Chocolate Flan Cake {i.e. Magic Chocoflan!}
This Magic Chocolate Flan Cake looks absolutely stunning, but is beyond simple to make. One taste and you’ll where its been all your life.
In all my years of baking treats for family, never, I repeat never, have I ever had a reaction as glorious and overwhelmingly ecstatic as when I made this Chocolate Flan Cake over the holidays.
I mean, it bordered on the ridiculous (read: my dad, brother-in-law and husband literally arm wrestling for the last piece – there may or may not have been subterfuge involved as each tried to hide the others dessert in order to enjoy it for himself).
Even the kids, while devouring their own pieces with protective hands, were looking at these grown men as if they had grown horns and green fuzz.
I can’t blame the guys, really. This cake is terribly outstanding. And talk about gorgeous – it is elegant and eye catching to say the least (although you can bet the men in the house could have cared less how it looked, as evidenced when they each scrambled to claim the piece that fell off the serving spatula into a messy heap on the counter).
My friend Angela converted me to flan right before we moved from Wisconsin to Minnesota.
My experience with flan hasn’t been great in the past.
I don’t love the texture or extreme egginess of true vanilla flan. But cream cheese flan? Yeah, I’m all over that.
The flan layer of this cake incorporates a bit of cream cheese which makes all the difference between “ew” and “love” in my book. Creamy, silky, smooth and drizzled with caramel – flan is my new BFF, especially when it rests on a bed of rich, moist chocolate cake.
Honestly, this cake is unreal in it’s deliciousness.
If you aren’t convinced already, here are a few other reasons why this cake should be made as immediately as possible:
a) You can claim it as a science experiment for the kids, if you have them (or for yourself if you don’t) – the chocolate cake batter goes into the pan first and the milky flan mixture is poured over the top but as it bakes (get ready for this), the layers swap places and the cake ends up on top while the flan settles to the bottom. I know, get out, right? It has something to do with gas and physics and chemistry and magic and maybe baking soda. I’m not sure.
b) While it looks absolutely stunning, this cake is beyond simple to make. The flan ingredients all get thrown in the blender, for goodness sake, and the chocolate cake is easy as can be.
c) You can make it up to a day in advance and if that’s not a majorly redeeming factor, I don’t know what is.
d) One taste and you’ll wonder where Chocolate Flan Cake has been all your life.
This cake will make your life better. Promise. I can’t guarantee it won’t strain inter-family relationships while fighting over slices but you’ll have to figure out a way around that (there is a high possibility your family is more mature than mine which means you won’t have any fighting-over-flan issues at all).
One Year Ago: Delicious Braised Brisket with Mushrooms
Two Years Ago: Heath Bar Cake
Three Years Ago: Balsamic Chicken Noodle Bowl
Chocolate Flan Cake {i.e. Magic Chocoflan!}
Ingredients
Cake:
- ½ cup caramel sauce or topping (see note)
- ½ cup (86 g) plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup (28 g) cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 ounces (113 g) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 6 tablespoons (85 g) butter
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup (106 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Flan:
- 2 cans (14-ounces each) sweetened condensed milk
- 2 ½ cups whole milk
- 6 ounces (170 g) cream cheese
- 6 large eggs
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 12-cup nonstick bundt pan, taking care to get in all the nooks and crannies. Pour the caramel sauce into the bottom of the pan (the caramel sauce, if storebought and thick, may need a quick warmup in the microwave to be pourable).
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate and butter and microwave at 50% power for 1-minute increments, stirring in between, until the mixture is melted and smooth, about 2-4 minutes. Whisk the buttermilk, sugar, eggs, and vanilla into the melted chocolate mixture until incorporated. Add the flour mixture and stir until combined. Pour the chocolate batter evenly over the caramel.
- Add all the flan ingredients to a blender and process until smooth. Slowly and carefully pour the flan mixture over the the cake batter. Place the filled cake pan in a large roasting pan. Place the roasting pan in the oven and carefully pour warm water into the roasting pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the bundt pan. Bake the cake until a toothpick comes out clean and the flan registers 180 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 75 to 90 minutes (mine took the longer amount of time). Remove the Bundt pan from the roasting pan (the easiest way for cleanup is to leave the roasting pan and water in the oven until it has cooled) and place it on a wire rack to cool completely. Refrigerate for 8 hours (or up to 12).
- To remove the cake from the pan, fill a large bowl with hot water and place the bottom third of the Bundt pan in the water for 1 minute. Carefully invert the cake onto a flat plate or cake platter – I do this by putting the cake platter or plate over the Bundt pan opening and then, holding onto the edges of both platter and cake pan, I gently turn the pan upside down while flipping the cake platter. Slowly remove the pan letting the caramel drizzle over the top of the cake. Serve chilled.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from Cook’s Country Dec/Jan 2013
87 Comments on “Chocolate Flan Cake {i.e. Magic Chocoflan!}”
Great recipe! This recipe is from Cook’s Illustrated right?
I got it years ago from Cook’s Country – I have a link to the original recipe underneath my recipe.
I have Cook’s Country cookbook which recipe calls for unsalted butter. I used dark chocolate chili bar I picked up at Aldi’s to enhance chocolate flavor (like Mexican Hot Chocolate). I have dark roasting pan so I reduced temp to 325° and checked at 1 hour based on other reviews of cake being dry. Internal temp on flan was 182°. Let it rest as recipe called for and chilled for 8 + hours. Came out perfect, cake is fudgy brownie texture.
Made this for my neighbor’s birthday, which is 5/5. He was thrilled and loved it!
Does the bundt pan need to be covered/sealed with foil during the baking process? Will that help for the cake to be moist?
I don’t cover it while baking (but you could try – not sure if it would bake through all the way quite as well).
Made this today at about 4 pm and ate it the same night. I didn’t have any problems with ingredients fitting in my blendtech or in my bundt pan. I let it cool for 30-40 min on a cooling rack on the counter then moved it outside where it was 25 degrees. It was completely cool after an hour outside. Did the water bath right then and flipped it onto a tray. It turned out great but the cake was dry. I wonder if I could’ve shortened the baking time?. Mine was in the oven for 70 minutes and the flan was a little over 180 degrees. If I make it again I’ll try to check it at an hour, maybe less.
Did you substitute almond flour or another type to make it gluten free? What did you use the almond milk in place of – the buttermilk, sweetened condensed, whole milk or all 3. Please advise and adjustments to portion/ratio you use?
Love this! And I love the way the chocolate cake tastes! I’m wanting to make a layered cake for a birthday and thought about just using this cake part recipe and maybe making triple the amount. Is there any reason I shouldn’t expect it to taste just as amazing?
Honestly, I’m not sure because I’ve never made the cake just on its own. Good luck if you decide to go for it!
This was wonderful! I made it gluten free and used almond milk and it turned out delicious! I poured the leftover flan ingredients in ramekins and baked in water bath for dessert that night, it was fabulous, Thank you for all your wonderful recipes.
Did you substitute almond flour or different flour/same ratios? Was almond milk used in place of buttermilk, whole milk and/or sweetened condensed milk? I have a friend who loves flan but needs to eat gluten and dairy free. Please share!
I have an 8 cup bundt pan, i really wana try this today whatttt do i doooooo :((
If i use half of the cake mixture will it it be okay?
If you halve the cake mixture, I’d also halve the flan.
Hi mel came across your recipe, i tried it, it was good! But my flan and cake layers didnt separate nicely…. what do you think was the problem? Thanks
This chocoflan is SOO cool! Based off of your experience while making this, how’d you think this would work out if I tried these in cupcake form?
I don’t think it would work very well as cupcakes.
Hi Joleen! I actually made them in cupcake pans and they turned out perfect!
I have made a different recipe in cupcakes works great.
Help! This is the third time I have made this cake and the last two times I’ve made it the cream cheese has separated from the flan mix and is dispersed throughout the cake. I can’t seem to get the flan mix smooth. What am I doing wrong?
Are you using a blender to mix the flan?
Could you use a box mix for the cake? I’m worried that it wouldn’t turn out the same way.
I’ve never tried it with a boxed mix – good luck if you decide to experiment!
Mel, this sound amazing! I want to make this for a friends birthday so I’m going to have a trial run, having never made Flan before. This should be interesting because I’m teaching my 15 year old son how to bake and we will be taking this adventure together! Lol…. I do have one question, I’m wondering if a blender is a must or can I use a mixer? We’ll let you know how it turns out. Thanks!!
HI Angel – your son is a lucky kid! I hope it’s a fun project. I would definitely recommend a blender – you want that flan filling very smooth.
Hi Mel,
I’m wondering if this recipe can be made with gluten free cake. My concern is, will the texture/consistency of the cake hold up and swap positions with the flan? This recipe sounds amazing so I’m hoping you will give me the ‘go-ahead’!
Thank you!
PS. I just discovered you now and I think I am hooked! Your description of this cake had me laughing and drooling simultaneously.
Hi Jane – that’s a great question but unfortunately I don’t know. I’ve only made a few gluten-free chocolate cakes in my day and the texture is a bit different than the cake in this recipe. I’m not sure I can say 100% it would work. Good luck if you experiment!
Hi Tried this twice. Both times the cake was to dry. Comes out picture perfect and
taste is wonderful but the cake is iffy. Cut back the oven time the second time but to
no avail. Still dry and hard. How about more oil. Plan to make the flan and skip the cake but do love cake. HELP!!!!
Sorry to hear your cake is turning out dry, Delaine. Others have said the same thing although I haven’t experienced that. Maybe try adding less cake batter to the pan and cutting down the baking time just a bit.
Just pulled out of the oven. Looks like the cake bled through the flan, darn!! Hope it taste good .. Try try again.
I did one of these a few days ago. After reading the ‘dry’ comments about the cake layer, I would have to say that the cake layer is more like a ‘brownie’ layer. Its not as fluffy as chocolate cake, its much denser. Reminds me of the cake layer thats in my triple layer choco mousse cake. Denser. A mushier basic cake layer would make the whole thing… uh, mushy. The cake is already precarious enough, just a slight slam to the table will render the entire thing into a custard puddle. I think this brownie bottom takes the cake above and beyond, and adds as a stable platform for that flan to sit on.
Hi Mel,
Looks yummy and delicious.. can’t wait to try it out….By any chance can this be made in a microwave ??
Thanks alot for the recipe!!
Nandz – No. You need to cook it in the oven.
I’m hoping to make this for my office for Cinco de Mayo. My blender’s pretty small but I have a 12-cup food processor; could I blend the flan mixture in my food processor?
Colleen – If you have used your food processor before and it gets wet mixtures really smooth then it should work fine, I just worry a little bit that it won’t process it quite as well as a blender.
hi! so i just made this chocoflan last night….it looks amazing!!! Unfortunately I’m sick but my parents both tried it and both have commented that the cake is too dry…is there a way to fix this? they love love love the flan part but wish the cake part was just a bit more moist. any suggestions would be appreciated! thanks!
Mabel – you could try decreasing the baking time and see if that helps the cake stay moist.
The Spanish do this cake but they put flan mix in first n cake mix over flan n it comes out moist. It’s called Pastel impossible
Hi Mel – all I can say is “duh” – I didn’t read through your blogpost…the cake FLIPS and it un-frigging-believealby delicious!
in the oven now… confused though: in the recipe, the caramel goes in first, then the cake, then the flan – but in the picture, it looks like the caramel went in first, then the flan, then the cake. Am I right?
Sara – the cake and flan layers switch spots while baking!
Divine! Super decadent, but worth every calorie. I love the combo of the chocolate and the creamy custard. I baked mine 70 minutes but when I make it next time, I will probably go more like 60-65 because the cake layer was the tiniest bit dry compared to how luscious the one in your picture looks. I was surprised how easy it came together and ends up looking so fancy. Thanks Mel!
Follow – up to my earlier post…. The desert was a big hit at dinner last night! After reading all the comments, I only baked it for 70 minutes. The cake was more “brownie” like, but very tasty and enjoyed by all.
My ChocoFlan is in the oven…. Sounded too good not to try. I did have to prepare the Flan batter in two batches due to the size of my blender. However, it did all fit in my Bundt pan – didn’t have to discard any. Looking forward to tomorrow’s party so I can taste this creation.
Becky – I was at my mom’s house when I made it so I’m not sure of the Blender size but it was probably around an 8 cup blender. It was very full but not overflowing.
Ok it’s in the oven, but this seems weird to me. I have checked and double checked to see if I measured wrong, but I’m confident I used the righ amounts in the custard recipe. I couldn’t use my blender because it was overflowing before I even put in the eggs!! I tried moving it to my food processor, and overflowed that. I have custard everywhere!! Did anyone else have this problem? I thought I had a normal sized blender. If this turns out, I’ll definitely make the custard in two half batches next time. Also, I discarded alot of custard batter. Mel, what size is your blender pitcher? You might want to make note of the size required to hold the custard in your recipe, as you did the bundt pan. My fingers are crossed that this will turn out – it’s such a beautiful dessert!
Made my cake and it was fabulous! I do agree about the dry cake though, and I used an oven thermometer to test doneness, so I don’t think I was overbaking it. It was still delicious, even with the dry cake.
My oven cooks hot so I checked it at one hour. I was worried about overcooking it so I stuck my meat thermometer in and it read 180 so I pulled it out. Only 60 minutes of baking and the cake was still a little dry. Next time I will cover with tin foil around 45 minutes in. It was still a hit and very delicious. I used a store bought caramel sauce and didn’t really like the flavor of it. Next time I’ll use a homemade sauce or a good quality (Mrs. Richardson’s) caramel sauce. But there will be a next time. Loved the flan layer especially.
I still liked the cake a lot and want to master it before my son returns home from his mission in Mexico City. He said it’s his favorite. I am going to reduce oven time by 10 min and also cover with foil earlier to see if it helps. I will let you know how it turns out.
I’m surprised the cake is turning out dry – that’s such a bummer because it was my favorite part! Moist and fudgy. I definitely think if that is happening then the baking time needs to be decreased, possibly even by 5-10 minutes. My flan layer was definitely on the softer side but after it is chilled, it sets up just fine. Perhaps the oven at my mom’s house I was using was light on temperature and it helped my cake layer not get overbaked. I want you to love it so if you dare try again, I’d decrease baking time and see how it fares.
I made this yesterday and had results similar to others. The flan part was absolutely delicious. The cake part was hard and nearly dry. Almost like an overcooked brownie. Is the cake supposed to be softer and more cake like regular cake? I would really like to master this recipe but don’t know what if the cake is supposed to be soft or harder and firmer. I did cover it with foil the last half hour but I think it was already quite firm and starting to dry out by that point.
So I wanted to give an update on how it turned out. The flan part was delicious!!! The cake part was dry though, so I was sad about that. I’d love to make it again, but I’m not sure how to adjust it to make sure the flan cooks enough without leaving the cake dry…
I live alone so I never need 8-12 servings of anything! I’m going to try it in a loaf pan then slice it to serve. I don’t have an instant read thermometer so timing will be trial and error.
Just put mine in the oven! I have a 12 cup bundt pan and all my flan mixture fit in the pan with 1/2 inch to spare! Thanks Mel!
Ok ladies – it did work out. I will say I think I cooked it just a tad long bc the cake was a tad dry, but the flan was a good in between for those people who don’t like the original texture of flan. It’s a pretty easy recipe, and quite “impressive” looking. I filled my bundt pan to nearly the top, leaving only about a 1/4″, had to throw away about 1/2 cup of flan, but it all worked out great. Ended up cooking for about 75 min. oh! and the coolest trick I learned, because I wanted to eat it that night. If you want to cool it down faster than the fridge will let you, but don’t want to put it in the freezer in fear of what it will do to the dish, let it cool to room temp-ish (I put it in the fridge to get to that part) and then put it in a sink with ice, and then fill up the sink with water so it’s in an “ice bath” … it was COLD in about 4 hours I believe. + the hour to get to room temp. Thanks Mel for all your great work.
Sarah – the flan layer is more reminiscent of cheesecake than flan, although the texture isn’t quite as sturdy and thick as cheesecake. I’m not a flan fan, as I mentioned in the post, but I would eat cream cheese flan (like in this recipe) any day of the week.
Does the flan layer taste like cheesecake with the addition of the cream cheese? I don’t like flan but do love cheesecake so I’m wondering if I will like this.
I’m with Jenny. I made this this morning and had to throw out about 2 cups of the flan batter. 🙁 My bundt pan works well with all other bundt recipes I have. And I cooked it for 75 min and I’m worried that the cake is going to be dry. I was at the gym (you know, so I could justify eating this beautify!), so I had my hubby take it out at the 75 min time to check it and he said the toothpick was “definitely clean”. I am crossing my fingers it still turns out delicious! I’ll keep you posted!
Mame – I think it will work out! When I poured in my flan mixture on top of the cake batter, parts of the cake batter looked like it floated to the top. I thought it had failed…but it baked up perfectly!
Ok, I just made this, and I am so nervous! I made my own caramel sauce and it didn’t come out just right, but I used it anyways. And when I poured in the flan batter parts of the chocolate cake batters started to float? But this looked so good and I want emit for tonight!!! And your stuff always comes out great! I’ll check back in and tell you how it goes.
Jennifer – if you have an instant read thermometer, the best test is to follow the recipe and bake it until the flan registers 180 degrees. But overall, yes, you probably will bake it for less time.
I can’t stand flan because of the heavy egg flavor, but you had me at cream cheese! If you also don’t like flan because of the egginess, but you love this, I’m willing to give it a try!
Do you bake it for less time if you use the smaller bundt pan? Is there any way to know if it’s done? Making this for a dinner party tonight! It’s in the oven and smells awesome!
Well, it still turned out great! But I was going to throw out a lot more than a 1/2 a cup of flan. I don’t know why I had so much. I just put it in a pan on its own and baked it along with the cake. Even with my mistakes, it still turned out pretty dang awesome. The cake wasn’t as moist as I would have liked, but that’s because of the hot water bath that I messed up on. I will definitely be making this again!
I heard of chocolate flan (chocoflan) for the first time over the weekend on a cooking show on PBS (not Cook’s Country). While the recipe was different, the technique was the same. It was a smaller recipe, too, and was baked in ramekins.
I’ll put this on my list of recipes to try, but most desserts never see the light of day in my house!
brace yourself–i’m not a flan fan! it has so much going for it, but it was forever spoiled by a nasty experience many years ago. pretty creation, though!
Jenny – I definitely wouldn’t cut the flan in half. I only discarded about 1/2 cup of the batter. It’s ok if you can’t fit it all in but ideally you want to fit in as much as possible (which is why a 12-cup bundt pan is really important here) because you want the flan layer to be really thick and high. Hopefully it worked out for you!
I am making this right now…seriously, it’s in the oven for my hubby’s birthday tomorrow. I have the smaller size bundt pan, so ended up tossing the extra flan. But it didn’t even all quite fit in my blender. I must have a small blender. What do you think about cutting down the flan recipe in half? Also, I messed up and put the roasting pan with water on the lower rack and the cake on the upper rack. I realized my mistake halfway through (about 5 minutes ago!) and tried to fix my problem. I hope it still turns out okay! :/ I’ll let you know!
I made a flan cake last year for Cinco de mayo and it was a big hit! I can’t wait to try your version this year!
I so enjoy reading your blog. Thanks for all the great recipes.
We made a very similar version to this (Chocoflan) for my baby grandson’s baptism party. It was the hit of the show, next to the Cake Balls.
Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk has their new flavor “Dulce de Leche” , which has a really nice caramel flavor. I have both in my cupboard right now and wonder if I should try it. I have never heard of chocolate flan cake, but the recipe looks interesting, so I think I’m going to try it. What do you think Mel? Should I try the new Dulce de Leche sweetened condensed milk or should I just use the regular kind?
I’ve made this before and it’s so delicious!
Oh my! That looks incredible. I’m thinking it would be perfect for an upcoming birthday dessert.
My son is serving a mission in Mexico City. He loves this dessert. They call it “Impossible Cake” there because the layers switch while baking. He said it’s commonly served at birthdays and other celebrations. He has begged me to learn to make it before he comes home. When I saw it on the cover of Cooks Country at the library I was so happy. I had researched recipes on the internet and even tried one but it did not turn out. I am anxious to try this one. Glad it has your seal of approval.
I’ve also tried a different recipe twice and the cake burns and the flan doesn’t cook but I will be trying this recipe thank you Mel.
ScampsGirl – yes, a bundt pan is necessary to fit all that delicious batter.
Is a bundt pan a necessity? Would a deep pie plate work or would it be too much batter or is it too dense?
LOL! I knew that you would have this soon when I saw it in my Cook’s Country 🙂 You’re awesome! So delicious!
I’ve never tried a chocoflan, but you sure have convinced me that I should!
A friend from Mexico brought a chocoflan to a party last year – omg, it was such a hit! I had never seen one before, I was blown away. It was still a little warm when she served it, one of the best new things I tried last year. I’ve been wanting to try making one – thanks for sharing the recipe!
Mel, what is your recipe for the homemade caramel sauce? Also, since discovering your blog a year ago, we have barely eaten processed foods. Thank you for that. My usband also thanks you for his gain of about thirty pounds. He has no self-control when it comes to your recipes. And my 8 year old daughter and you are apparently on a first name basis.. just saying. Every time she really loves something she always asks if “this.is Mel’s?” It always is.
I will ditch the diet and try this over the weekend. I have never heard of chocolate flan cake before, but it sounds wonderful.
With such high praise….it’s gotta be good. Just downloaded the recipe and headed to the store for ingredients. I love flan and hubby loves chocolate cake – there’s going to be two happy people. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I am not a huge fan of flan for the reasons you described but the chocolate and cream cheese in this recipe sounds very intriguing. The fact that it has Cooks Country’s seal and yours is enough for me! 🙂
Mel! I love this cake! I think it’s a Texas thing! I’ve been working on a ‘for two’ version for quite some time. Maybe one day I’ll master it. xo
Mel- I made chocolate flan cake for one of my Tex-Mex theme parties, and it was outstanding! It really is a science experiment, as the top of the cake ends up on the bottom when cooked! The recipe I made was not a CC recipe, but it was still delicious. I am so excited to make this delicious dessert again using your recipe! 🙂
I’ve never heard of a chocolate flan cake before! Love it! And it’s too cool that the layers switch places after it bakes!