Guest Author - Anita Burroughs

It’s that time of the year when pumpkin and squash dishes show up on the dinner table. I never ate so much as a pumpkin pie as a child, and didn’t know how delicious pumpkin could be as a dessert until I became an adult.

This is a pumpkin flan that is perfect for fall dinners. You can lighten this dessert up by utilizing low fat milk instead of whole milk if you choose to do so.

Here is the recipe:

2/3 cup sugar
2 cups pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling, which has spices already added to the puree)
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup molasses
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated (or put the ginger through a mini food processor)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg, preferably freshly grated
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
3 egg whites and 2 whole eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup milk, (use whole milk or low fat)
2 tablespoons dark rum

First you will make the caramel that serves as the sweet syrupy topping for the flan. Combine the sugar and 3 tablespoons of water in a heavy saucepan. Cook the sugar mixture covered over high heat for two minutes. Then, uncover your pan and keep cooking the sugar until it turns a deep, golden brown. Now pour the caramel syrup into a nine inch cake pan, making sure the mixture coats the entire bottom of the pan. You need to do this quickly before the caramel hardens.

Now make the filling. Put the pumpkin puree in a large bowl and beat in the brown sugar, molasses, vanilla and spices. Now whisk in the egg white and whole eggs, followed by the milk and the rum. Pour the mixture into your pan with the caramel.

Preheat your oven to 350, and bring four cups of water to boil. Pour in the water so that it comes up the sides of a larger pan about one half of an inch (a roasting pan is perfect). Now place the pan with the pumpkin mixture into the larger pan. This water bath will help the flan to heat evenly. Now bake the flan for about an hour, or until it is set. Remove the pan from the water bath and allow the flan to cool to room temperature. Now refrigerate the flan for at least six hours or overnight.

To serve the flan, run a knife around the rim of the pan. Place a larger plate over the pan and carefully invert and shake the flan out onto the pan. The caramel should now be spooned over the flan and served immediately. This dish is also good with vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt.