Pumpkin Flan
Custard:
5 eggs
2 cups pumpkin, preferably fresh rather than canned
1 12 ounce can of evaporated milk
1 cup whole milk
1 ¼ cup sugar
2 teas. cinnamon
1 ½ tea. nutmeg
¾ tea. ginger
Combine all ingredients and whisk to blend
Caramel:
Place ½ cup sugar sprinkled with 2 tea. water in a shallow pan. Mix sugar with a fork until evenly moistened and place over medium high heat. Heat sugar until dissolved and caramelized. Rotate pan to help dissolve sugar but do not stir. Quickly transfer caramel to baking dish(es), rotating to cover bottom but not sides of baking dish. Pour custard mixture into dish(es) and place in a pan of water. I use a convection oven and bake it at 330 degrees until knife inserted into center comes out clean. Cool, then refrigerate overnight. To serve, run a sharp knife around sides of baking dish and invert onto plate. Serve with whipped cream. I like to add a bit of Grand Marnier or other liqueur to the cream when whipping. Incredible!!!!
Note: I use two glass loaf pans set in a 10×13 baking dish. Any arrangement that gives the custard a depth of 1 ½ to 2 inches would be fine. The water should be about the same depth.
2nd Note: If you aren’t used to using real pumpkin you should try it. Grow or buy pie pumpkins-the meat has a nicer texture. They will keep quite a while in a cool dry place. Clean the seeds and stringies out, cut into big chunks and microwave in a glass dish covered with plastic wrap until quite tender. Cool, then mash or puree. You will be amazed at how much better it is. You can also freeze the cooked pumpkin if you are not going to use it all within a few days.
