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My memories of flan are many and varied. Growing up in a Cuban family, we almost always had flan for dessert after Sunday afternoon dinners, and it was almost always made by one of my grandmothers. The ritual was the same. Dinner done, they’d make their way slowly to the kitchen with an armload of dirty dishes. Pots and plates were washed or soaked while the espresso maker was switched on. As it finished brewing, the machine would steam and bang, and the flan would come out of the fridge in preparation for plating. Plating was a dangerous and tricky process whereby one held a plate upside down over the mold, said a little prayer, and flipped quickly. My grandmothers were experts at this maneuver. The mold was removed and caramel would stream from the top of the flan, smelling of vanilla and toasted sugar. A child’s dream come true and still one of the homiest smells I can imagine.
Though I love traditional flan and all the memories that come with it, I wanted to make something that was a little more Autumn. I took the traditional recipe and added pumpkin, cinnamon, cognac and a little mascarpone cheese. I also dressed it all up with honey cardamom pumpkin seeds and a sprinkling of sweet cocoa nibs. It ended up being a wonderful fall dessert full of caramel and spice and everything nice.
For the caramel:
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. coarse salt
For the flan:
1 cup sugar
1 cup pureed pumpkin (I used canned because, I can be lazy too)
5 large eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese, room temperature
2 tbsp. cognac (optional)
For the toppings (all optional):
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 tsp. cardamom
2 tbsp. honey
1/4 cup sweet cocoa nibs (like these)
Equipment: a large 11 x 13 baking dish, 8 x 2 or 9 x 1.5 round cake pan (not a spring-form pan!)
Start by setting up your bain marie, or baño maria and we called it. Fill the large baking dish halfway with water, then place the cake pan in it. The water level should reach 3/4 of the way up to the rim, but shouldn’t be high enough to accidentally get into the cake pan. Remove the cake pan and set aside. Place the baking dish full of water in the center rack of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°.
Next, whisk together all of the ingredients for the flan until smooth. To avoid incorporating too many air bubbles, don’t whisk too vigorously. Once well combined, stir to release air bubbles, then set aside.
Place the sugar and salt in a saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until the sugar begins to melt into a caramel. Don’t leave this pan’s side while you’re making the caramel since it’s really easy to burn the sugar.
As soon as all the sugar is melted and the caramel isn’t cloudy, pour it into the bottom of the cake pan and swirl it around quickly until it coats the entire bottom of the pan. Give the flan batter another couple of stirs, then pour that over the caramel.
Seal the top of the pan very tightly with aluminum foil, then carefully place the flan inside the bain marie. Cook for 40 minutes (9-inch pan) or 45 minutes (8-inch pan), then remove the cake pan from the bain marie and let cool completely. Once it’s room temperature, place the flan in the fridge for 2 -3 hours before plating.
While the flan is baking, toss the pumpkin seeds with cardamom, then drizzle them with honey. Place them close together in a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven with the flan for 5 – 7 minutes. Remove and let cool completely.
To plate the flan, remove the foil and place a large plate over the cake pan. Get a good grip on the bottom of the cake pan and hold the plate firmly down on top of it. Say a little prayer, then quickly flip the pan. Gently pull the pan off the plate, allowing the caramel to drizzle over the top.
Slice and serve with a piece of the cardamom pumpkin seeds and sprinkling of cocoa nibs.
Makes 8 servings.
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Oh wow this is one incredible dessert! I LOVE your choice of toppings too :)
This sounds like my next Thanksgiving Day extravaganza!
Could I use cajeta instead of making caramel?
Vicki – No, cajeta is more like dulce de leche. It will be too gooey. I recommend making the caramel, but let me know if you do end up trying it the other way
This is perfect for the coming Holidays. I can’t wait to make some for my family. This is definitely a hit.
For years I have shied away from making a flan because of the whole flipping it over part….it scars me to death. All I can see is flan dripping from the light fixtures whenever I picture making it. This recipe sounds so good, that I may finally face my fear and leap into this one with both feet. I’ll let you know how it goes. – S
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What is sweet cocoa nibs? Who makes them?
I’m badly obsessed with pumpkins. It hits me every year around this time, and I want to use pumpkin with everything, I bookmark recipes with pumpkin and I go to the farmer’s market on the weekends to find good ones – more is more. So to say the least, I’m totally smitten with this recipe. Just found your blog today and can’t stop going through your archive. So many great posts and food inspiration! And gorgeous photography too!
Mel, this looks gorgeous! I swear I can smell it off the page. Love the story accompanied with this recipe. Beautiful picture. Too good. Thank you
Delicious. Next time I will reduce the sugar just a little because it came out slightly too sweet for me. The pumpkin seed brittle was easy and awesome. I liked it best without the cardamom, and it worked well with agave nectar as a substitute for the honey. The cocoa nibs were a nice compliment. Lots of good reviews from friends, too. Thanks!
Ave Maria! Just reading the post makes me swoon. That sounds super-rico! I just roasted some pumpkin and now have a great recipe to try. Guepa!
Oh my! What a great recipe! I think I’ going to try it right away :D Keep the great work up!
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