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Pumpkin flan

Easy pumpkin flan recipe prepared with candied pumpkin cooked in brown sugar and spices, eggs, cream and orange liqueur.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Latin American
Keyword Calabaza, Custard, Dulce de zapallo, Flan, Pumpkin
Servings 8 to 10 small individual flans

Ingredients

For the caramel:

  • 1 cup sugar
  • ½ cup water

For the pumpkin flan:

  • 1 ½ cups of dulce de zapallo or candied pumpkin pulp 400 grams - see recipe below or see Notes for a quick version using canned pumpkin purée
  • 6 eggs
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup milk - regular or evaporated milk
  • 1 tsp orange zest
  • 1 tsp vainilla
  • 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice mix adjust to taste
  • 1 tbs grand marnier or orange liqueur - optional

Instructions

For the caramel:

  • Combine the sugar and the water in a saucepan and cook over medium high heat, bring to a boil and let it continue boiling until the caramel starts to turn a deep amber color. Do not stir while it is boiling, but keep an eye on it as it can burn very quickly during the last minutes. It should boil for about 8-10 minutes.
  • Pour the hot caramel into lightly greased flan molds or ramekins.

For the pumpkin flan:

  • Pre-heat the oven to 350 F / 175 C.
  • Place all the ingredients for the pumpkin flan into a blender and mix until well combined. You can also use an electric mixer if you prefer.
  • Pour the pumpkin flan mixture into the ramekins.
  • Put the ramekins or small flan molds in an oven pan filled with some water – the water should cover at least ½ of the height of the ramekins.
  • Bake the pumpkin flans at 350F for about 40-45 minutes, or until the flan is set.
  • Let the flans cool completely, then refrigerate for a couple of hours.
  • To help release the flans place the ramekins in a bowl with warm water before serving to melt the caramel and loosen the flan.
  • Serve alone or accompanied by
    honey crème fraiche sauce and some slices of fresh orange.

Notes

If you only have canned pumpkin puree or want a shortcut to make this recipe without having to make the dulce de zapallo o caramelized pumpkin from scratch, you can make a quick caramelized pumpkin puree version:
  • Place the contents of 1 can of pumpkin puree (a 15-16 ounce can) in a small pot and add 1 cup of brown sugar or grated panela/piloncillo, and 1-2 teaspoons of cinnamon and other ground spices (clove, all spice, nutmeg, ginger).
  • Cook over low heat for 20-25 minutes, stirring often, until you have a dark sweet pumpkin mix.