Magic Chocolate Flan Cake
By Carolynn Purpura MacKayPublished on September 17, 2013
Time
2 hours, plus 2 hours cooling and 8 hours chilling
Yield
Serves 16
Ingredients
CAKE
½ cup caramel sauce or topping½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (3 ⅛ ounces/89 grams) all-purpose flour ⅓ cup (1 ounces/28 grams) cocoa ½ teaspoon baking soda ⅛ teaspoon salt 4 ounces (113 grams) bittersweet chocolate, chopped6 tablespoons unsalted butter ½ cup buttermilk ½ cup (3 ½ ounces/99 grams) sugar 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extractFLAN
2 (14 ounces/397 grams) cans sweetened condensed milk 2 ½ cups whole milk 6 ounces (170 grams) cream cheese 6 large eggs plus 4 large yolks1 teaspoon vanilla extractBefore You Begin
It’s worth using good-quality caramel sauce, such as Fat Toad Farm Goat’s Milk Caramel. If your blender doesn’t hold 2 quarts, process the flan in two batches. The cake needs to chill for at least 8 hours before you can unmold it.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 12-cup nonstick Bundt pan. Microwave caramel until easily pourable, about 30 seconds. Pour into pan to coat bottom. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in bowl; set aside. Combine chocolate and butter in large bowl and microwave at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally, until melted, 2 to 4 minutes. Whisk buttermilk, sugar, eggs, and vanilla into chocolate mixture until incorporated. Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Pour batter over caramel in prepared pan.
- Process all ingredients in blender until smooth, about 1 minute. Gently pour flan over cake batter in Bundt pan and place pan in large roasting pan. Place roasting pan on oven rack and pour warm water into roasting pan until it reaches halfway up side of Bundt pan. Bake until toothpick inserted in cake comes out clean and flan registers 180 degrees, 75 to 90 minutes. Transfer Bundt pan to wire rack. Let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours, then refrigerate until set, at least 8 hours. (Remove roasting pan from oven once water has cooled.)
- Place bottom third of Bundt pan in bowl of hot tap water for 1 minute. Invert completely flat cake platter, place platter over top of Bundt pan, and gently turn platter and pan upside down. Slowly remove pan, allowing caramel to drizzle over top of cake. Serve.
for the cake
for the flan
Time
2 hours, plus 2 hours cooling and 8 hours chillingYield
Serves 16Ingredients
CAKE
½ cup caramel sauce or topping
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (3 ⅛ ounces/89 grams) all-purpose flour
⅓ cup (1 ounces/28 grams) cocoa
½ teaspoon baking soda
⅛ teaspoon salt
4 ounces (113 grams) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup buttermilk
½ cup (3 ½ ounces/99 grams) sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
FLAN
2 (14 ounces/397 grams) cans sweetened condensed milk
2 ½ cups whole milk
6 ounces (170 grams) cream cheese
6 large eggs plus 4 large yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
CAKE
½ cup caramel sauce or topping
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (3 ⅛ ounces/89 grams) all-purpose flour
⅓ cup (1 ounces/28 grams) cocoa
½ teaspoon baking soda
⅛ teaspoon salt
4 ounces (113 grams) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup buttermilk
½ cup (3 ½ ounces/99 grams) sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
FLAN
2 (14 ounces/397 grams) cans sweetened condensed milk
2 ½ cups whole milk
6 ounces (170 grams) cream cheese
6 large eggs plus 4 large yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
CAKE
½ cup caramel sauce or topping
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (3 ⅛ ounces/89 grams) all-purpose flour
⅓ cup (1 ounces/28 grams) cocoa
½ teaspoon baking soda
⅛ teaspoon salt
4 ounces (113 grams) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup buttermilk
½ cup (3 ½ ounces/99 grams) sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
FLAN
2 (14 ounces/397 grams) cans sweetened condensed milk
2 ½ cups whole milk
6 ounces (170 grams) cream cheese
6 large eggs plus 4 large yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
This hybrid dessert has a layer of chocolate cake and a layer of caramel-coated flan that “magically” switch places as they bake. For ease, we started with a simple dump-and-stir chocolate cake recipe. At first, the flan added too much moisture to the cake, making it soggy. A drier cake was key, and removing some of the buttermilk and sugar did the trick. To help our flan stand tall rather than slump when sliced, we use whole eggs (instead of just yolks) and add cream cheese as a stabilizer. We opted for store-bought caramel sauce to top it all off—much easier than homemade.
Before You Begin
It’s worth using good-quality caramel sauce, such as Fat Toad Farm Goat’s Milk Caramel. If your blender doesn’t hold 2 quarts, process the flan in two batches. The cake needs to chill for at least 8 hours before you can unmold it.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 12-cup nonstick Bundt pan. Microwave caramel until easily pourable, about 30 seconds. Pour into pan to coat bottom. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in bowl; set aside. Combine chocolate and butter in large bowl and microwave at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally, until melted, 2 to 4 minutes. Whisk buttermilk, sugar, eggs, and vanilla into chocolate mixture until incorporated. Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Pour batter over caramel in prepared pan.
- Process all ingredients in blender until smooth, about 1 minute. Gently pour flan over cake batter in Bundt pan and place pan in large roasting pan. Place roasting pan on oven rack and pour warm water into roasting pan until it reaches halfway up side of Bundt pan. Bake until toothpick inserted in cake comes out clean and flan registers 180 degrees, 75 to 90 minutes. Transfer Bundt pan to wire rack. Let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours, then refrigerate until set, at least 8 hours. (Remove roasting pan from oven once water has cooled.)
- Place bottom third of Bundt pan in bowl of hot tap water for 1 minute. Invert completely flat cake platter, place platter over top of Bundt pan, and gently turn platter and pan upside down. Slowly remove pan, allowing caramel to drizzle over top of cake. Serve.
for the cake
for the flan
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