we’ve had a few pumpkins sitting in the window for a while and i wanted to use them up this week!

we were planning a FIESTA menu for dinner on friday night- thought it might be a nice change from thanksgiving leftovers…  so i looked up a flan recipe and found one using pumpkin.  perfect!

this was my first attempt at flan-ning.  it was pretty easy and turned out REALLY GREAT.  nothing to be scared of!

i roasted one large and one smaller pumpkin- but i probably just needed to do the big one.  ran the pumpkin meat through the processor.  scooped 3 1/2 c. of pumpkin puree (and saved the rest for this sunday’s yogurt!).  added 3 teas. cinnamon, 1/2 teas. nutmeg, 1/2 teas. salt, a sprinkle of clove and a good bit of fresh grated ginger.

made a caramel using 2 c. sugar in a dry, heavy bottomed pan.  let the sugar burn over low heat until it was dark and caramelized.  then poured that into the bottom of a warm casserole dish (the flan pan!)

for the custard: warmed 3 c. heavy cream with 2 c. milk and a good bit of vanilla bean paste.  whisked the warm milk mix into 10 eggs and 2 yolks.  added the spiced puree to the custard mix and poured the whole business over the caramel.

baked the whole thing, covered, for over an hour, in a water bath…  once the center of the custard had just a slight jiggle, we called it done and stuck her into the fridge overnight.

the next morning, ran a knife around the edge of the casserole and flipped it quick onto a tray.  the custard popped right out, covered in caramel!

i prefer it to pumpkin pie!  the custard is rich in flavor, and light and creamy like a mousse!  YUM!