Pumpkin Spice Latte Flan | PSL Flan

If you are a fan of a pumpkin spice latte also enjoy flan, you will so happy to make and eat this pumpkin spice latte flan. PSL Flan: your new favorite Thanksgiving dessert!

A basic pumpkin flan made even more delicious with the inclusion of caramelized sugar and espresso powder or instant coffee.

I’ll show you how to make it, how to alter it if necessary, and give you ingredient substitutions where I can. If you are a fan of pumpkin desserts in general, you may also enjoy my pumpkin mousse. For ease of browsing, you can find all my custard recipes in one place. Now let’s get on with the show.

I made this as a dessert last thanksgiving and it blew everybody away. It was such a hit I’m making it again this year.

Reader Mike

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Pumpkin Spice Latte Flan, At a Glance

✅Skill Level: Intermediate/Advanced
✅Skills: Caramelizing Sugar (Twice), Baking in a Water Bath
✅Type: Individual Custards
✅Number of Ingredients: 12
✅Prep Time: 30 minutes
✅Cook Time: 30-45 minutes, depending upon size
✅Yield: 8 4 oz flans or 4 8oz flans

Jump Straight to the Recipe

Tasting Notes

This PSL flan tastes like a less-sweet version of a pumpkin spice latte. Since the majority of the sugar in the flan is caramelized, it definitely has a bit of a bitter edge that offsets the smooth, creamy, mellow pumpkin nicely.

It has a judicious amount of pumpkin spice and cinnamon without being overpowering, although if you really love that flavor profile, you are welcome to use more spices than called for.

My initial post (from 2012) called this flan “The most interesting flan in the world,” and I still think that holds true. It’s pumpkiny, has enough salt in it to bring out all the flavors, is rounded out by vanilla and has some backbone from instant coffee. It is creamy and truly delicious.

If this sounds like your idea of an excellent dessert and you make it and love it, I have a favor to ask:

How To Make This Flan

In this section, I’ll go over the ingredients and their functions as well as offer substitutions where it makes sense to do so.

If you are comfortable with caramelizing sugar and baking in a water bath, feel free to skip straight to the recipe. Otherwise, let’s go over everything.

• sugar: Used three times: as the hard caramel layer for the flan, caramelized as the main sweetener and flavoring agent, and also as plain granulated to balance all the caramelized flavor with clean sweetness
• water: I prefer making a wet caramel–there is way less chance of messing it up than when you try to just straight-up melt sugar evenly in a pan. So I always add a few splashes of water to ensure my sugar dissolves evenly before caramelizing
• pumpkin puree: Use homemade or canned. If using homemade, you can substitute most winter squash for the pumpkin. Consider butternut, acorn squash, or Hubbard squash (see Pook’s Pantry’s Hubbard Squash Pie for inspiration)
• eggs: 2 whole eggs provide some of the “set” to the custard while also adding to the volume and protein content a bit
• egg yolks: The yolks provide additional emulsifiers and a lovely, creamy set to the flan
• instant coffee: I call for 1 Tablespoon of instant coffee, but you can use more or less, according to your taste. And if you don’t like coffee, you may leave it out. It won’t affect the set or the texture of the flan at all
• pumpkin spice: Provides that well-known pumpkin pie flavor profile, which includes cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and more. It’s the PS in a PSL
• cinnamon: I add a bit of additional cinnamon because it’s my favorite warm spice. You could just as easily increase the amount of pumpkin spice or substitute for ginger if you prefer
• kosher salt: There’s a fair amount of salt in this dessert, and it needs it to bring all the spices into focus and to counteract the natural bitter edge of the instant coffee and deeply caramelized sugar
• vanilla: Provides a creamy, woody, floral finish to the flan
• heavy cream: Half the liquid in the batter, heavy cream provides nice body and butterfat to carry flavor
• whole milk: The other half of the liquid. You may also substitute cream and milk for half and half

Procedure

In a nutshell, here is how you make this pumpkin flan. I’ll outline the steps that go together so you’ll get a good idea of how many pans you need and what order to make everything.

1. Caramelize the first amount of sugar, stop the caramelization by dipping the bottom of your pan in cold water, then pour a thin layer of caramel into each ramekin, tipping the ramekins around for an even coat. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, eggs, egg yolks, instant coffee, pumpkin spice, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla.
3. Heat the milk and cream together until steaming but not boiling. Keep hot.
4. Caramelize the second amount of sugar in a pan that’s much larger than you think you need. Take it as dark as you like, but be careful not to burn it. Once you like the caramel color, carefully pour in the hot milk and cream. It will bubble up madly, so make sure your pan has high sides.
5. Stream the hot milk mixture into the pumpkin mixture, whisking well the whole time.
6. Taste and add some plain sugar if you think it needs it. For the smoothest flan, blend for 30 seconds.
7. Pour batter into caramel-coated ramekins and then bake in a water bath until done, 30 minutes for small, 4 oz flans and about 45 minutes for 8 oz flans. If making one large flan, it could take upwards of 1 1/2 hours, so cover the pan and water bath with foil to prevent the top of the flan from overbrowning and drying out while baking.

Here are a couple of image collages to illustrate some of the steps:

1. Add a bit of water to the sugar before caramelizing. When heating the sugar, either brush any sugar crystals off the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush or put a lid on the pan for a minute or so once it starts boiling. The steam will condense on the sides of the pan and take care of any errant crystals.
2. Boil and boil, swirling the pan.
3. Once the sugar begins caramelizing, swirl the pan to keep the color even, and take it to a deep honey color.
4. Pour a thin layer of caramel in each ramekin, tilting the ramekins so it spreads evenly.

1. Put the pumpkin puree, eggs and yolks, instant coffee (if using), spices, salt, and vanilla in a large bowl.
2. Whisk it well. There may be some crystals of coffee remaining, but they will dissolve, so don’t worry about them.
3. After tempering the hot cream/milk into the pumpkin mixture, taste and add a bit of extra granulated sugar to get the sweetness just right.
4. Strain the batter through a fine mesh strainer into a large pitcher.
5. Pour flan batter into the ramekins.
6. Bake in a water bath. Once they’re done, I like to remove them from the water with tongs with silicone “grabbers.” But I always hold a towel-covered hand underneath to make sure one doesn’t slip and break. Cool and then chill until completely cold.

NOTE: You can bake this flan in a cake pan. Depending upon the size of your pan, you can use the recipe as is, or you can double it (see the notes section of the recipe for those ingredient amounts.

Pumpkin Spice Latte Flan Q & A

How To Get the Maximum Caramel Cascade

When you initially pour the caramel in the bottoms of your ramekins/pan, it sets up hard like glass.

In the oven, it liquefies again, although you can’t see it because it’s under the flan.

Once cooled and chilled, it hardens into glass again. A certain amount is going to stick in your pan/ramekins, regardless of what you do.

But, to maximize the amount that does cascade over your flans when you unmold them, allow a good 36 hours in the fridge before unmolding. This gives the caramel enough time to interact with the flan that it touching it, liquefying it again.

In most of the photos in this post, I unmolded them after only a few hours in the fridge, so there is minimal caramel. Here’s a photo of one that has been in the fridge for 48 hours. You can see an ample amount of caramel is pooling around the flan.

So, don’t forget, time is your friend. Make flan at least a day, if not two days, before you plan to serve it so you get a nice flow of caramel over the tops.

Questions?

If you have any questions about this post or recipe, I am happy to help.

Simply leave a comment here and I will get back to you soon. I also invite you to ask question in my Facebook group, Fearless Kitchen Fun.

If your question is more pressing, please feel free to email me. I should be back in touch ASAP, as long as I’m not asleep.

A Note About Measurements

My recipes are almost all written by weight, including liquids, unless otherwise specified.

For accuracy and consistency of results, I encourage you to buy–and use–a kitchen scale.

I promise that baking and cleanup will be so much quicker and easier.

This is the scale that I recommend for home use. I have owned and used one for years.

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12/04/2024 01:21 am GMT

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Pumpkin Spice Latte Flan Recipe

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Jennifer Field

This pumpkin spice latte flan is incredibly rich, creamy, and just sweet enough. Make them as individual flans, or bake in one pan and serve in slices. Either way, this pumpkin flan recipe makes a fantastic end to Thanksgiving dinner without being too traditional.

4.50 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Chill Time 4 hours hrs

Total Time 5 hours hrs

Course Custard and Pudding Recipes

Cuisine American

Servings 8 4 oz servings

Calories 320 kcal

Ingredients

For the Caramel

• 6 oz sugar 170 grams or a generous 3/4 cup
• 2 oz water just enough to wet the sugar

For the Flan

• 8 oz whole milk 227 grams or 1 cup
• 8 oz heavy cream 227 grams or 1 cup
• 8 oz pumpkin puree 227 grams or about 1/2 can
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 Tablespoon instant coffee
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon salt 5 grams. I use Morton's
• 5 oz sugar 142 grams or about 2/3 cup
• 2 oz water 57 grams or 1/4 cup, enough to wet the sugar
• 2 Tbsp sugar optional, if necessary

Instructions

 

For the Caramel

• Bring the sugar and water to a boil.
• Cover the pan and let boil a minute or two to wash any sugar crystals off the sides of the pan.
• Remove the lid and continue cooking until the mixture is a deep amber. Don’t stir, but swirl the pan gently to keep the mixture moving. You can stir a bit once it has started to turn amber, but to be on the safe side so it doesn’t recrystallize, it’s best to swirl only.
• Immediately remove from the stove and dip the bottom of the pan into a sink of ice water. This will stop the cooking process quickly and help keep your caramel from continuing to darken.
• Quickly but carefully pour a thin, even layer of caramel into your ramekins or in the bottom of an 8" cake pan. Tilt the ramekins/pan to evenly cover the bottoms with caramel. NOTE: If using a metal cake pan, be sure to hold the pan with an oven mitt to tilt. The pan will heat up quickly when you pour hot caramel into it.
• Set the ramekins/pan aside to cool.

For the Flan

• Preheat the oven to 325F.
• Have ready a large roasting pan, large enough to hold your ramekins/pan with plenty of room left over. A half-sheet pan works well for this, or if you make a smaller batch of four (See Notes) use a 9" square brownie pan as your water bath.
• Put about 2 quarts of water on to boil.
• In a medium pot, heat the milk and cream until steaming. Keep hot, but don't let it boil.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, eggs, yolks, instant coffee, pumpkin spice, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla until well incorporated. Set aside.
• Bring the 5 oz of sugar and 2 oz water to a boil in a pan that is much larger than you think you need.
• Cover the pot and boil for a minute or two to wash any crystals off the sides of the pan.
• Remove the lid and continue cooking until the sugar is a deep amber color. The darker you take your caramel, the more flavor but the less sweet.
• Turn off the heat and pour in the hot cream/milk mixture. Be careful, it will boil up and rise and sputter.
• Stir until the caramel is smooth.
• Temper the hot milk/caramel mixture into the pumpkin mixture, stirring until completely incorporated.
• Taste and add the extra sugar and adjust the seasonings to your liking, if necessary.
• OPTIONAL STEP: For super creamy flan batter, blend in a blender for 30 seconds before straining.
• Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a large spouted pitcher. Mixture will be thick, so go in stages, pushing the flan batter through the strainer with a silicone spatula.

To Bake and Serve

• Arrange your baking pan(s) in the large roasting pan.
• Slide out the middle oven rack and place the roasting pan on it.
• Carefully pour the flan mixture into your pan(s), filling them almost all the way to the top.
• Carefully pour the boiling water into the roasting pan until it comes about halfway up the sides of your baking pan(s).
• Carefully push the oven rack back in.
• Loosely tent this whole apparatus with some aluminum foil, making sure it doesn’t dip into your flan mixture.
• Bake until a knife inserted about an inch from the center of the flan comes out clean (or, if you're making individual flans, check the very center). For 4 oz flans, this will take about 30 minutes. For 8 oz flans, expect it to take about 45 minutes. And for a large flan, it could take well upwards of an hour or 1 1/2 hours. For longer baking times, carefully cover the flan/s and water bath with foil.
• You are looking for an internal temperature of 165F. Flan/s will wiggle a bit in the centers but should be nicely set around the edges.
• Turn off the oven and open the oven door. Let the flan cool in the water for about 1/2 hour.
• Carefully remove the pan(s) from the roasting pan and set on a rack to cool to room temperature.
• Cover the flan with plastic wrap, pulling it very taut so the wrap doesn’t stick to the flan.
• For individual flans, chill for at least 4 hours. For a large flan, chill overnight.
• Two hours before serving, take the flan out of the refrigerator. If you have made individual flans, allow about 40 minutes.
• To plate, run a thin, sharp knife around the insides of your pan.
• Use a platter (or dessert plates) with a rim that is wide enough to hold the flan plus all the caramel that will come running out when you plate it.
• Hold the platter/dessert plate tightly over the flan, and flip the flan and platter together and remove the pan. You may have to do a little shaking and wiggling, but it should come out pretty easily.
• This dessert does not really need any accompaniment, but you can top it with some lightly sweetened whipped cream flavored however you like. In the photos, I made stabilized whipped cream and flavored it with vanilla, sugar, a pinch of salt, a little vanilla, and pumpkin spice.

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Notes

Nutritionals are calculated for 4-oz servings. If your servings differ in size, the nutritionals per serving will change as well.

Double and Half-Recipes

The original measurements for this flan make a large, 9″x 2″ flan. It makes an impressive presentation, but it’s a bit tricky to handle. With a double amount, you can get 16 4 oz flans or about 10 6 oz flans.

Caramel

• 7 oz sugar (1 cup)
• enough water to wet the sugar

Flan

• 16 oz milk
• 16 oz cream
• 16 oz pumpkin puree
• 4 eggs
• 3 yolks
• 2 Tablespoons instant coffee
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons Morton’s kosher salt (10 grams)
• 10 oz sugar
• water to wet the sugar
• 2-4 additional tablespoons sugar, if necessary

To Make a Half-Batch (4 4oz flans, 3 6-ish oz flans, or 2 8 oz flans)

Caramel

• 3.5 oz sugar (1/2 cup)
• enough water to wet the sugar

Flan

• 4 oz milk
• 4 oz cream
• 4 oz pumpkin puree
• 1 eggs
• 1 yolks
• 1 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2.5 oz sugar
• water to wet the sugar
• 1-2 additional tablespoons of sugar, if necessary

Storing

Store in the ramekins you baked them in, covered with foil. Keep them in the fridge and enjoy within 4 days of making. Do not freeze.

 

Nutrition

Calories: 320kcalCarbohydrates: 47gProtein: 4gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.004gCholesterol: 125mgSodium: 330mgPotassium: 174mgFiber: 1gSugar: 45gVitamin A: 5000IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 78mgIron: 1mg

Keyword flan

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And there you have it. Not too sweet, beautifully spiced pumpkin flan with delicious caramel and coffee undertones. I really think you’ll love it.

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