CHOCOFLAN CAKE
When you love flan as much as you love chocolate cake, there’s no option but to combine the two to create this impeccably delicious creation. What makes this cake so special is that you mix both batters in one pan, and they magically separate during the baking process. You don’t need to choose anymore, you can now have both the rich creaminess of the flan with the moist decadence of the chocolate cake all in one bite!
INGREDIENTS
For the flan:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup of water - optional
Squeeze of lemon
3 eggs, room temperature
1 can (340g) evaporated milk
1 can (397g) condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
For the chocolate cake:
1 and 3/4 cups flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee
PREPARATION
1. Preheat oven to 175°C
2. Grease a bundt pan with softened butter and set aside.
3. Combine the sugar, water and squeeze of lemon in a skillet and cook over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly, until the sugar is caramelized and turns a dark amber color. Alternatively, just spread the sugar in a hot skillet and leave it (untouched) for about 5-6 minutes over low heat until it begins to turn liquid and change color. Once it begins to change color, stir it slightly and not frequently, to accelerate the process.
4. Pour the caramelized sugar into the bundt pan, swaying the pan to coat all corners. Set aside.
5. In a bowl, whisk the eggs, condensed milk, evaporated milk and vanilla until well-combined and smooth and strain it over the caramelized sugar in the bundt pan.
6. In another large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt and mix using a hand-held electric mixer.
7. In a medium bowl combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla with a whisk. You can make buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon to 1 cup of fresh milk and letting it stand for 5 minutes.
8. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix to combine. Then slowly add coffee while continuing to mix using the hand-held electric mixer.
9. Pour the cake batter into the bundt pan, over the flan mixture.
10. Place the bundt pan over a water bath, by putting it in the centre of a deep baking dish and adding water around the sides until it is about a quarter of the way up.
11. Bake for 50-55 minutes. You can check the doneness of the cake by inserting a toothpick or running a sharp knife around the edges to see if it loosens easily.
12. Let it cool completely and refrigerate it for a couple of hours before flipping it.
13. Once the cake is flipped, keep it covered and refrigerated so it remains moist and fresh.
14. You may top with extra caramel drizzle, pecan nuts or walnuts for garnish.
Notes:
In the oven, the cake will automatically separate into a layer of flan and a layer of cake, so don’t worry about the two batters mixing during the preparation.
You could choose to cover the bundt pan with aluminum foil during the baking process.
In Arabic, this dessert is called قدرة قادر which loosely translates to “God’s ability or power”, because of the magical separation of batters in the oven.
Alternatively for the cake batter, you can use any cake recipe you prefer, or even resort to readymade mixes like Betty Crocker or Pillsbury. I tend to do that when I’m being too lazy or want to whip something up quickly, so there’s absolutely no shame in using boxed cake mixes.
You can also have this with vanilla cake instead of chocolate. It tastes just as good.
