It's kind of like a cute joke: A custard and a fruit pie walk into a bar. Sparks fly, yada yada, and — voilà! — a new dessert with characteristics of both magically emerges from the oven.

That dessert would be flaugnarde: French for sweet, custardy pancake with fruit. It's quite similar to clafoutis, which is traditionally made with cherries only, but which I sometimes make with blueberries. And it's a great means to do away with a couple of the squash that may or may not be languishing in your larder right now. In deep winter, I sometimes get the feeling that my delicatas — harvested in late August, before the first frost — are silently taunting me to eat them. Because by now, I'm pretty over eating squash. Am I the only person who feels this way?

Thankfully, I love a good bouncy custard, so today I made one with squash and added just a touch of pumpkin-spice spices, with wholly delightful results. Take that, snickering squash!
Delicata Flaugnarde
Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 2 small delicata squash, seeded and sliced into rings 1/4 inch thick
  
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

For the custard:

• Butter for baking dish
  
• 1 1/4 cups milk
  
• 2/3 cups granulated sugar
  
• 3 eggs
  
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
  
• 1/3 cup flour
  
• Dash each: salt, cinnamon, nutmeg
  

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Wash, seed and cut the squash into thin rings. Pour 1/2 cup sugar into a shallow bowl.
   
2. Dip each slice of squash in the sugar (on one side only) before placing, sugar-side up, on the parchment. Bake for 20 minutes or until softened.
   
3. Reduce oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 10-inch round pie pan or cast-iron skillet with butter. Arrange the squash rings in the pie pan.
   
4. Blend the ingredients for the custard until smooth. Pour the mixture over the squash, making sure it's evenly distributed.
   
5. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 45-60 minutes or until set. If you like, broil for 1-2 minutes (watching every second!) to brown the top just a little.
   
6. Shake powdered sugar over top and serve warm, with or without whipped cream.