Pumpkin Flan with Foam of White Chocolate

On one of my trips to Europe, I got a wonderful recipe for a foam of white chocolate from a friend. Since it was fall and I like pumpkin, I thought this would go well with a pumpkin flan, and indeed it turned out to be a very nice combination. I wrote up the recipe on the website right away, but then just never got around to publishing it - until now.

Ingredients

Pumpkin Flan

• 1 cup / 240 ml milk
• ⅔ cup / 160 ml heavy cream
• 4 eggs
• ¾ cup / 180 ml pumpkin puree (canned)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ⅓ cup / 75 g sugar
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp allspice
• butter for the ramekins

Foam of White Chocolate

• scant ½ cup / 100 ml milk
• ½ cup / 125 ml coconut milk
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 3½ oz / 100 g white chocolate
• zest of one lime, very finely grated

Preparation

Pumpkin Flan

1. Preheat oven to 325°F / 160°C.
2. Combine eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and vanilla extract. Whisk very well until the sugar has completely dissolved.
3. Combine milk and cream. Scald (heat up until just boiling).
4. Slowly pour the milk-and-cream mixture into the egg mixture. Whisk constantly to avoid curdling.
5. Strain the mixture.
6. Stir in the spices.
7. Grease 6 ramekins with butter. Equally distribute the mixture between the ramekins.
8. Place ramekins in a water bath. Bake for about 50-60 minutes. The custard should be well set around the edges and still a bit springy in the center.
9. Remove from oven. Let cool in the water bath. Cover ramekins with food wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate.

Foam of White Chocolate

1. Combine milk, coconut milk and sugar. Bring to a boil. Add vanilla extract and lime zest.
2. Pour hot mixture over the white chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is completely dissolved. Strain through a fine mesh.
3. Fill the mixture into a cream whipper. Charge with two chargers. Shake.
4. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, shaking occasionally.

Serving

1. Remove flans from ramekins: Run a knife around the edge, turn ramekin upside down, place on a plate and lightly shake until the flan falls out.
2. Spritz the foam around the flans and a bit of it on top. Garnish with lime zest.

Yields 6 servings