Let me teach you how easy it is to make a Flan de Calabaza. I will give you my tips and tricks to make a delicious pumpkin flan every time.
A Flan de Calabaza is a twist on the traditional flan recipe but with pumpkin, cinnamon, and allspice. But it still has the same base ingredients as a traditional flan.
In Puerto Rico, I grew up eating cheese flan, which is the most popular one. In my house, my aunt was the best at making it, and that’s who I learned from.
But now, as soon as it hits the fall season, I’m making pumpkin flan, a creamy pumpkin soup, and pumpkin loaf cake. I like my flan with lots of caramel and a big scoop of coconut milk sorbet and whipped cream!
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Why This Recipe Works
- A popular Thanksgiving dessert that you can make year-round with a good quality canned pumpkin puree.
- It is an easy dessert, you make the caramel, blend, cook, and enjoy!
- It is one of many variations of the traditional flan-like the passion fruit flavor flan.
Recipe Ingredients
- Sugar- I used white sugar to make the caramel, but you can substitute brown sugar if that’s what you have. When using brown sugar, your caramel will look a little darker, but that’s alright. It will still taste amazing.
- Pumpkin- I always love using fresh pumpkin when available. If all you have is canned pumpkin puree, then feel free to use it. I use a quality pumpkin puree like Libby’s.
- Evaporated milk- Use a 12-ounce can. It really helps give a very rich taste.
- Condensed Milk- Condensed milk is used to sweeten the pumpkin flan.
- Vanilla- I used vanilla extract.
- Eggs- I used 5 eggs.
- Cinnamon & Allspice- this is all you will need for spices. A little bit of cinnamon and allspice goes a long way. If you don’t have allspice, you can substitute with nutmeg.
*See the recipe card for a complete list of ingredients, quantities, and steps.
How To Make Flan De Calabaza
- Photo 1: Heat your sugar over medium-high heat, and stir until melted. Always keep an eye on it. Then pour into your mold. Be very careful, caramel will be extremely hot.
- Photo 2: If you’re using fresh pumpkin, peel and cut it into ½ inch cubes. Cook for about 8 minutes or until tender. You can skip this step if you have canned pumpkin puree.
- Photo 3: Blend all of your ingredients together except the eggs. Add the eggs 1 at a time to make sure they’re blended in well.
- Photo 4: Pour your mix into your mold. Make a bain marie bath and to the oven. Bake for 1 hour.
- Photo 5: Cool your flan and then, with a knife, separate it from the mold. Gently shake it to make sure it’s loose from the sides of the mold.
- Photo 6: Put a big dish over the mold and quickly flip it. Make sure the dish is big and deep enough to hold all the caramel.
Recipe Tip
- One of the secrets of a good flan is in the caramel. Your base can taste amazing, but if you burn the caramel, it will ruin the whole flan. The trick with the caramel is to start with a high temperature and quickly lower it. This, while constantly stirring.
- You can cook a flan on the stove using a flanera over a water bath. You can also just cover it tightly with foil.
- To store the flan, you can use foil, but this tends to stick to the flan. I like using a cake plate with a lid.
Frequently Asked Questions
Flan dates back to the Middle Ages. It was first made by the Roman people, but it was made as a savory dish. The Romans named it Flado. Then the actual flan we know today was made by Spaniards, and then it traveled all over Latin America and the Caribbean when they visited these countries.
The best method to cook flan is in a bain-marie, which is just a hot water bath. This can be done in the oven or on the stove. You can use a flanera, a mold specially made to be used in a bain marie. Or you can do as my aunt always did. She used a round cookie tin that she saved after we ate the cookies. This tin was great because it had a lid. Then she will take a big pot, put it in the heat, and let the water boil.
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Flan de Calabaza (Pumpkin Flan)
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup pumpkin puree 1 pound fresh
- 5 eggs
- 1 evaporated milk 12 ounce can
- 1 condensed milk 14 ounce can
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon all spice
Instructions
- Pre heat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Peel and cut the pumpkin into half inch cubes. In a medium pan over high heat cook the pumpkin for 8 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside (skip this step if using canned pumpkin puree).
- While your pumpkin is cooking make the caramel. Use a medium pan over medium high heat and pour your sugar. As soon as you see that the sugar starts to melt lower your heat to medium. You can swirl the pan around so you can move your sugar or gently use a spatula to move it around. This can take anywhere from 8-10 minutes. When done pour your sugar into your mold. Be careful because the caramel will be very hot.
- Now blend the pumpkin, evaporated and condensed milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and allspice. Add the eggs one at a time to make sure they're blended in properly. Pour your mix over a strainer into your 9×3 round mold or flanera with the caramel. Gently tap the mold against your table to make sure no air bubbles get trapped in the mix. Then put your mold in a bain marie.
- Put your flan in the oven and cook for 1 hour. When the time is done poke it with a knife in the center to check for readiness. If done you won't see any residue on the knife.
- Chill your flan at room temperature and then take it to the fridge for at least 1 hour. When you are ready to serve remove the flan from your fridge. A little trick I have for you is to put the mold on top of hot water so the caramel can become soft again. Do this for about 5 minutes. Then take a dish big enough to fit the flan, put it over your mold, and flip. Serve and enjoy this delicious flan de calabaza.
Recipe Notes
- You can make it ahead but remember that it will only last no more than 5 days in your fridge.
- Store up to 5 days well covered in an airtight container or wrapped in foil or plastic. This is done to prevent it from absorbing orders from your fridge.
Stephenie says
Flan is always great! Thank you for the visit Jen.
jen says
just as I remember- delicious
Stephenie says
Me alegra que le haya gustado.
Anonymous says
Deliciosa y simple receta.