The flan that keeps St. Jude cancer survivor Yamila connected to Puerto Rico

Yamila may be thousands of miles from her home in Puerto Rico, but the flavors of her island never feel far away. After receiving leukemia treatment at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital® as a child, Yamila is now in college with the goal of becoming a children's book illustrator.

For her, each dish and recipe is a reminder of her family and the many moments shared around the table. 

Most days, one of her favorite chicken dishes, pollo guisado or stewed chicken, is on the menu. During her first Thanksgiving at college, she gathered close friends around the table for turkey, roasted pork and arroz con gandules (rice and pigeon peas). And when Christmas arrives, one dessert always has a place on the table: flan de calabaza, a pumpkin flan that is among her favorite desserts. Here’s her recipe:

Pumpkin flan

Ingredients

• 1 cup boiled pumpkin
• 1 can condensed milk
• 1 can of evaporated milk 
• 1 8 oz package of cream cheese
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• cinnamon powder to taste

Preparation: Blend all the ingredients until smooth and creamy. Pour the mixture into a flan mold with a lid. Place the mold in a larger pan filled with enough hot water to reach halfway up the sides of the mold (a water bath).

Bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour in oven or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the flan cool before removing it from the mold. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon to taste before serving.