Pumpkin Flan

If you’re looking for new desserts to expand your fall recipe repertoire, we’ve got a great one for you: pumpkin flan. It’s elegant without being fussy, and uses seasonal ingredients like canned squash and warm baking spices. Try it out for your next gathering!

What is pumpkin flan?

Flan is in the custard dessert family, which means that it’s primarily thickened with eggs and also usually includes milk or cream. (Its cousin, pudding, is typically thickened with cornstarch or flour instead of eggs.) The milk and egg mixture is gently baked in a caramel-coated pan, and as it cooks, the caramel turns into a sauce that coats the flan when it’s flipped out of the pan.

Although flan has European roots, it has become most closely associated with Latin America. And since pumpkin originated somewhere in North or Central America, adding pumpkin to flan makes perfect culinary sense.

Pumpkin Flan Recipe Ingredients

• Sugar: You’ll want to use regular granulated sugar in this recipe for pumpkin flan. It turns into the caramel that coats the flan’s baking pan.
• Milk: The combination of evaporated and sweetened condensed milk lends this pumpkin flan recipe its rich texture. They’re both sold in cans in the baking aisles of most grocery stores.
• Eggs: Eggs are a crucial ingredient in flan, as the egg proteins are what give the dessert its structure. Use large Grade A eggs to ensure that your custard sets up perfectly.
• Canned pumpkin: We recommend canned pumpkin over fresh pumpkin for most baked pumpkin recipes, because you know exactly what you’re getting in terms of sweetness and water content, whereas some fresh pumpkins can be much sweeter than others.
• Butterscotch schnapps: The schnapps is optional, so don’t stress if you don’t have any. You can also substitute any liqueur of your choice.
• Vanilla extract: Use pure vanilla extract if you can find it, or feel free to skip the vanilla extract altogether.
• Spices: The combo of cinnamon and nutmeg gives flan a lovely autumnal feel. Go all the way with fall flavors and use pumpkin pie spice instead.
• Toppings: A bit of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream gives the dish a photo-friendly finish.

Directions

Step 1: Prepare the caramel

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Preheat the oven to 350°F. Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat and add the granulated sugar. Once the sugar begins to melt, reduce the heat to medium and stir. Cook until the sugar becomes clear and amber in color, five to six minutes, stirring frequently.

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Pour the sugar into a deep, ungreased 9-inch cake pan. Rotate the pan to coat the bottom and sides with the sugar, then set it aside.

Step 2: Make the custard

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In a high-speed blender, combine the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, eggs, canned pumpkin, butterscotch liqueur (if desired), vanilla extract, cinnamon and nutmeg. Puree until the mixture is smooth, about one minute.

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Pour the blended mixture into the sugar-lined cake pan. Cover the pan with foil.

Step 3: Bake the flan

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Place the cake pan into a roasting pan. Pour hot water into the roasting pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake the flan until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Editor’s Tip: If you want to use a thermometer to determine if your flan is done, look for a temperature of 175°.

Step 4: Cool and serve

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Carefully remove the cake pan from the water bath and let the flan cool completely on a wire rack. After it’s cooled, cover and refrigerate the flan for at least four hours or overnight. To serve the flan, invert it onto a rimmed serving platter.

When you’re ready to eat the flan, you can garnish it with whipped cream or serve it with vanilla ice cream.

Editor’s Tip: Flipping a flan doesn’t have to be tricky. Start by running a thin knife around the edge of the baking dish. Then, place a rimmed serving platter over the top of the cake pan and flip the two vessels together.

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Pumpkin Flan Variations

• Amp up the spices: Try using 1/2 teaspoon (or a little more) of pumpkin spice in place of the cinnamon and nutmeg. Other warm spices of your choosing would do the trick too, such as allspice, clove, ginger or even Chinese five spice.
• Get zesty: In place of the schnapps, add grated orange zest and two tablespoons of orange juice to the custard mixture.
• Make it maple: When making the caramel, add 1/4 cup of maple syrup and 1/4 cup of water to the pan along with the sugar. Continue with the recipe as written.

How to Store Pumpkin Flan

Cover leftover flan tightly with storage wrap, and keep it in the refrigerator. Your leftovers will be lovely either cold or at room temperature.

How long does pumpkin flan last?

Like many other egg recipes, flan is best when eaten within three to four days.

Pumpkin Flan Tips

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How do you make pumpkin flan in ramekins?

A few tweaks are needed to make this pumpkin flan in ramekins. When you make the caramel, start with a cup of sugar instead of 3/4 cup. Divide the finished caramel among eight ramekins instead of pouring it into a single baking dish. Do the same with the custard, and cover each ramekin with foil. Place the ramekins in the roasting pan, and make sure the water bath is about halfway up the ramekins’ sides. Start checking the flans for doneness after 45 minutes.

How do you avoid cracks in pumpkin flan?

That’s the job of the water bath! Cooking the flan with water in the oven helps ensure that the custard doesn’t get too hot. If your oven temperature is not accurate to the reading, that could affect flan, too, so throw an oven thermometer on one of the shelves so you know what you’re working with.

How do you know when pumpkin flan is finished cooking?

The flan will be set around the edges but will have a gentle bit of jiggle in the middle. If you gently touch the center of the flan, it shouldn’t be liquid, and you should be able to feel that there’s structure from the eggs having set. Alternatively, if you have an instant-read thermometer, stick the probe in the middle of the flan and look for a temperature reading of 175°.

What can you serve with pumpkin flan?

Flan doesn’t need much accompaniment, but it’s lovely with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Other great accompaniments for this particular flan include roasted pumpkin seeds, pumpkin seed toffee or gingersnap cookies.