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How to Make Pumpkin Pie Flan

Lola - Café Sazón y Vida
Fall is here! I love all things pumpkin and pumpkin spice. Aromatic spices, creamy custard topped with sweet caramel. This Pumpkin Pie Flan (Flan de Calabaza) is perfect to pair with a latte
5 from 8 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Refrigerate OverNight OR for 6 hours
Total Time 7 hours 25 minutes
Course Dessert, fall baking, fall recipes
Cuisine American, Caribbean, Puerto Rican
Servings 8 Servings

Equipment

  • Blender
  • 9 inch round pan or any pan of your choice
  • Large roasting pan
  • Spatula
  • Medium Sauce Pan
  • Measuring cup

Ingredients
  

  • ½ cup Pumpkin puree
  • 1 cup Bakers Sugar
  • 1 can Evaporated Milk
  • 1 can Condensed Milk
  • 1 tbsp Cinnamon
  • ½ tsp Ginger
  • ½ tsp Nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp Cloves + Allspice
  • 1 tbsp Pure Vanilla Paste of Extract
  • 5 Large Eggs

Instructions
 

BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING THE FISRT THING YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE IS THE CARAMEL. Making caramel is super easy but one must be careful. Caramel gets really hot and it can cause serious burns. Always handle hot items with caution. Here are the directions how to make caramel:

  • In a medium sauce pan pour 1 cup of sugar on med-high heat. 
  • Stir frequently with spatula until sugar starts to melt. 
  • Continue stirring until ALL the sugar has melted. 
  • Stir until sugar has attained brown color.
  • It is important to watch the sugar as you are stirring because it will burn fast. You don’t want burnt caramel, it tastes bitter. 
  • Lastly after it attains a brown color, using oven mittens, you will pour it into the pan and move the pan around to coat evenly. As soon as you pour the caramel into the mold, the mold will get really hot and you will get burn. Set the pan aside while you prepare the custard.

Making the Pumpkin Pie Flan:

  • First, it’s crucial that all the ingredients are at room temperature. Yes! It makes a difference. Cold eggs lead to crumbly flan. 
  • In a blender add the eggs, evaporated and condensed milks, pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice and vanilla. 
  • Use the blend button to blend until everything is completely incorporated. It should look like the last picture above. The foam on top once it cooks it gives the flan a nice light bottom crust and it is low-key delicious!
  • Place the 9 inch round pan into the large roasting pan. Pour the flan mixture.
  • Add enough water to the large pan to cover the bottom of the small pan. 
  • This method is called a Bain-marie or Baño de Maria. The purpose for this is to ensure the hot water evenly distributes heat around the custard to prevent the eggs to curdle. If you don’t use this method you will have a cracked and rubbery flan. 
  • Cook in a preheated 350 degree oven for 70 minutes. 
  • Carefully using oven mittens remove small pan from large pan and let it rest in the counter (on top of a trivet) for about 30 minutes. 
  • Refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight. 
  • To remove from pan: Using a knife, separate the edges of the flan from the pan. 
  • Place a large plate on top of the pan and carefully turn upside down and the flan should come out the pan easily pouring all the caramel on the plate. 

Notes

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

  1. Can I make this Vegan?
You can make flan vegan by omitting the eggs and using Agar which is a semi transparent powder derived from red-purple algae. Make sure you buy powdered Agar not flakes Substitute the evaporated and condensed milk for coconut milk respectively. I have not tried making Vegan flan so I can’t say if the ending result is good. There’s a lot of Vegan recipes for flan out there just Google them.
2. How long does Flan last in the refrigerator?
Once you remove it from the pan, cut into eighth equal slices. Place them in am airtight container with lid and it will last in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
3. Can I use any sweetener other than regular sugar?
You can. But I don’t recommend using monk fruit or erythritol instead use Allulose. The reason is because unlike other sweeteners Allulose won’t crystalize and it will caramelizes, thicken giving you the consistency as if you would’ve used regular sugar.
4. Should the ingredients be at room temperature?
Yes! It makes a difference. Cold eggs lead to crumbly flan. In this instance you want ALL the ingredients to be at the same temperature

 

SUBSTITUTIONS & VARIATIONS:

  • If you are not fan of pumpkin you can use sweet potato instead.
  • You can add a tsp of Bourbon to give it a kick. The alcohol will cook down enough for consumption.
  • The Pumpkin Pie Flan it is great in the morning for breakfast with a cup of your favorite black coffee.
Keyword fall desserts, Fall Recipes, puerto rican flan, pumpkin pie flan, pumpkin spice flan, pumpkin spice recipes
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