I like cinnamon, so this is very heavy on the cinnamon.

I used glass pudding cups that hold about 150 ml. This recipe just about fits 4 pudding cups perfectly.

When I made this, I did a caramel bottom, but I found that it wasn’t really necessary for my enjoyment with the 20 g of sugar in the flan itself. YMMV, obviously. With the lower liquid content in the flan, the caramel bottom also didn’t melt until after the pudding had been in the fridge for two days, which is not optimal. So if I were to do a caramel bottom again, I’d add some water or milk to it instead of it being pure sugar.

Next time I might cut the sugar down to 15 grams and see how that does.

I put everything, steamed pumpkin, half and half, sugar, eggs, and cinnamon in a bowl and whizzed it all smooth with a stick blender. Poured the result into the pudding cups, and steamed in a steamer basket set over a pot at a boil for about 8 minutes. The first two I left the lid on, which was a mistake – the outside bits puffed up and were heading towards “overcooked” whilst the insides were still very liquidy. The second set I propped the lid of the pot on like a hat with two chopsticks, and that worked a little better.

The cooking time is a bit fiddly because it depends on how low the heat can go on your stove. The key is to steam until the flan domes up a bit but still looks soft, and then remove from heat. Steam a bit longer if you want it fully done. I don’t mind having a bit of a “squishy core”, so about 10 minutes was good enough for me as I fear it getting overcooked more than it being underdone. The usual recipes say to steam for 15 but the last time I tried that, they came out way overdone. Test to see how your stove goes!

Important texture note: this is not going to be the smooth creme brulee type of pudding. Pumpkin has fibre and it isn’t going to let you forget it.

For those who don’t know – pumpkin pie filling as sold in the US is pretty much zero pumpkin and a variety of other squashes that have a smoother texture. Like butternut squash. So the taste is somewhat like pumpkin pie, but the texture is going to be way different.

Not bad; different.

Personally, I prefer the added texture because I have the cinnamon-pumpkin flavor I like without the too-smooth consistency that demands I find a crust to add some contrast.