EASY! Chocolate Flan Cake (Magic ChocoFlan)

Chocolate Flan Cake (ChocoFlan/Bolo Pudim)- Cake and flan in every bite, drizzled with caramel sauce! Easy yet impressive dessert recipe!

As the name implies, Chocolate Flan Cake (ChocoFlan) is a two-in-one dessert. It combines two classic desserts in one, half flan (pudding or pudim) and half chocolate cake with a caramel topping, an absolutely delicious dessert you’ll surely falling love with.

This Chocolate Flan Cake (ChocoFlan) looks like a masterpiece but is surprisingly easy and fun to make. The perfect dessert to make for your next party or special occasion. It’s always a big hit with guests making you the center of attention as it is a kind of ‘magic’ cake.

Chocolate Flan Cake;
Interestingly it has so many names!

This Chocolate Flan Cake, known as ChocoFlan, is one of the most popular Mexican desserts. And it is also a popular dessert in other Latin American countries and some other countries around the world. So, there are variations of ingredients, cooking methods, and also the name it is known for such as Bolo Pudim, Bolo Pudim de Chocolate, Pudim Cake, Impossible Cake, Magic Cake, or Flan Cake among others.

ChocoFlan looks a lot like Bolo Pudim,
what’s the difference?

Recently, a Japanese version of Brazilian ‘Pudim’ has become a big hit in Japan. After having a slice of Japanese-style ‘Pudim’ (プジン), I was so impressed by the taste and texture of it as it was my first time having a dessert that combines a flan and a cake.

Then, I wanted to try an authentic version of Brazilian ‘Pudim’ and I was searching for a good authentic recipe for making Brazilian ‘Bolo Pudim’ and then ended up making Mexican ‘ChocoFlan’.

So, I was debating (I’m still debating!!!) for many days on what I wanted to title this recipe…Bolo Pudim or ChocoFlan? So, I did a Google search for it… and then found out that there was no significant difference between Bolo Pudim and ChocoFlan except the name.

You can use the words ‘Flan’ and ‘Pudim’ interchangeably. Portuguese-speaking countries like Portugal and Brazil call it ‘Pudim’ while Spain, Latin America, and the Philippines call it ‘Flan’.

The ‘magic’ all happens while it’s baking!

This Chocolate Flan Cake (ChocoFlan) is also known as impossible cake or magic cake as there is a kind of baking “magic” involved when making this cake.

When you make it, you put the caramel sauce and the chocolate cake batter at the bottom of the pan and then pour the flan batter on top of them. Then the chocolate batter, flan batter, and caramel sauce are baked all together in the same pan in a hot water bath.

However, the chocolate cake and flan layers seem to magically reverse positions during baking as the flan goes to the bottom of the cake and the cake batter rises to the top. So when you turn the cake over after baking, the flan is on top of the chocolate cake and you can see beautifully separated cake and flan layers.

The science behind the magic!

During the baking process, the cake batter aerates and takes shape before the flan set, so the cake batter rises to the top of the pan and the flan batter goes to the bottom.

Surprisingly, the two layers of cake and flan don’t mix during this transfer resulting in a beautifully separated two-in-one dessert with a moist chocolate cake and a creamy flan topped with caramel sauce.

The Best Pan for Baking Chocoflan

ChocoFlan is typically baked in a bundt pan or tube pan, but other pans can be used as well. In this recipe, I used a nonstick round cake pan and I could easily remove the cake from the pan. You can also try it with a square, or rectangular cake pan. Using a nonstick pan will help to release the cake easily. Make sure not to use a pan with removable bottom.

a Hot water bath for Baking Chocoflan

ChocoFlan is typically baked in a hot water bath to keep the flan from cracking as it cooks. So, you will also need an oven-proof pan to use as a water bath that is large enough for the baking pan to sit inside. Any large pan will do the job as long as you can add water to it up to the middle of the height of the baking pan.

Tips for Making the Best Chocoflan

1. When you make the caramel, do not leave the stove. The caramel gets burned easily in no time. Pour the water carefully and slowly into the pan with the caramelized sugar. The caramel is very hot so the water will probably splash. Take care not to burn yourself.
2. Make sure to grease the baking pan generously with softened butter and then sprinkle with sugar, tilting to coat the pan in an even layer, and then tap out excess.
3. Make sure to strain the flan mixture through a sieve before you pour it into the cake pan for an extra-smooth texture.
4. Don’t remove the cake from the pan immediately while still hot. The flan needs to cool to set completely otherwise it will break. First, let the cake cool completely to room temperature and then chill it in the fridge preferably overnight before removing it from the pan.
5. When unmolding the cake, loosen the cake by placing the pan in a hot water bath for a few minutes as it will help loosen the caramel from the bottom by melting it slightly. (Use the same large pan you used for the water bath.

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Variation

If you like to make an easy version of ChocoFlan, you can make it with a ready-to-use chocolate cake mixture and a store-bought caramel topping instead of making them from scratch. And you can also make a ‘Flan Cake’ instead of making ‘ChocoFlan’ using a vanilla cake, sponge cake, or chiffon cake batter instead of a chocolate cake batter.

Serving Suggestions

ChocoFlan is traditionally served cold, but it can be also served at room temperature. You will see some of the caramel sauce collecting on the plate after unmolding the cake, just spoon it back over the top of the cake when serving. You can store the ChocoFlan in the refrigerator in an airtight container for about 2 to 3 days. Make sure to keep the leftovers refrigerated.

CHEESECAKE RECIPES

I am a big fan of cheesecake and I have tried pretty much many cheesecake recipes. I have shared several cheesecake recipes on this blog and many more to come…

Easy Chocolate Flan Cake
(Step-by-Step Recipe)

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Bake Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 4 to 8 slices

Equipment

18 cm round cake pan
Large-size Baking Pan for water bath

Ingredients

For the Caramel Sauce
100 g sugar
50 ml water

For the Flan
4 eggs
1 teaspoon plain flour (optional)
150 g condensed milk
150 g whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract/essence

For the Chocolate Cake:
130 g plain flour
30 g cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
100 g sugar
130 g milk
80 g vegetable oil

Preparation

Preheat oven to 170° C. Grease the pan (18 cm cake pan) generously with softened butter and then sprinkle with sugar, tilting to coat the pan in an even layer; tap out excess.

Make the Caramel Sauce

Gather the ingredients.

In a saucepan/frying pan, spread the sugar out in an even layer and heat over medium-high heat. Do not stir.

When the sugar gets hot enough, it will start to melt into a golden color liquid.

Carefully and slowly pour the water into the pan with the caramelized sugar.

The caramel hardens up when you add the water. So, keep stirring with a spoon until all the sugar has re-melted into syrup. When the syrup is smooth remove it from the heat and let it cool slightly.

Pour the caramel sauce into the prepared pan. Keep the pan in the fridge while you make the cake and flan batters. The caramel will cool and harden so that it no longer moves around.

Prepare the Flan Mixture

Here are the ingredients you will need to make the flan.

 In a large bowl, whisk the eggs for about 30 seconds.

Add the flour, condensed milk, milk, and vanilla essence. Whisk until well combined.

To achieve an extra smooth batter, strain the flan mixture through a fine mesh strainer.

The flan mixture is ready. set aside until you make the cake batter.

Prepare the Cake Batter

Here are the ingredients you will need for making the cake batter.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt (3 times).

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, milk and oil until well combined.

Add the flour mixture and whisk until incorporated.

Your cake batter is ready.

Pour the Prepared Batters into the Prepared Pan

First, pour the chocolate cake batter on top of the chilled caramel topping. 

Next, carefully and slowly pour the flan mixture over the cake batter.

Bake the ChocoFlan

Cover the pan with aluminum foil and place it inside a larger pan. 

Pour in boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the pan.

Bake for about 30 minutes and then remove the aluminum foil. Continue baking for another 5 to 10 minutes with the aluminum foil off. Insert a toothpick in the cake to check whether the cake is ready. If it comes out clean it’s done baking. If not, keep baking and checking every 5 minutes—until the toothpick comes out clean.

Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan for about an hour on a wire rack. Carefully transfer the pan to the fridge and let it chill for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.

Unmold your ChocoFlan to See the magic

When ready to serve, remove the ChocoFlan from the fridge. Loosen the cake by placing the pan in a large pan of hot water for a few minutes. (Use the same large pan you used for the water bath). Place your serving plate on top of the pan.

and flip your ChocoFlan onto the plate!

The caramel slowly rolls down from the top, over the sides.

Serve & Enjoy!

Slice your ChocoFlan into pieces as you like. Spoon any caramel from the plate over the top of the cake. Cake and flan in every bite drizzled with caramel sauce.

Easy Chocolate Flan Cake Recipe

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