For today’s holiday recipe post, we are venturing from fruit a bit and focusing on another seasonal ingredient: the pumpkin! Enjoy!
Pumpkin Flan with candied seeds
10 servings
For the caramel:
1 cup sugar
For the flan:
2 cups canned or baked pumpkin or (preferably) squash
14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons (packed) brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
4 large eggs
6 large egg yolks
2 cups whipping cream
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Melt sugar to create caramel. Coat the mold (ungreased 7-8 cup dish or pudding mold) with the caramel. Process the other ingredients and pour into the prepared mold.
Bake mold in 325°F oven in water in baking pan about 2 hours 10 minutes =OR= (preferably) set mold in larger covered pan of water on stove top and boil gently for about 2 hours. First, set an inverted saucer or rack under the mold to prevent the direct contact of the mold and the bottom of the pan which could otherwise burn the caramel on the bottom of the mold. Custard is set when center temperature reaches 175° F.
Cool 1 hour; transfer to refrigerator and chill until very cold, preferably overnight. Invert flan onto serving dish. Sprinkle with candied pumpkin seeds just before serving.
Candied pumpkin seeds
Two sheets of parchment paper at least 8 inches square
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon cayenne
¼ teaspoon salt
Melt one tablespoon of butter in a heavy saucepan over moderate heat. Sit in two tablespoons of sugar. Cook without stirring until sugar is caramelized. Add seeds. Cook, stirring, until golden. Add ½ teaspoon cumin, ¼ teaspoon paprika, ¼ teaspoon paprika, ¼ teaspoon cayenne, and ¼ teaspoon salt. If mixture crystallizes, slightly reduce heat and continue stirring until it caramelizes again. Transfer to one sheet of parchment paper set on a heat-proof cutting board and cover with second sheet. Use a rolling pin to flatten the caramelized seeds gently until the candied mixture is no thicker than the individual seeds themselves. Let cool and then break apart.
The candied seeds are great on their own, like a brittle or over ice cream.
This recipe contributed by Hazel Singer, vice president, City Fruit Board of Directors.