Chocoflan
This chocoflan recipe is a mouthwatering Mexican masterpiece - rich chocolate cake, silky flan, and lashings of caramel.
Ingredients
Method
2) Coat a bundt pan with a little butter, then coat the bottom with 60g cajeta and put it in a large roasting pan (the roasting pan will serve as a water bath during baking).
3) For the cake: add the butter and sugar to a bowl and using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer, beat until light and fluffy, then beat in the egg. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa in a medium bowl. Beat a third of the flour mixture, and half of the buttermilk into the egg mixture. Repeat, ending with the flour mixture. Blend until well incorporated.
4) For the flan: in a blender, combine the evaporated milk, condensed milk, cream cheese, eggs and vanilla. Blend on high for 30 seconds.
5) Scoop the cake batter into the prepared bundt pan and spread evenly. Slowly pour the flan mixture over the cake batter. Cover with foil and add about 2 cm of hot water to the roasting pan.
6) Carefully slide the pan into the oven, and bake for one hour, until the surface of the cake is firm to the touch, or an inserted toothpick comes out clean. When cake is done, remove from the water bath and cool completely to room temperature, about one hour.
7) Invert a large, rimmed serving platter over the bundt pan, grasp tightly together, jiggle a little and flip over. Remove the pan and scrape any remaining cajeta from the pan onto the cake, garnish with chopped pecans and serve!
Cook's Notes: The batters may appear to mix when you pour them into the pan, but they completely separate while baking, with the flan ending up on the bottom when it's inverted. I like eating it warm, but traditionally, it is chilled for 24 hours before serving.
Flan is a rich, creamy, cooked egg custard. It is often flavoured with vanilla and baked in a water bath to retain its delicacy.
Cajeta is a thick and creamy spread or paste made with caramelised sugar and milk. It is used as a desert on its own or as a topping. Also known as "dolce de leche," it is sold in many supermarkets, Latin specialty markets or online. It can be substituted with a thick caramel sauce.
Our chocoflan recipe is Mexico’s ‘impossible’ cake that’s impossibly delicious!
This chocolate flan recipe is a much-loved traditional Mexican pudding that cleverly combines two favourites in one - a moist chocolate cake and a creamy vanilla flan. Often called pastel imposible or “Impossible Cake”, it earns its name because the layers appear to swap places as it bakes - the flan mixture sinks while the cake rises, so when you flip it out of the pan, you reveal perfect layers crowned with glossy caramel.
The choco flan ingredients for this version are mostly store cupboard staples. It starts with a chocolate cake batter made from unsalted butter, sugar, egg, plain flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and buttermilk. On top of that goes the flan mixture made with evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, cream cheese, eggs, and a splash of vanilla extract. Everything bakes together in a Bundt pan set in a water bath (you can also use a normal cake pan for this chocoflan recipe), so it cooks gently and evenly before being chilled and drizzled in salty caramel.
For a classic finish, garnish your chocolate flan recipe with a generous pour of cajeta or caramel sauce and a sprinkle of chopped pecans. Some people also add fruit to the top. Serve slightly chilled or at room temperature so the layers hold their shape. One slice of this amazing chocoflan recipe and you’ll see why this “impossible” cake has become an all-time favourite.
If this Mexican chocolate flan recipe has piqued your interest, how about more global dessert inspiration, such as a German Black Forest gateau, delicious Japanese strawberry mochi, or an indulgent Italian caprese cake.
