Chocoflan Cake is an amazing dessert with a layer of chocolate cake and creamy flan baked together in a Bundt pan, plus a caramel topping!
Can’t decide between a creamy dessert like Caramel Flan, or a decadent, rich Chocolate Cake? Well with this all-in-one Dessert, you don’t have to choose! It’s an amazing chocolatey cake covered by a layer of flan custard with caramel sauce in one delicious bundt Cake Recipe.
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Sabrina’s Chocoflan Recipe
This beautiful dessert doesn’t just look amazing, it is filled with delicious flavor! The caramelized flavor of the flan is enhanced by glazing the baked cake with caramel sauce. And while the ingredient list might look long at first glance, both the cake layer and the flan layer are made mostly with simple pantry ingredients. With my basic step-by-step guide, plus some helpful hints and tricks, you’ll be mastering this classic show-stopper dessert in no time.
What is Chocoflan?
Chocoflan Cake is an amazing dessert you must see and taste to believe! It starts with a layer of chocolate cake batter in the bottom of a bundt pan and it’s topped with a quick and creamy flan batter. As the cake bakes, the flan mixture sinks to the bottom of the pan, basically flipping the layers. When you remove the cake from the pan, the flan is magically on top of the chocolate cake! It’s a stunning classic dessert that is well loved in Mexico and other Latin countries.
Ingredients
- Chocolate Batter: The chocolate cake mix starts with an easy, basic batter of 1 ⅓ cups sugar, 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 egg, ½ cup vegetable oil, and 1 tablespoon vanilla extract. It gets some flavor boosters though, which are listed below.
- Espresso Powder: 1 tablespoon of instant espresso powder is added after the batter is mixed to give your chocolate cake a flavor boost! Coffee brings out and deepens the chocolate flavor for an ultra chocolatey cake.
- Buttermilk: Instead of regular milk, this cake has 1 ½ cups of buttermilk for a tangy taste that pairs perfectly with the cream cheese flan batter. The acidity in the buttermilk also give the cake more lift so it’s light and fluffy with a melt in your mouth texture.
- Cinnamon: 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon is the perfect amount to add a little warmth and depth to the cake but you don’t actually taste the spice.
- Flan Layer: The flan mixture is a simple batter that starts with a can each evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk. Those get blended with half a package of cream cheese, 3 eggs, and vanilla extract. It’s the easiest custard batter ever, no cooking or tempering before baking!
- Caramel Sauce: The entire delicious cake is topped with 1 cup caramel sauce after it has cooled and set. This mimics the caramel sauce flan is baked in plus it makes a simple, sweet topping. You can make Homemade Caramel Sauce or pick up a jar of store bought caramel, just make sure it’s thin enough to pour.
Kitchen Tools & Equipment
- Bundt Pan: A bundt pan is crucial for a Chocoflan Cake to come out correctly. Because there is more surface area that is evenly spaced apart, the whole cake gets a consistent amount of heat. It allows the cake to cook uniformly and quicker without any dry or underdone spots. I’m using a 10 cup capactiy Bundt pan, but you can also use a 12-cup capacity bundt pan.
- Water Bath: You also need to use the water bath method for this cake. Using a water bath during baking helps the cake bake evenly and the water bath is used again to help release the cake from the pan.
How to Make Chocoflan
Time needed: 6 hours.
- Prep Time
Preheat your oven. Spray a bundt pan generously with baking spray. If you don’t have baking spray, grease the pan really well with butter then lightly coat the butter with flour.
- Sift Dry Ingredients
Mix the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and salt on low speed in a stand mixer.
- Chocolate Batter
In a separate medium bowl, whisk the egg, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients on low speed. Finally, stir in the coffee powder until just combined. Spread the cake mixture into the prepared pan.
- Flan Mixture
In a blender, add the evaporated milk, condensed milk, cream cheese, eggs, and vanilla. Blend everything for 45 seconds until combined and smooth.
- Pour Flan
Carefully pour the flan layer over the chocolate cake layer in the bundt pan.
- Set Up Water Bath
In a large baking pan, like an aluminum roasting pan, gently set the bundt pan in the center. Careful so you don’t spill, pour hot water around the bundt pan until it comes up 1 inch on the side of the pan. Place the roasting pan in the preheated oven on the center oven rack.
- Bake Time
Bake the cake for 90-100 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of cake comes out clean and the cake isn’t jiggly. Remove the whole water bath pan from the oven. Carefully remove the bundt pan from the water and set on a wire rack. Cool completely then refrigerate for 4 hours.
- Cool the Baked Cake
Fill your water bath pan with warm water again. Place the bundt cake pan back into the water bath and let it rest for 10 minutes in the warm water to loosen the baked flan layer.
- Remove the Cake and Serve
Place the top of your cake stand against the bottom (open) end of the bundt pan. Carefully invert the pan with the cake platter and let it rest until the cake slides out. Pour the caramel sauce over the entire cake and serve immediately.
Can This Be Made Ahead?
Yes, this is perfect to make a day or two in advance as it needs to be refrigerated before serving. Keep it wrapped in an airtight container if possible, or cover it with aluminum foil. Don’t put the caramel sauce on until ready to serve.
Nutritional Facts
Baking Chocoflan Tips & Tricks
- Use the Water Bath Method: It can’t be overstated how important the water bath is to make Chocoflan. The water helps the cook the custard layer evenly so your eggs don’t scramble and the flan doesn’t crack. After the cake is chilled, the steam from the hot water bath loosens the flan and cake from the pan so it comes out in one piece.
- How to Remove the Cake from Bundt Pan: Once your cake has steamed in the warm water and is loose enough to slip from the pan, you still need to take care so it doesn’t break. It’s best to place the top of your cake plate or stand flush against the cake pan top (and bottom of the cake). Holding the pan tightly against the plate, quickly invert in once swift motion so the pan is now resting on the plate. Let it sit and tap the sides, gently wiggling as you slide the pan straight up. If the cake is sticking, bring the pan back down and let it rest for a second so gravity pulls the cake down onto the plate in one piece.
How to Serve Chocoflan
Enjoy this classic Mexican dessert with authentic drinks like Horchata or Champurrado! Top the cake with some Whipped Cream or serve with a side of Cinnamon Ice Cream.
How to Store
- Store: Leftover Chocoflan can be kept in the fridge for up to 4 days, just keep it wrapped up in plastic or in an airtight container. This cake is best served chilled and shouldn’t be at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
- Freeze: Your Chocoflan cake will stay good for about a month in the freezer, but after that the flan layer will start to separate. Wrap slices tightly in two layers of plastic wrap then a layer of foil and store in the back of your freezer. Thaw in the fridge before serving.
Frequent Questions
The reason Chocoflan is called Impossible Cake is because of the way the layers of the cake magically flip places while it’s baking! The heavy flan sinks below the lighter cake layer as it bakes but it seems impossible that the whole layer would sink down and not just mix in with the batter, but it does!
Chocoflan is originally from Mexico, however, it is pulled from a few different origins. The French introduced a similar flan dessert called Creme Caramel which was then adapted into traditional Mexican cuisine. Flan itself though can be traced back all the way to Rome and then traveled to Spain where it also was introduced to Latin American people. The actual dessert though is still a well-loved authentic Mexican dish.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake:
- 1 1/3 cups sugar
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon instant espresso
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Flan:
- 12 ounces evaporated milk
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 4 ounces cream cheese , softened
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
To Finish:
- 1 cup caramel sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 10 cup bundt pan with baking spray or butter and flour it.
- In a stand mixer on low speed mix together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
- In a small bowl whisk together the egg, buttermilk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract then add it to the stand mixer on low then medium speed until just combined and finally add in the espresso powder.
- Spread evenly into the bundt pan.
Flan:
- Add the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, cream cheese, eggs and vanilla extract to your blender and blend for 45 seconds.
- Pour the mixture over the cake batter.
- Add the bundt pan to a large baking pan and add enough water to come up 1" on the side of the pan.
To Finish:
- Bake for 90 to 100 minutes until the cake is done and it isn't jiggly.
- Remove from the oven and remove the bundt pan from the baking pan.
- Let cool completely then cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
- Add the bottom of the bundt pan to about 1" of warm water for 10 minutes to loosen the flan inside.
- Carefully invert the chocoflan upside down onto your cake stand.
- Top with caramel sauce and serve slices immediately. This cake is best chilled.
Notes
- Change Serving Size: Click on the yield amount to slide and change the number of servings and the recipe will automatically update!
- Kitchen Timer: Click on times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer while cooking.
- Conversion: To convert measurements to grams, click on the Metric option next to Ingredients in the recipe card.
Nutrition
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