PUMPKIN FLAN WITH PUMPKIN SEED PRALINE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• 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 degrees 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, dip bottom of souffle dish briefly (20 to 30 seconds) in a warm water bath.
• Then, 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.
• Pumpkin Seed Praline: Preheat oven to 250 degrees 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 degree 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.