Pumpkin Flan

This is what I made for Thanksgiving dessert- Pumpkin Nutmeg Flan, another long-bookmarked recipe that I finally found a muhurat to make. V is an ardent fan of flans and caramel custards of all types, so I knew he would love this dessert.

To keep it simple, I skipped the cookie topping in the original recipe.

The one technique that is used here is baking in a hot water bath or a bain marie. Read more about this technique here.

Here's how the original recipe came to be Recipe #35: Pumpkin Flan.

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375F.

2. Put a kettle of water to boil, for the bain marie.

3. In a large bowl, add

7 eggs
1 15 oz. can canned pumpkin puree
1 14 oz. can condensed milk
1 12 fl. oz. can evaporated milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground nutmeg

Use an immersion blender to make a smooth mixture.

4. In another pan, melt 1 cup sugar into amber caramel.

5. Pour the caramel carefully into a loaf pan. Add the pumpkin mixture and bake in a bain marie for 15 mins. Then turn down the oven to 350F and bake until set (inserted knife should come clean), 45 minutes or so.

6. Chill, then invert before serving.

Notes:

One problem I had was that there was way too much pumpkin mixture- it would have overflowed the loaf pan. At the last minute, I had to grab a smaller bowl and set up another bain marie so as not to waste the remaining mixture. So if you plan on using these proportions, have 2 oaf pans, or one loaf pan and some extra baking cups ready.

Another thing I would do differently next time is to cover the pans with foil while baking to avoid a rubbery surface from forming.

The flan was absolutely delicious- with flavors of pumpkin and nutmeg, it was the perfect alternative to pie on this holiday.

To all those who celebrate it, Happy Thanksgiving! I have a very very long list of things that I am thankful for, but I'll only mention here my gratitude to the good folks who visit this space, share their love for home cooking and always have a kind word for me. Thank you.