Nom Nom: Flan De Calabaza

Fall is here! We spent last weekend at a pumpkin patch - crunching leaves, drinking apple cider, looking at stupid little Christmas ornaments made of cinnamon sticks and buttons and trying not to be touched by small gringo children with runny roses. It reminded us how much we love autumn and dislike people. And what’s a better way to welcome the change of seasons than with a flan de calabaza? It’s sort of like pumpkin pie, but about 67% more likely to give us diabetes.

You know you want some:

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 pounds calabaza (peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks)

Water for boiling the calabaza

4 eggs

1 12-ounce can evaporated milk

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cinnamon (ground)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit.

Melt the sugar slowly and carefully in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Don’t rush it. You want the sugar to caramelize, not burn.

Once the sugar has completely melted, pour into a flan mold or 8 inch glass pie plate. Set aside.

Place the cut up calabaza in a pot with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and continue to boil until the calabaza is fork tender, about 20 minutes.

Drain the calabaza in a colander. Then mash with a potato masher; or puree in a blender or food processor.

In a mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, calabaza and the remaining ingredients. Mix well.

Pour the mix into the prepared glass mold. Don’t worry if the sugar is hard. It will melt when the flan is cooked.

Place the glass dish inside a larger baking pan and fill the larger pan with boiling water until the water reaches halfway on the outside of the mold.

Place on the center rack in the oven and bake for 1 hour. The center should be set firm.

Allow to cool to room temperature. Flip upside down onto serving platter, garnish and serve.

Serves 8, assuming you didn’t eat all the leche condensada with a spoon before you even started cooking.

Pumpkin Flan - Flan de Calabaza Recipe [About.com]