Dark Chocolate Flan With Pumpkinseed Praline Food

DARK CHOCOLATE FLAN WITH PUMPKINSEED PRALINE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet lined with nonstick liner, buttered parchment or waxed paper, spread pepitas close together in a single layer.
• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine 1 cup sugar and 6 tablespoons water. Bring to a simmer, stirring only until sugar is dissolved. Continue to cook, tilting pan occasionally to distribute heat evenly, until a caramel of a deep amber color forms, about 15 minutes.
• Working quickly (before caramel cools and hardens), pour half the hot caramel into a 9-inch loaf pan, tilting pan to coat bottom and a bit of the sides. Pour remaining caramel over pepitas, using an offset spatula to help spread caramel if necessary. Let both pans cool completely. When pepita praline is cool, break into 2-inch pieces.
• Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, combine milk, cream, chili powder, cinnamon, peppercorns and star anise. Bring to a simmer over high heat; reduce to medium and simmer 5 minutes. Let stand, off heat, 15 minutes. Return to a simmer, turn off heat and whisk in chocolate until smooth.
• In a bowl, whisk eggs, remaining 1/3 cup sugar and the salt together. Whisking constantly, slowly pour hot chocolate mixture into eggs until fully combined. Pour custard through a fine sieve into caramel-coated loaf pan. Place loaf pan in a deep roasting pan. Add 2 inches hot tap water to roasting pan. Cover roasting pan tightly with foil; prick foil all over with a fork.
• Carefully transfer pan to oven. Bake until flan is lightly set but still jiggles when shaken (lifting foil to check), about 1 1/2 hours. Transfer loaf pan to a wire rack to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate flan at least 4 hours or overnight.
• To serve, run an offset spatula along sides of pan to gently release it. Turn onto a serving platter and top with pepita praline; serve in slices.

PUMPKIN FLAN WITH PUMPKIN SEED PRALINE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Heat a 2-quart souffl&é dish or round ceramic casserole in middle of oven.
• Cook 1 cup sugar in a dry 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring slowly with a fork, until melted and pale golden. Cook caramel without stirring, swirling pan, until deep golden, about 5 minutes. Quickly and carefully remove hot dish from oven and immediately pour caramel into dish, tilting it to cover bottom and sides. (Leave oven on.) Keep tilting as caramel cools and thickens enough to stay in place.
• Scald whole milk with evaporated milk in a saucepan and remove from heat. Beat eggs and remaining cup sugar with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Beat in salt, pumpkin, tequila, and spices. Pour milk mixture through a sieve into a bowl and beat into pumpkin mixture in a slow stream until combined well.
• Pour custard over caramel in dish and set in a water bath of 1 inch hot water. Put pan in middle of oven and lower temperature to 350°F. Bake until golden brown on top and a knife inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 1/4 hours, possibly longer. Remove dish from water bath and transfer to a rack to cool. Chill flan, covered, until cold, at least 6 hours.
• To unmold flan, run a thin knife around flan to loosen from sides of dish. Wiggle dish from side to side and, when flan moves freely in dish, invert a large serving platter with a lip over dish. Holding dish and platter securely together, quickly invert and turn out flan onto platter. Caramel will pour out over and around it. Cut flan into wedges and serve with caramel spooned over and with shards of praline.

CHOCOLATE FLAN CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat 12-cup fluted tube pan with no-stick cooking spray. Place piece of rolled up foil in tube of pan to prevent cake from baking over top. Pour caramel topping into prepared pan.
• Prepare cake mix according to package directions using the water, oil and eggs. Pour evenly over caramel topping.
• Combine cream cheese, eggs, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and vanilla in blender container. Process until blended. Pour slowly over cake batter. NOTE: While baking, the cake rises and the milk mixture goes to the bottom.
• Coat piece of foil with no-stick cooking spray. Cover pan, coated side down, tightly with foil. Place pan in large roasting pan. Pour hot water into roasting pan to a depth of 2 inches.
• Bake 2 hours or until toothpick in center still has a few moist crumbs. Place cake on cooling rack. Cool 15 minutes. Remove foil and invert onto serving plate. Cool 1 hour at room temperature. Chill 4 hours or overnight.

PRALINES

Steps:

• Place a large piece of parchment paper on a flat surface, preferably granite or wood.
• Put all the ingredients in a large pot and attach a candy thermometer to the side. You need to be sure the thermometer goes deep into the mixture. Turn the heat to medium high.
• Fill a bowl that's larger than the pot halfway with ice water and set it aside.
• Stir the mixture with a wooden spoon. When everything has melted together, start checking the temperature. When the thermometer reaches exactly 236 degrees F, remove the pot from the heat and stick it in the bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process. Stir for 45 seconds while the pot is in the ice bath to evenly cool the entire mixture.
• With a large spoon, start dropping puddles of the mixture onto the parchment. Make sure you're getting some pecans in every spoonful. If you feel like it, sprinkle just a bit of salt on top. Let them cool all the way. If you're in a humid environment, they might stay sticky, but put them in front of a fan and they should get dry.
• Store them carefully in a tin, and don't stack them very high-three layers max, separated by wax paper.
• Find this recipe and more in Duff Bakes: Think and Bake Like a Pro at Home ($27.50, William Morrow).

CHOCOLATE-TOPPED PRALINES

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and have a tablespoon-sized cookie scooper ready.
• Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, milk, butter and baking soda to a medium heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon occasionally, until the sugars are dissolved and the mixture begins to boil. Clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pot and continue to cook until the mixture reaches between 235 to 240 degrees F. Remove the pot from the heat and allow the mixture to cool for 5 minutes. Add the pecans, vanilla and salt and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the candy begins to dull and the mixture starts to thicken, about 4 minutes. Working quickly, drop heaping tablespoon-sized mounds with the cookie scooper onto the prepared baking sheet (see Cook's Note). Cool completely until set and the pralines have reached room temperature, about 30 minutes.
• Add the chocolate chips to a heat-resistant metal or glass bowl set over a pot of simmering water and stir until completely melted. Remove bowl from the heat. Using a spoon, add a dollop of chocolate on the top of each of the praline mounds and use the back of the spoon to spread slightly and create a swirl in the chocolate. Sprinkle with the flaked sea salt, if using. Let cool completely until set (see Cook's Note). Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator with wax paper between the layers of pralines.

PUMPKIN SEED PRALINE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250°F. Lightly oil a large sheet of foil on a baking sheet and keep warm in oven.
• Cook sugar, water, and a pinch of salt in a deep 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring slowly with a metal fork, until melted and pale golden. Cook caramel without stirring, swirling pan, until deep golden. Immediately stir in pumpkin seeds and quickly pour onto foil, spreading into a thin sheet before it hardens. (If caramel hardens and is difficult to spread, put in a 400°F oven until warm enough to spread, 1 to 2 minutes.)
• Cool praline on baking sheet on a rack until completely hardened, then break into large pieces.

DARK CHOCOLATE FLAN

Steps:

• Make caramel by slowly heating the sugar in a small saucepan until golden and liquid. Be careful not to stir too much, as this will cause crystals to form. Pour the very hot, molten sugar into the flan mold (this can either be a round pan or a bundt pan - I usually use a bundt pan because I like the pretty pattern the flan takes). Be sure to tilt the mold so that the caramel coats the sides.
• In a small saucepan, heat the milk, cinnamon, and chocolate pieces, stirring occasionally to help the chocolate melt. Let this cool down to just warm and remove the cinnamon stick. Blend the rest of the ingredients together gradually adding the milk mixture.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Pour into caramelized pan and bake in a hot water bath (bain marie) for about 50-55 minutes or until golden. Test with a knife or toothpick, it should come out clean. Remove from oven, cool, unmold and serve. (If you are having trouble unmolding the flan, run a small, sharp knife around sides of pan to help release.).

PUMPKIN FLAN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place a tart pan on a baking sheet.
• Combine silken tofu, pumpkin puree, applesauce, cornstarch, eggs, maple syrup, vanilla extract, pumpkin pie spice, and food coloring in a bowl. Puree using a stick blender until smooth. Pour batter into the tart pan, filling only halfway.
• Bake in the preheated oven until flan has set, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely before inverting onto a serving plate.
• Place chocolate in a metal bowl. Heat cream, honey, and butter in a small saucepan until almost boiling and pour over chocolate. Leave for 1 minute, then stir well until chocolate has melted. Transfer chocolate ganache to a piping bag fitted with a small tip and decorate pumpkin flan. Refrigerate until serving.

DARK CHOCOLATE PUMPKIN TRUFFLES

Steps:

• In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until blended. Beat in pumpkin, pie spice and vanilla. Stir in cracker crumbs. Freeze, covered, 20 minutes or until firm enough to shape., Shape pumpkin mixture into 1-in. balls; place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Freeze 20 minutes or until firm., In a microwave, melt chocolate; stir until smooth. Dip truffles in chocolate; allow excess to drip off. Return to baking sheets; refrigerate until set. Store in airtight containers in the refrigerator.