The New York Times recently published a recipe for Dulce de Leche Chocoflan aka Impossible Cake. I haven't tried their recipe, but it reminded me of the Chocolate Flan Cake with cake mix I posted years ago. And by that I mean many years ago, as you can tell by the pictures! All of the ingredients are from H.E.B. which is one thing I miss about Austin. Then again, I can't complain because here in Raleigh we have Publix and Wegman's.
Anyhow, I plan on making Chocolate Flan Cake again and will add a few more notes and tips when I do. For now, here's the recipe from way back. As the pictures show, the flan mixture gets poured over the cake mix. The two batters "magically" trade places while baking so the cake is on the bottom and the flan is on the top.
The end results is stunning! More stunning if you manage to get the cake out of the pan. Luckily, I didn't have any problems with this one. Using flour-added baking spray did the trick.
Not in the Mood for Chocolate Flan Cake?
If you like pumpkin cheesecake more than flan, there's also a Pumpkin Cheesecake Topped Bundt, and it does NOT call for cake mix. Like the Chocoflan from New York Times, It has a scratch chocolate base. I only made it once, but Debbie and Jackie made it and liked it. Karen did too, even though she dropped half of it on the floor. Reminds me of the time I dropped a red velvet cake on Emma's bike and a Hello Kitty cake on the floor of The Little Gym. Good Times.
Recipe
Chocolate Flan Cake
Ingredients
- 11 ounces caramel topping softened or at room temp
- 1 box chocolate cake mix, plus ingredients listed on box
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 12 ounces evaporated milk
- ½ cup milk
- 8 ounces cream cheese -- softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 5 large eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 12-cup bundt pan with flour-added cooking spray or grease the pan with shortening and dust with flour.
- Pour the caramel topping into the greased and floured Bundt pan.
- Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Pour the cake batter into the cake pan over the caramel topping.
- Make the flan. Pour condensed, evaporated and fresh milks into a blender. Add softened cream cheese, vanilla and eggs and blend until smooth. Pour the flan mixture very slowly over the cake batter.
- Spray a sheet of aluminum foil with cooking spray (or just use nonstick foil) and cover the pan TIGHTLY with the foil. Covering tightly is very important. Set the Bundt pan into a large pan (such as a roasting pan) and set on the oven rack.
- Carefully pour hot water into the larger pan to a depth of 2 inches (The Bundt pan will be sitting in 2 inches of water). Bake for two hours.
- After two hours, remove cake from water and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Peel off the aluminum foil. Invert cake onto a large plate with rim. The caramel topping should flow down the sides. Cool completely then refrigerate.
Anna says
Thanks you Cookie Nurse! I still need to make it again and take some better pictures.
cookie says
Anna, I was with you way back when you first posted! Thanks for reposting, It IS a great cake!
Anna says
Hi Sammi,
Thanks so much for making it!! I just woke up to read this and you've already made my day. I haven't made it in a (very long!) while and need to, so it's great to have a review from another baker.
Sammi says
This recipe is NOW my kids FAVORITE, they loooove it (says alot, my kids are picky) really impressed! Delicious recipe, thank you sooooo much for sharing. Looks like a new favorite. Even for me.
Anna says
Ava, Thanks!!!
Taneka, it's not too late.
Ava says
Anna, I was a fan way back when you posted it years ago!! Time flies! Happy new year and thank you for posting and keeping this blog!
T. Martin says
I've always wanted to make this...had it on the calendar for the holiday season 2020 but COVID-19.
Isamar says
I really like this recipe! It's very simple and easy to follow. Only thing was that when I made it my choco flan had more cake than actual flan so the next time I would want to use only half of the cake batter. I just made another one today with vanilla cake instead but again I forgot to only put half the cake batter lol! I hope it tastes just as good as it did with the chocolate cake. 🙂
Lolenca says
Success! Yuuuummm, this recipe came out awesome! nice to look at and tastes heavenly! thank you for sharing!
Lolenca says
Ok, so I more hour to go using this recipe for the first time. I had it at work over the holiday and I loved it. I decided to use your recipe tonight. my 9 year old daughter was excited to help and bake with mom. sure hope this turns out good..... I will let you know.
Anna says
Thanks for the review! Happy Cinco de Mayo 🙂
Cathy says
Made this today. My bundt pan held just over 10 cups of liquid, so I removed 3/4 cup of the choc cake mix, after it was prepared but before I poured it into the bundt pan. Followed all the other directions (actually used skim milk, because that is all I had). Baked for 2 hours. Cooled it about 45 minutes, then put it in fridge for one hour before serving. It was Awesome! Looked so pretty, too! Thanks for the fun recipe. It is a new family favorite.
Cat says
Just FYI, don't use the Pampered Chef springform bundt cake pan!! You end up with just chocolate cake! The custardy flan part leaked out and cooked itself in the water. 🙁 Will definitely try again though because it smells amazing and the cake part turned out pretty good.
Anna says
Really? Rick Bayless tweeted this?
Janice says
This cake always makes me laugh as I remember Rick Bayless tweeting the recipe.
I do LOVE this cake~could almost eat the entire thing; alone;-)
Ela says
Hi Anna, your flan cake looks beautiful and delicious. I make Leche Flan Cake (that's how we call it) from scratch using chiffon cake and the procedure is different from yours. I got it from another blog and it's one of our favorite desserts.
Anna says
Hi Nada,
I've never tried it, but it might work.
nada says
can i just use the flan mix for this recipe instead of actually making the flan??
Anonymous says
johanna
if u have problems with the flan u can buy a flan mix that u just add the milk , there is a different brands i use , is royal flan or jell-o . its really smooth and less work ..!
Tammy says
I love love this cake. The cake is rather moist and the flan it smooth and creamy. It's a long process from start to finish and then to eating it but it's so worth it. I have made this cake 3 times and will make it again next week for my mom's bday, who has never had flan. I know she will like it though.
angie says
I have mine in the over follow the recipe let you know how it turns and to a comment above about the cream cheese its not original for the flan recipe well see
lily says
Hi I just want to know if the chocolate mix supposed to turn out soft and fluffy or kind of thick like a brownie?
Atanashi ayaka Moka says
ahh ... you doing it good job ... but you know ... its had should be not shrink .. even when u flipped it .... well better to study more ... and nice mte you ahh i'm a patisier ... in japan ... and i'm really good at cooking or bakeing flan ... ^_^ try to do it more ... and studying it ...
Shawn says
You can also make this cake without the cream cheese. In a blender, add 1 can of evaporated milk, 1 can of sweet condensed milk, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 6 eggs, 2 spoonfuls of sugar. Blend until incorporated, then add slowly to the cake mixture. Bake for 1 1/2 hours with foil. Also it's better if you can find cajeta instead of the caramel because the consistancy is better, or use a can of dulce de leche. This flan recipe is better than the above....I don't care for the cream cheese flan...
Anna says
Hi!
Sorry your first one didn't turn out. I am not an expert on flan or custard making and I only made this cake a couple of times, but I'm pretty sure the foil is to hold in the moist heat so that the custard will kind of steam rather than dry out?
Before you start the second cake, you might want to check some other bloggers renditions of this cake and they might have better advice for you.
Kingfish says
Hi. Baked this last night and it turned out less than expected, mostly because my oven temp crept too high. I'm making another one this morning since I'm cooking for friends tonight. What's the reason for the aluminum foil covering the pan? And why such a long cook time? (novice guy-cook here)
Anna says
Cynthia, this one is baked for two hours.
Cynthia Bell says
On this Chocolate flan cake.....on some of the notes it says bake for 1 hr. and on the others it says bake for 2 hrs.....can you please clarify.....
Anna says
Hi Melanie,
My first thought was that you switched Bundt pans, but you said you didn't do anything differently so I'm stumped! I haven't made this one in a while, but it's become quite a popular cake so you might want to look around for some clues.
The other thing could be your oven. Have you noticed it baking things slower lately? Maybe it's just not getting as hot as it should be? For a while, my old oven was overcooking everything. I bought an oven thermometer and found it was about 40 degrees off!
Melanie says
I have made 4 attempts to make this cake. 2 times it was great, but 2 times the cake did not set up properly during baking and was a gooey mess. Once, when this happened, I served it as a type of "cake pudding," because I didn't have time to make anything else. I didn't do anything different the 4 times I made it. Any thoughts?
Tracey says
HI, i just wanted to say that i have tried this reciepe before but with german chocolate cake and with the carmel and coconut and pecan on top of the flan.You must eat it cold. VERY VERY EXCELLENT!!!
Liz says
Hi Anna
I just made a version of this cake for Canada Day (July 1st)and we loved it. The recipe that I used omitted the fresh milk and it used only 3 eggs but otherwise was the same. It overflowed my Bundt pan but since it was in a water bath it didn't really matter too much but the next time I will remove some of the batter and the flan to a separate smaller pan-sort of like a taster cake. I liked the ideas of using different flavors of flan and cake that other commentators mentioned. I agree Anna-it's hard to beat a good cheesecake but this cake has a WOW factor going for it that is a big payoff for a relatively simple preparation.
Anna says
Just got a comment from someone who didn't like this cake. Not sure if the person actually tried it, but she said she did and that this flan was not authentic because of the cream cheese. Here's a tip. This cake is a fun, gimmicky cake. If you're looking for authentic flan, try a real authentic flan recipe.
vanessa says
i want to try this recipe but with another chocolate cake recipe. the cake recipe i want to use is poured into two 9 inch round cake pans baked at 350 degrees for 35 minutes....so do i still bake it at 350 for 2 hours or do i need to adjust the time+degrees? sorry im a beginner baker!
lana says
I love the choco-flan cake! Try it with yellow cake mix. yummy too!
Chryllynn says
I just recently stumbled across your blog and am amazed by all of the wonderfully yummy recipes!
This cake is great for entertaining--it is easy and the end result is very impressive! I made mine with Banana cake and drizzled on some extra caramel! It smells, looks and tastes FANTASTIC!
Thanks!
Mrs Baez says
I make chocolate Flan all the time and I have never hear of putting a cake into it. I'll try it and get back with you. My husband makes the regulate Flan. But since I have tried my hand at it, chocolate is the only one for us. But I would say the carmel syrup you speak of is not as sweet as real sugar, so to get the sweetness you should try it with the real sugar glazing.
jorge says
add the cajeta inside the pan before you bake it but make sure you warm it up in the microwave for 30 seconds then add it to the pan. i sprinkle some choped pecans after i inverted.
Anna says
Hi Lorna,
The flan mixture sinks to the bottom, thus ending up on the top when you flip the cake.
Lorna says
if i have to pour the cake mixture first how come the flan mixture is on top of the cake mixture that is in the pics above?
Brittany says
This looks great i havent cut into it yet but i was just going to say if you want instead of using carmel you can go the mexican way and use cajeta it has a little more of a creamy flavor and instead of evaporated and condensed milk you can use la lechera and evaported just to make it more origial hope its good oh and just wondering do put the cajeta{carmel} straight into the bundt pan or into a seperate? please respond fast!!!!
Muffy says
My results using SCRATCH cake: EXCELLENT!
It was served at a holiday party and 4 people requested the recipe.
However, My favorite cake recipe uses 1 & 3/4C Flour, 3/4C Cocoa and 1 & 3/4C Milk ... which made too much batter for the pan. So, if you do use a scratch recipe; I would say use one with smaller quantities of flour (and cocoa) and milk, use a larger Bundt pan or, as I did, use less of the cake batter.
Muffy says
Has anyone tried this with homemade cake batter? What were the results?
I don't use box mixes, and was wondering if anyone had done the scratch route yet. If not, I guess I will have to be the guinea pig and let you all know!
Anna says
I'm glad you all liked it. I haven't made this one in a while, so thanks for bringing it to my attention. It's a great holiday cake.
Terri says
This is THE BEST flan cake!! I've made it for family and friends, and everyone asks for it at parties and holidays. It gets easier the more you make it. I use an old original Bundt cake pan, ways a ton. But it has the room for all the ingredients. You have to slowly pour in the liguid onto the cake mix.
Linda says
This is the best tasting cake I have ever made!
Anna says
Leslie,
Thanks for pointing that out. I have changed the instructions to say "blender" since food processors tend to link.
Leslie says
I had trouble with this recipe. Seemed like the chocolate cake batter substantially filled the bundt pan, but as it turns out had room for the flan because it leaked out from my Cuisinart deluxe food processor. (huge mess) Finished the flan in the blender. Unless this is fabulous can't see making it again. Leslie
Anna says
I'll be interested to hear other reviews. 40 people on Recipezaar loved it.
D, the cook time is definitely 2 hours.
Cindy says
Oh, this one I have to try!
dgeevanson says
do you really bake this for 2 hours?? not a typo? It looks wonderful.
Amy says
I have Marta's pumpkin flan recipe, if you want it, drop me an email. It's really, really good. I've made it for Thanksgiving a couple of times.
But this is The Perfect Flan.
Anna says
I was hoping this cake would make me like flan. It's not a dessert I hate, just something I don't find as appealing as cheesecake.
At room temperature, this flan was kind of lumpy. After being chilled, it smoothed out quite a bit and had a much better texture. It's not very sweet, so you may want to add some more caramel sauce.
In the meantime, I'd be curious to hear how a different but similar flan recipe works out. There's a prize winning recipe in Southern Living which is similar, however it uses extra yolks, sugar and is strained. It might make for a creamier, velvetier flan. Here's the link if anyone wants to experiment.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_25696,00.html
Obviously, you'd skip the sugar burning part and just use the method this woman uses for flan -- separating eggs, straining, etc.
I think maybe a pumpkin flan or a chai-spiced flan would be interesting too.
Steph Bachman says
That looks so cool. I am going to try it!
TG says
oh wow. like totally wow. (to the recipe, that is.) your interest, or lack thereof, in flan, it affects me not at all.
Amy says
Not like flan??? oh my...