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Pumpkin Caramel Flan

5 from 2 votes

Pumpkin Caramel Flan - a silky smooth, creamy custard loaded with pumpkin, and pumpkin pie spice, with a layer of soft caramel on top.

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Pumpkin Caramel Flan - a silky smooth, creamy custard that's loaded with pumpkin, and pumpkin pie spice, with a layer of soft caramel on top. www.savingdessert.com

 

Pumpkin Caramel Flan – a silky smooth, creamy custard loaded with pumpkin, and pumpkin pie spice, with a layer of soft caramel on top.

I’m feeling very blessed tonight.  As I write this post I think back to my day and how excited I was, because I knew our children, and their spouses, and all the grand-babies would be coming over.  On the first Sunday of each month we host a family dinner.  It’s a special day for us because getting together as a family was actually their idea.  How great is that?  They’re adults now so we all sit and talk, laugh and share stories.  We talk about how much their children remind us of when they were little.  Oh the memories.

We looked ahead to the holidays, planning our family Thanksgiving dinner, a photo project involving the granddaughters for Christmas, and we scheduled our family holiday picture.  Baby Jayden tried pears tonight for the very first time.  It was the first time she has eaten any kind of fruit in her whole life (7 months) and we all got to see her wonderful reaction!

My heart is full.  These are the best of times.

 

 

Pumpkin Caramel Flan - a silky smooth, creamy custard that's loaded with pumpkin, and pumpkin pie spice, with a layer of soft caramel on top. www.savingdessert.com

First, can you guess what I served for dessert at our Sunday family dinner?

Our daughter-in-law Callie likes Pumpkin Pie but there are only a few of us that eat it.  Everybody else wants Chocolate Pecan Pie for the holidays.  So, I thought I’d sneak in one more pumpkin recipe (for Callie), with my very last can of pumpkin, before the holiday extravaganza got away from me.  Caramel Flans, and this pumpkin version, are super easy to prepare and are especially great because they must be made ahead of time.  That makes this Pumpkin Caramel Flan a great dessert for a crowd or even a pumpkin loving daughter-in-law.

 

 

Pumpkin Caramel Flan - a silky smooth, creamy custard that's loaded with pumpkin, and pumpkin pie spice, with a layer of soft caramel on top. www.savingdessert.com

Several years ago one of my former coworkers gave me her authentic Mexican Caramel Flan recipe.

I decided to try and adapt it by substituting pumpkin for the cream cheese, added pumpkin pie spice and exchanged the vanilla for vanilla bean paste.  In addition, I switched one of the whole eggs for an egg yolk, and added one more just for good measure.

 

 

Pumpkin Caramel Flan - a silky smooth, creamy custard that's loaded with pumpkin, and pumpkin pie spice, with a layer of soft caramel on top. www.savingdessert.com

The texture of the Pumpkin Caramel Flan was spot on with a subtle, not too sweet, pumpkin flavor.

I garnished the individual flans with roasted, salted pepitas which is a great contrast to the soft caramel.  The recipe may be baked in a 1 1/2 quart baking dish, an 8 or 9-inch cake pan, or in an assortment of ramekins.

 

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An overhead shot of a pumpkin flan with caramel garnished with pepitas

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Pumpkin Caramel Flan

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
Course: Dessert
Author: Tricia
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5 from 2 votes
Pumpkin Caramel Flan - a silky smooth, creamy custard that's loaded with pumpkin, and pumpkin pie spice, with a layer of soft caramel on top and a garnish of roasted, salted pepitas.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
  • 3 large eggs, plus 2 egg yolks
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
  • 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2 tablespoons roasted salted pepitas for garnish optional

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • Flan must be baked in a bain-marie, or hot water bath. Prepare a larger pan big enough to hold 6-8 ramekins, a 1 ½ quart casserole dish or an 8-9" cake pan. Place the pan with the empty ramekins or casserole in the oven to preheat while preparing the caramel.
  • In a small nonstick saucepan, warm the granulated sugar over medium heat. Shake and swirl the pan occasionally to distribute the sugar until it dissolves and starts to color.
  • Once almost all the sugar is melted, turn the heat down to medium-low and continue swirling the pan until the caramel turns dark golden brown. You can slow the cooking process by lifting the pan over the heating element (4-6 inches) if you are worried it's browning too quickly. You don't want it to burn because it will have a very bitter taste.
  • Once browned, divide the caramel between the preheated ramekins or pan. Set aside to cool while preparing the custard.
  • Heat a kettle of water to boiling and set aside.
  • Place all remaining ingredients (except pepitas) into a blender and process on high for at least one minute. Divide the custard between the ramekins. Place the pan holding all the ramekins in the preheated oven. Carefully pour hot water into the pan to about 1 inch in depth. Close the oven and bake for 60 minutes or until the custard is set.
  • Cool completely, then cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. The flan should be fully chilled before serving.
  • To serve, slide a small sharp knife around the edge of the dish. Shake the ramekin back and forth until you hear the custard pulling away from the sides of the dish. Invert the flan onto a plate to serve. Garnish with pepitas if desired.

Recipe Notes

  • You may need 6-8 ramekins depending on the sizes. I have two large, 6-inch ramekins, several 4-inch and some 3-inch. I used an assortment of different sizes but all baked the same.
  • For a traditional Caramel Flan - use the following ingredients:
    1 cup granulated sugar
    1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
    1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
    4 large eggs
    4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
    1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. When multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.

Nutrition

Calories: 134kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 26mg | Potassium: 89mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 4857IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg

Here are a few more pumpkin recipes you might enjoy:

Here’s my favorite blender (photo is clickable) for making this Pumpkin Caramel Flan:

The small print: If you decide to purchase something at Amazon after following my affiliate link, I receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you, which I use to pay for web hosting and services for this blog.

Happy Monday my friends.  I hope you have a wonderful week and thanks so much for stopping by!

Tricia

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34 Comments

    • Tricia Buice

      Hi Julie – I think evaporated milk will work best in this recipe. You can try regular milk but I’m not sure it will come out the same. I have not tested it using milk. Evaporated milk has a richer taste so I would use whole milk if substituting. Good luck!

      Reply

  2. Abbe@This is How I Cook

    Oh Tricia. I am so happy for you! You are blessed. What I would give for family dinners-but mine have not yet come home to roost. I do believe though that one day they will. And I promise I will serve this. I love flan and am sure I would love pumpkin flan, too!

    Reply

  3. Susan

    What a sweet post about your family, Tricia. I feel the same with a full heart and joy when we get together. This is such a beautiful dessert and the texture looks just perfect. Great idea to add the pepitas on top too!

    Reply

  6. Robyn @ Simply Fresh Dinners

    Such a beautiful post to read, Tricia. Your images and words warm the heart.
    I had to chuckle when I read about your chocolate pecan pie because one of the few times I baked I decided to do a white chocolate pecan pie for Christmas and a neighbour and I decided to do two of each and exchange so we would have more desserts available. She made these amazing chocolate coconut rum balls and when she saw my sad little pie I knew she regretted the deal we made, hahaha! We still laugh about it.
    Now if we were neighbours, I would just come to your house and sip wine while I watched you perform your magic in the kitchen. Simply stunning ! Sharing 🙂

    Reply

    • Tricia Buice

      You are the sweetest Robyn. I truly hope we get to meet in person some day! I want to give you a big hug and bake something for you! I’m sure your chocolate pecan pie was terrific 🙂 But that is a funny story! Have a lovely week.

      Reply

  13. cheri

    Sounds like you had a wonderful day with the family, I love our family times as well and treasure each and everyone. Beautiful flan, how sweet of you to make it for your daughter-in-law. Take care!

    Reply

  15. Chris Scheuer

    I know your kids look forward to these family dinners all month. And yes grand babies make everything more special. The flan looks amazing, bet it got gobbled up! I sure would do some gobbling! But since I can’t pull it off my computer screen, I’ll pin and share it for everyone to enjoy!

    Reply

  17. Monica

    Your regular family dinners sound like such a blessing for everyone who sits around your table. I know the feeling and it’s really the best part of life, being around those you love and enjoying good food together with some laughter. : )
    These family meals have to be amazingly delicious and this is one special dessert – the flan is just beautiful! I’m so glad you have such an amazing growing family to cook and bake for. How lucky are they!!

    Reply