Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line 2-inch deep baking pan with foil. Cut squash in half and remove seeds with spoon. Place squash, cut side down, in prepared pan. Pour hot water into pan, covering about 1 inch of squash. Bake about 1 hour until squash can be easily pierced with a knife. Let cool for 320 minutes or long enough to scoop squash from shell.

In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 10 – 15 minutes. Add flour and stir for about 2 minutes. Stir in cooked squash, milk, broth, cream, syrup, salt and cayenne. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until squash is very soft and soup is thickened, about 30 minutes.

 Remove soup from heat. Puree soup in a food processor or with an immersion blender. If soup is too thick at milk or broth. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with cream or maple syrup.