I’m probably late to the party here, but have you tried flan? I had always passed it by in favour of other desserts with flashy decorations or tempting pastries, but not anymore!

Making flan is a bit of a trust exercise. You cannot peak at what is happening below the surface, you just have to have faith that a wonderful caramel sauce is quietly coming together underneath the custard.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 cup pumpkin puree – homemade or canned
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 5 eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup whipping cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees f
2. Sprinkle white sugar (1/2 cup) evenly over bottom of 9 inch pie plate
3. Place in oven until sugar melts and browns – this will be about 10 minutes but watch it closely – resist the urge to stir!
4. Remove from oven and immediately tilt in pan if needed to fill in any gaps
5. Set aside while preparing custard
6. Turn oven down to 350 degrees f
7. Combine pumpkin puree (1 cup), brown sugar (3/4 cup), cinnamon (1 tsp), ginger (1/2 tsp), cloves (1/4 tsp), salt (1/2 tsp) and vanilla extract (1 tsp) in a medium bowl
8. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine eggs (5), milk (1 cup) and whipping cream (1/2 cup) and beat together
9. Add pumpkin mixture and beat together
10. Gently pour custard mixture over the sugar in the pie plate
11. Place the pie plate in a larger dish and fill the larger dish with hot water, careful not to get water into the custard
12. Bake for 45-60 minutes, should still be slightly jiggly in the middle
13. Let cool slightly, then cover and place in fridge for at least 1 hour, ideally 2-3 hours
14. When ready to serve, carefully invert onto plate

Notes:

• Don’t panic when the melted sugar hardens the second you take the pan out of the oven to add the custard, this is all part of the process.
• It is really important to let this rest in the fridge for at least a couple of hours before you try to remove it from the pan. Longer is better. This will allow the sugar to soften and form a beautiful soft sauce rather than a sticky mess that refuses to let go of the pan no matter how much you beg. Please learn from my mistakes.
• If you are using homemade pumpkin puree, it should be good and thick or else your custard will be watery. If the pumpkin puree seems too wet (like, a lot runnier than the canned version) I suggest cooking it down a bit before you use it. You can do this by putting 1 1/2 cups of pumpkin puree in a saucepan and simmering gently, uncovered, until you have about 1 cup left.