ChocoFlan (The Impossible Layered Cake)

ChocoFlan is a Mexican twist on a classic Puerto Rican dessert, flan! Made with a layer of chocolate cake topped with a layer of flan, it's a guaranteed show stopper dessert no matter the event.

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If you enjoy Puerto Rican recipes, you're familiar with flan. It's a milk and egg based dessert made with a homemade caramel topping.

ChocoFlan is like if flan and chocolate cake had a delicious, caramel covered baby.

What makes it truly impressive and gives it its 'impossible' name, is how the layers of the cake flip during the baking process.

The chocolate layer that gets poured in the center of the cake ends up on the bottom as a result of its density.

Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make ChocoFlan:

• white granulated sugar
• butter, softened to room temperature

For the Chocolate Cake

• chocolate cake box mix
• any other ingredients required for cake box mix

For the Flan

• evaporated milk
• sweetened condensed milk
• vanilla extract
• eggs
• a pinch of salt

See recipe card for quantities.

How to Make ChocoFlan

Making magic: this step is where the cake gets its 'impossible' name, as the chocolate layer is poured on top of the caramel and under the flan, and comes out on the bottom layer.

Caramel Sauce Options

There are a few different routes you can take when planning what caramel to use for this recipe.

The Mexican caramel traditionally used is called Cajeta and can be found online or at most Spanish grocery stores.

Alternatively, you can use Dulce de Leche. This kind of caramel is more commonly found in South American desserts, and can be easier to find at the store or make yourself with one simple ingredient.

And if you're not interested in either of those options, you can make the traditional Puerto Rican one-ingredient caramel we use for flan, like I did in this recipe.

The Chocolate Cake

For this ChocoFlan recipe we are using a box mix for our chocolate cake layer.

If you feel like being extra, you can totally go above and beyond and make a classic Mexican chocolate cake from scratch. Just make sure to half the recipe, so you aren't making too much for the bundt pan to hold.

And if you're keeping things simple with a box cake like me, you can add a pinch of cinnamon and/or chile powder to give it that Mexican chocolate cake spice.

The Flan

If you've made my Puerto Rican Flan recipe, you may notice the same recipe that is used for this chocoflan.

This easy recipe is made in the blender in a matter of minutes and has that perfectly creamy and light texture that compliments the chocolate cake so well.

Otherwise, this flan recipe is almost identical to the classic. Same ingredients, same super simple instructions, we love letting the blender do the work for us!

Equipment

Speaking of... you will need a good quality blender to make this recipe.

You will also need a 12 cup bundt pan.

Storage

This cake can be made the day before and stored in the fridge before flipping to serve. Once flipped, it should keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Hot Tip

Heat up the water for the water bath before pouring into the pan, to help the cooking process in beginning as soon as the ChocoFlan hits the oven.

More Puerto Rican Desserts

This ChocoFlan is a great introduction to Latin desserts. Here are some of my favorites you should definitely check out:

• Quesitos (Cream Cheese Pastries)
• Pastelillos de Guayaba (Guava Pastries)
• Piragua (Puerto Rican Shaved Ice)
• Pan de Mallorca (Puerto Rican Sweet Bread)
• Arroz con Leche (Sweet Rice Pudding)

Buen provecho,

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