Pumpkin Flan Cake with Maple Brown Butter Glaze

Pumpkin Flan Cake with Maple Brown Butter Glaze is composed of a tender pumpkin cake layer, a custardy flan layer, and a sweet-nutty-buttery glaze. A garnish of salted pecans provides a deliciously unexpected contrast to the sweetness of the cake.

The way my husband and our neighbor went at the glaze on this cake was like a scene from National Geographic. You’d think they haven’t eaten in a week and couldn’t get nourishment into their bodies fast enough.

I’ll back up a bit for you. I had my husband and two next-door neighbors taste test this cake. When I proceeded to remove and box up the uneaten portion, my husband and our female friend swooped in on the layer of glaze remaining on the cake stand with lightning speed. I mean fingers swirling, double dipping, the whole messy scene. They did not stop until the whole cake stand was wiped clean. It was both bizarre and extremely comical. 

Now, if you watch Friends, you would get how this reminded me of the episode when Rachel and Chandler ate the cheesecake off the floor. Ewww!! but they couldn’t resist!

I don’t mean to gross you out, but that was how much my husband and friend LOVED the glaze! These are two normal, well-mannered, and well-adjusted adults who had a sudden attack of brown-butter-maple-syrup-glazitis. They could not help themselves! It was quite a Kodak moment.

Our neighbors ranted and raved about how good the cake was. The husband is lactose intolerant and usually monitors his dairy intake. He was not watching his intake of THIS cake! And his wife asked me to make one for her for Thanksgiving. So this little creation already has some diehard fans!

I took inspiration from the Mexican Chocoflan for this creation. Chocoflan is also known as Impossible Cake. It is two-tiered, with a layer of chocolate cake and a layer of flan. What makes Chocoflan unique is the magic that happens during baking—when you fill the pan, the batter is poured in first, then the custardy flan layer is poured over the batter. During baking, the flan seeps through the batter. As the cake bakes, the cake batter rises to the top while the flan layer settles to the bottom. How cool is that? To sum it up, the two layers do the old switcheroo during the baking process!

The cake is baked covered in a steam bath. The result is a tender pumpkin cake with a silky smooth flan. It is delightfully complimented with a sweet, slightly nutty maple syrup and brown butter glaze. To provide an unexpected contrast to the sweetness of the cake, toasted and salted pecans are added as a garnish. DELISH!

If you’re looking for a dessert to wow your guests this fall and holiday season, this cake is going to knock their socks off! And if you like this, check out my Chocoflan Tunnel Cake. It is a winner too!

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Pumpkin Flan Cake with Maple Brown Butter Glaze

Author: Thao | In Good Flavor Cooking Method:Baking, Mixing Cuisine:American Courses:Dessert Recipe Keys: B Baking

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 20 minutesCook time:1 hour 20 minutesTotal time:1 hour 40 minutesServings:10 Servings

Description

Pumpkin Flan Cake with Maple Brown Butter Glaze is composed of a tender pumpkin cake layer, a custardy flan layer, and a sweet-nutty-buttery glaze. A garnish of salted pecans provides a deliciously unexpected contrast to the sweetness of the cake.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable or corn oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup half and half (or whole milk)
• 1 scant cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
• enough hot water to add to the steam bath

For the flan layer:

• 3 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup half and half (or whole milk)

For the Maple Brown Butter Glaze:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup

For the Salted Pecans:

• 1 tbsp. butter
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/4 rounded tsp. Kosher salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.
3. Beat sugar, oil, and eggs on medium-high in a large bowl for 2 minutes. Beat in vanilla extract. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, beating until just incorporated. Add half of the half & half. Blend. Continue adding another 1/3 of the flour mixture, and beat until just incorporated. Add the remaining half & half. Beat in the last 1/3 of the flour mixture. Add the pumpkin puree, beating until well blended.
4. Generously coat a 10-inch bundt pan with softened butter. Coat with flour. Shake off excess. Pour cake batter into the pan. Set aside.

To make the flan:

5. Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add eggs, beating until well blended. Add sweetened condensed milk, half and half, and vanilla, beating for 1 minute.

To complete the cake:

6. Pour flan over the cake layer. Cover tightly with a greased aluminum foil.
7. Place the bundt cake pan in a larger pan. Place into oven. Pour enough water into the larger pan to fill the bundt cake pan halfway up. Bake for 70 to 80 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with a few dry crumbs attached.
8. Cool on a rack for 1 hour. Invert bundt pan onto a cake platter. Unmold by giving it one vertical shake to loosen the cake. Remove the bundt pan. Chill the cake.

To make the glaze:

9. Melt butter in a saucepan on medium heat. Allow butter to become bubbly then foamy and develop a nutty smell, in about 3-4 minutes. Stir gently and watch the butter carefully once it begins to foam as it could burn quickly. Check for milk solids that deposit at the bottom of the pan. Once the milk solids turn golden brown, remove from heat. The butter will darken as it sits.
10. Pour brown butter into a small mixing bowl. Allow to cool to room temperature. Once cooled, beat in powdered sugar and maple syrup until smooth. Chill for about 15  minutes before glazing the cake if the glaze seems too thin.

To make the salted pecans:

11. Melt butter in a medium skillet on medium heat. Add pecans. Cook, stirring frequently until pecans become fragrant, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Add salt. Transfer to a plate. Allow to cool.
12. To finish the cake, use a spoon to drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake. Sprinkle with salted pecans. Keep refrigerated.
13. Makes 10 servings. Keep refrigerated.

Notes

• If you use 1 pint of half and half, you will be just shy of the 3/4 cup needed for the flan layer. Add enough milk to make up the difference.
• My cake is done in 80 minutes in my oven. Check your cake early if your oven tends to cook fast.
• Two 6-cup capacity bundt pans may be used instead of the 10-inch bundt pan. Bake covered in the water bath for 45-55 minutes.
• The glaze should be thick and syrupy. If the consistency is frosting-like when powdered sugar is incorporated, the butter might be too cool. Microwave for 8-10 seconds to loosen the butter before adding more sugar.

Keywords:Fall Dessert, Holiday Dessert, Pumpkin Cake, Salted Pecans, Flan Cake, Brown Butter Glaze

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