporated milk (1 1/3 cups)
5 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
15-oz can solid-pack pumpkin (1 3/4 cups)
2 tablespoons premium golden agave tequila such as Herradura Reposado, or bourbon
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg


Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F. Place a large pot of water to boil (this hot water will be used for the water bath)

Heat a 2-quart souffle dish or round ceramic casserole in middle of oven.

Cook 1 cup sugar in a dry 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring slowly with a fork, until melted and pale golden. Cook caramel without stirring, swirling pan, until deep golden, about 5 minutes. Quickly and carefully remove hot dish from oven and immediately pour caramel into dish, tilting it to cover bottom and sides. (Leave oven on.) Keep tilting as caramel cools and thickens enough to stay in place.

Scald whole milk with evaporated milk in a saucepan and remove from heat. Beat eggs and remaining cup sugar with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Beat in salt, pumpkin, tequila, and spices. Pour milk mixture through a sieve into a bowl and beat into pumpkin mixture in a slow stream until combined well.

Pour custard over caramel in dish and set in a water bath of 1 inch hot water. Put pan in middle of oven and lower temperature to 350°F. Bake until golden brown on top and a knife inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 1/4 hours, possibly longer. Remove dish from water bath and transfer to a rack to cool. Chill flan, covered, until cold, at least 6 hours.

To unmold flan, rest soufflé dish in about 2 inches of warm water for 30 seconds. This helps warm the caramel. Then take a thin knife around flan to loosen the flan from the sides of dish. Wiggle dish from side to side and, when flan moves freely in dish, invert a large serving platter with a lip over dish. Holding dish and platter securely together, quickly invert and turn out flan onto platter. Caramel will pour out over and around it.

Flan, I love you just the way you are...

At some point, I'll talk about the many variations of flan--chocolate flan, pumpkin flan, brandy flan, and the list goes on. But for today, I just want to pay homage to the one and only, plain and simple,caramel flan.

This dessert makes me think of my mother. She's never been a baker, but like all Spanish women, this is the one dessert she can make, almost like a rite of passage.

I will say a couple of things about the list of ingredients. If you are on a diet or have cholesterol issues, let's be honest, this is not the dessert for you. Unless I bake a dessert with the intention of making it "low-fat," I never try substituting ingredients. I believe in real sugar and whole milk. It just tastes better. Also, I love trying to use organic whenever possible/affordable, but over Thanksgiving my brother and sister used some sort of brown organic sugar with this dessert, let's just say it did not work...AT ALL. Just use the real stuff today, and ask for forgiveness at the gym tomorrow.


Here is what you will need:



Step 1: Prehat the oven to 300°. Scald the milk with a 1/4 teaspoon of salt.



Step 2: Beat eggs, 6 tablespoons of sugar, and vanilla until it is all nice and fluffy.



Step 3: Continue to stir the egg mixture, and slowly pour the scalded milk into the bowl--continue to stir until well blended but not foamy.



Step 4: Set aside the egg mixture. Place 6 tablespoons of sugar in an iron skillet on low heat. Stir constantly until it turns a nice golden color. Do not leave unattended because it might start to burn.





Step 5: When the sugar turns amber, quickly pour the melted sugar into the souffle dish and move around to coat the bottom. It will only take a few seconds to harden, so tilt the dish back and forth quickly.



Step 6: Pour the egg mixture into the souffle dish. Place the souffle dish in a baking pan and pour at least a couple of inches of HOT (but not boiling) water into the pan. Cook for one hour. Check on the water ever 20 minutes to make sure it hasn't started to boil. If it does, pour in a half a cup of cold water to cool it down.



The top will be a nice golden brown.



Step 7: Let it cool on a rack for at least 20 minutes. Run a knife along the edge and turn over onto a plate. The caramel will cover the custard...so good! Cover and refrigerate.



List of ingredients:

12 tablespoons of sugar (divided)
2 cups of whole milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 whole eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla