Pumpkin Spice Latte Flan Recipe

An individual pumpkin flan topped with a tall poof of hand-whipped cream on a blue plate.

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.

Course Custard and Pudding Recipes

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 30

Chill Time 4

Total Time 5

Servings 4 oz servings

Calories 320kcal

Author Jennifer Field

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.

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