Pumpkin Flan (Flan de Calabaza)
This Pumpkin Flan (Flan de Calabaza) is a fun Fall twist on the traditional Puerto Rican dessert. It has that signature custard filling with creamy pumpkin and is topped with a classic caramel sauce.
This Flan de Calabaza is a cozy, creamy smooth dessert that’s both impressive and easy to make.
A whole cup of pumpkin puree gets blended into the base, along with evaporated milk, vanilla extract, eggs, and whole milk, giving the dessert a pumpkin pie-like flavor and texture.
It’s a seasonal spin on one of the blog’s most popular recipes to date, my mom’s Puerto Rican flan. The custard-like base of this sweet treat comes together in a blender, and is poured over a homemade caramel sauce, just like the classic version!
Making the Caramel
Making the Flan
Tips on Making the Caramel
Making the caramel is the most delicate part of this recipe.
It’s 1 ingredient (white granulated sugar) that gets melted over medium low heat in a pan. The trickiest part is having patience, because it can take somewhere between 20-30 minutes to turn to a caramel.
As soon as it turns light brown in color remove it from the heat to prevent the sugar from burning.
Carefully pour the caramel into your baking dish and tilt the dish in every direction to spread the caramel evenly. Note that the baking dish will get hot here, so use a towel or gloves to protect your hands, if necessary.
I can’t stress how careful you have to be at this step – I’ve burnt myself with this caramel before and still have a little scar years later!
More Flan Recipes
Buen provecho!
Pumpkin Flan (Flan de Calabaza)
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Puerto Rican, Latin
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This Pumpkin Flan (Flan de Calabaza) is a fun Fall twist on the traditional Puerto Rican dessert. It has that signature custard filling with creamy pumpkin and is topped with a classic caramel sauce.
Ingredients
For the Caramel:
- 1 heaping cup white granulated sugar
For the Pumpkin Custard Filling:
- 1 (12oz) can evaporated milk
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- a pinch of salt
- 5 eggs
- 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
Instructions
- Make the caramel: Preheat the oven to 350° F. Pour sugar into a pan and melt over medium low heat. Continue to melt as the mixture turns into a transparent liquid and then to a light golden color.
- Pour the caramel: Once the sugar is fully melted and light golden liquid forms, carefully pour it into an oven safe baking dish (or dishes). Move the pan around (being very careful not to burn yourself) to create an even layer at the base.
- Make the pumpkin filling: Add all filling ingredients to a blender and blend until velvety smooth. Pour the mixture through a mesh strainer into the baking dish over the caramel.
- Bake in a water bath: Add the baking dish to another larger baking dish with walls high enough to make a water bath. Bake for 60-80 minutes or until the center looks jiggly like jello, but not liquid.
- Cool & serve: Cool completely before using a spatula to loosen the edges around the baking dish. Refrigerate until ready to serve. When serving, grab a platter and place it over the baking dish. Carefully flip the flan onto your platter, allowing caramel to drizzle over the top. Slice and enjoy!
Notes
You’ll know the flan is ready to come out of the oven when it appears firm around the edges and somewhat jiggly in the center.
You can also insert a knife or toothpick in the center and if it comes out clean, you’re good to remove it from the oven.
Caramel Sticking to the Pan?
Sometimes a thick layer of caramel will stick to the bottom of the pan, even after flipping the flan.
This can happen for a few reasons:
- Reason 1: The layer of caramel was too thick at the bottom of the baking dish, which means the caramel was too thick to melt all the way through
- Reason 2: The surface area of the baking dish was too small, making it difficult for the caramel to melt all the way through
Even with all of the right components, this happens. I like to leave the baking dish upside down over the flan until I’m ready to serve, to allow as much of the caramel as possible to drizzle over top!