Pumpkin Flan with Pepita Praline

1.For the Praline: Line a baking sheet with nonstick foil. In a small saucepan, heat sugar and water over medium heat, until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil. Boil, without stirring, until sugar mixture turns deep golden, swirling pan occasionally, about 7 minutes. Stir in pumpkin seeds and chile powder; quickly pour onto foil and spread with a heat-resistant rubber spatula into a thin layer. Cool until hardened. Break into large pieces.

2.For the Caramel: Have ready a 1 1/2-quart soufflé dish. In a small saucepan, heat sugar and water over medium heat, until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil. Boil, without stirring, until sugar mixture turns deep golden, swirling pan occasionally, about 7 minutes. Pour into soufflé dish, tilting dish to coat bottom evenly. Place dish in a large roasting pan. Bring 2 quarts water to a boil for roasting pan.

3.For the Flan: Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In a saucepan, whisk together everything but the eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract; simmer mixture 2 minutes. Remove from heat. With a rubber spatula, scrape mixture through a fine-meshed sieve into a bowl, until about 1/3 cup solids remain in the sieve; discard solids. In a bowl, beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla until blended and smooth; slowly stir in 1/2 cup of the hot pumpkin mixture into egg mixture. Stir in remaining pumpkin mixture until blended. Scrape mixture through sieve back into bowl.

4.Pour into prepared dish. Fill roasting pan with hot water to come halfway up sides of dish. Bake 60 to 65 minutes, until set and a knife inserted near center comes out clean. Remove from oven. Let cool completely in water bath. Remove from water bath and cover; refrigerate until very cold, at least 6 hours.

5.Loosen edges of flan with tip of knife. Invert serving plate on top of soufflé dish; invert dish and plate, jiggling flan loose, letting caramel drip over custard and onto plate. Garnish with praline.