Chocolate Flan Cake

Chocolate flan cake is one of the tastiest desserts you’ll ever eat! Moist chocolate cake meets traditional vanilla flan, topped with a creamy caramel sauce.

Friends, I have been so excited for this day to arrive. It’s time for an old fashioned recipe swap, and an amazing chocolate flan cake recipe!

I posted a recipe for Strawberry Banana Cupcakes with Banana Buttercream Frosting on her blog.

A special thanks and shout out to the three wonderful bloggers who made this event happen… Julie {White Lights on Wednesday}, Kelley {Miss Information} and Rachel {i love my disorganized life}.  If you’d like to check out the entire lineup of the 30 bloggers who were paired up, be sure to visit one of those three sites for all of the links!

OK, Shatzi, the floor is yours, girl.  Take it away!

Hi everyone! I’m Shatzi from Love and Laundry and I’m so excited to be paired up with Becca for this fun recipe swap! Please check out the recipe she shared on my site. When I was deciding what to make, my very favorite cake came to mind.

I don’t make this chocolate flan cake very often.

 

Not because it’s difficult to make, because it’s actually pretty easy to make. I don’t make it often because it’s so decadent, and I’m afraid I’ll spoil my family! I usually make this when company is coming (it easily serves 16) and listen to the “Wows!” as everyone tastes this delicious dessert!

BECCA’S NOTE: Decadence and spoiling… the very same reasons that I rarely make my Snicker’s Cupcakes or my Snicker’s Cheesecake Bars! 

I remember the first time I ate flan. I had never heard of it until I went to college. One of my roommates insisted that flan was a birthday treat. I guess in her family, they got flan instead of cake for birthdays. I thought it was strange, but then I tasted it and I knew why. It’s a pretty special dessert. I think it tastes like creme brulee, if you’ve had that. When I ran across this recipe a few months ago for chocolate flan cake, it reminded me of my roommate!

Look below the chocolate flan cake recipe for step by step tutorial directions and images:

Chocolate Flan Cake

Decadent chocolate cake and a layer of flan are layered together in this delicious dessert!

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 8 hrs

Total Time 8 hrs

Servings 12

Calories 638 kcal

Ingredients

  

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Caramel Layer

• 1/2 cup homemade caramel sauce or caramel ice cream topping

Chocolate Cake Layer Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt (if you use salted butter eliminate this ingredient)
• 4 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate chopped
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (or you can substitute 1/2 teaspoon vinegar + 1/2 cup milk - mix and let it sit for 5 min before mixing in the cake)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Flan Layer

• 2 cans of sweetened condensed milk (I used Eagle Brand and I definitely recommend using that! Different brands set the flan up a little differently)
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 6 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
• 6 large eggs plus 4 large egg yolks

Instructions

 

• Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
• For the Cake
• ?You do not need to use a blender for this cake. It’s pretty much a one bowl operation. Get a large bowl. In the microwave, combine the butter and chocolate. Microwave at 50% power for about 1 minute. Stir it up. Keep microwaving in 10 second intervals, mixing in between, until the chocolate and butter are melted. One at a time, and mixing well between each addition, stir in the buttermilk, sugar, eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa and baking soda. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ones. Stir until just combined – don’t over mix! The batter will be kind of thick, but don’t worry…it’s supposed to be that way!
• For the Flan
• Add sweetened condensed milk, milk, cream cheese, eggs, and egg yolks to a blender. Combine on high speed for 1 minute, or until smooth. (If your blender has a small capacity, you may need to do this in two batches.)
• Cake Assembly
• Microwave caramel sauce to soften and pour 1/2 cup sauce into the greased bundt pan.
• Spoon the cake batter on top of the caramel sauce.
• Pour the flan mix over the top of the cake batter. Don't be concerned if the cake batter rises to the top. It will rise during baking anyway.
• Place the bundt pan into a larger roasting pan and add enough tap water to fill about half way up the side of the bundt pan. The water helps the flan bake evenly.
• Place the pans into the oven and bake for 75-90 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Check your cake at 70 minutes for doneness.
• Remove the bundt pan from the roasting pan. Let the bundt pan cool on the counter for about 2 hours and then refrigerate for at least 8 hours (overnight is fine).
• To Remove Cake from Pan
• Use large roasting pan that you used during baking and fill it one quarter full with very hot tap water. Put the bundt pan into the hot water and let it sit for about 1 minute.
• Place a serving platter or cake plate upside down on top of the cake. Try to center it as much as you can. Holding the plate down onto the cake with one hand, flip the cake over and onto the cake plate. Remove the bundt pan and enjoy your beautiful, delicious chocolate flan cake!

Nutrition

Sodium: 358mgSugar: 64gFiber: 3gCholesterol: 192mgCalories: 638kcalSaturated Fat: 17gFat: 29gProtein: 15gCarbohydrates: 82g

Tried this recipe? Mention @itsyummi or tag #itsyummirecipe!

Chocolate Flan Cake (step-by-step tutorial)

recipe adapted from Cooks Country

This cake looks WAY harder to make than it actually is. The layers of rich chocolate, creamy flan and caramel are really meant to be eaten together! It’s pretty magical.

Because there are different layers, you make 2 separate mixes plus the caramel sauce. You do bake it all together, so I’ll show you how to mix up each layer and then how to assemble it.

You do not need to use a blender or mixer for this cake. It’s pretty much a one bowl operation. Get a large bowl. In the microwave, combine the butter and chocolate. Microwave at 50% power for about 1 minute. Stir it up. Keep microwaving in 10 second intervals, mixing in between, until the chocolate is all melted. One at a time, and mixing well between each addition, stir in the buttermilk, sugar, eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa and baking soda. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ones. Stir until just combined – don’t over mix! The batter will be kind of thick, but don’t worry…it’s supposed to be that way!

Flan Directions:

Add all of the ingredients to the blender and blend about 1 minute (or until smooth). If your blender is too small, just blend it in batches.

Here’s how to assemble the cake:

First, microwave the jar of caramel topping for about 30 seconds to soften it up.  Pour 1/2 cup into the greased bundt pan.

Next, spoon the cake on top of the caramel.

Last, slowly pour the flan mix over the cake.

Sometimes when I pour the flan, the cake batter rises to the top. If it doesn’t rise right away, it will during baking. It’s kinda fun to see it swap places!

THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP!! The trick to getting this cake to bake correctly is to bake it in a hot water bath. To do that, put the bundt pan in a larger roasting pan and add enough water into the roasting pan to go about half way up the bundt pan. The water helps the flan bake evenly. It really is the difference between a successful cake and a fail.

Bake the cake at 350 for somewhere between 75 to 90 minutes. Mine took exactly 75 minutes. It’s done when a toothpick comes out clean.

Remove the bundt pan from the roasting pan. Let it cool on the counter for about 2 hours and then set up in the fridge for 8 hours. This is perfect to make the day before company is coming!

Here’s how to remove the chocolate flan cake from the pan:

First, grab that roasting pan that you used during baking and fill it with hot, hot tap water. Put the bundt pan back in and let it sit for about 1 minute.

Use a serving platter or cake plate, placing it on top of the cake. Try to center it as much as you can.

Then, flip it over. The cake should just magically slide out.

My favorite part is lifting the bundt pan off, revealing the beautiful cake.

Yum!!