Make a Mexican impossible cake with this chocoflan recipe

While researching dessert trends in the United States, I was surprised to see chocoflan mentioned in both Taste Tomorrow and Bake Magazine as a rising star in the dessert world. The former publication stated that chocoflan is now one of the top trends in the baking industry, “reflecting consumers’ appetite for innovative and nostalgic desserts.”

I was surprised on a couple of levels. First, I didn’t know chocoflan was a Mexican food and second, I didn’t realize that this “impossible” cake—as it’s known—was something new. Don’t let me scare you! It’s not that this cake is impossible to make; it’s the way it’s baked that defies logic!

Chocoflan consists of three layers. The first is caramel. In the old version, this caramel, called cajeta, was made from goat's milk, which added richness to the cake. The second layer is chocolate cake; the third is flan. But the amazing thing is this: when the layers are baked, they turn upside down. The cake ends up on the bottom and the flan rises to the top. This process has even been called “magical.”

Chocoflan originated in Mexico around the mid 20's.th century and became a staple of celebrations and gatherings. The recipe included here is from Mexican Chef Edson Diaz-Fuentes. Before we get started, let’s talk about the vanilla used in this recipe. “Back home in Mexico,” says Díaz-Fuentes, “we traditionally use vanilla from Papantla, Veracruz, whose aroma and flavor are loved all over the world.” That’s because this famous vanilla — and all vanilla — originated in Mexico centuries ago.

The Totonac people of Mexico, around the area now called Veracruz, were the first to cultivate vanilla orchids and process it into vanilla, which they use for ritual and medicinal purposes. Then the Mexica came and conquered the Totonacs, adopting their methodology for making this sweet and aromatic “spice” — vanilla is considered a spice because it comes from orchid pods. The Spanish conquest of Mexico eventually led to the export of vanilla to Europe, and the rest is history.

But there was a problem: vanilla could only be grown in Mexico because pollination required the Melipona bee, the only known natural pollinator of the vanilla orchid. It wasn't until the mid-1800s that artificial manual pollination was developed, expanding the vanilla-making process into the tropical world. In the early 20sth 19th century, Madagascar was the world's leading producer of vanilla, a position that is still maintained to this day together with Indonesia. However, vanilla production is still a labor-intensive process, and vanilla the second most expensive spice in the worldafter saffron.

Authentic Mexican Chocoflane

Ingredients

For the caramel

• 1 cup caster sugar (sugar standard). Caster sugar is a superfine granulated sugar; to make it, simply place the granulated sugar in a food processor and pulse a few times.

For chocolate cake

• ¾ cup salted butter, softened, plus extra for the pan (mantle With salt)
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 2 eggs (egg)
• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (you may find that the all-purpose flour available in Mexico doesn't work well, in which case you can order a known brand online)
• ½ cup cocoa powder (cocoa powder)
• 2 tsp cinnamon powder (cinnamon powder)
• ½ tsp baking powder (baking powder)
• ½ tsp baking soda (baking soda)
• ½ cup buttermilk (¾ cup sour cream plus ¼ cup milk will yield 1 cup buttermilk)

For the flan

• 1 ¼ cups sweetened condensed milk (condensed milk)
• 1 cup evaporated milk (evaporated milk)
• ½ cup cream cheese (cream cheese)
• 3 eggs
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract (extract from (vanilla). Mexican brands: Villa Vainilla, Vainilla Totonac, Molina Vainilla.

For decoration

• ½ cup cocoa nibs, crushed (seed cocoa)
• 1 tbsp mackerel spinach (spinach)
• 1 ¼ tbsp roasted pumpkin seeds (pumpkin seeds)
• Optional: crushed ancho chili flakes (crushed ancho chili flakes)

Instructions

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 200 C (392 F), or 180 C (356 F) for gas oven.
2. Butter and breadcrumb a large round baking dish, about 2.5 quarts or 9 cups. Use breadcrumbs instead of flour for easy removal.
3. Choose a deep baking dish to use as a bain-marie. The dish should be deep enough to accommodate the cake pan. Pour enough water into the dish to come halfway up the sides.
4. Place the roasting tin on the middle rack of the oven while it preheats.

Making caramel

1. Place the caster sugar and 1/4 cup of water in a saucepan and stir until dissolved for 1 minute. Once dissolved, do not stir any more.
2. Cook over medium-high heat for a few minutes until it turns a deep golden color.
3. Pour into the bottom of a bundt pan.

Making chocolate cake

1. Use a stand mixer to cream the butter and sugar for 5 minutes until light and foamy.
2. Add the eggs and mix for 2 minutes until well combined.
3. Add the dry ingredients in small batches, alternating with the buttermilk.
4. Once everything is mixed together, transfer the cookie dough to a piping bag and set aside. To make a piping bag, pour the dough into a zip-lock plastic bag or sandwich bag. Squeeze the dough into the corner of the bag. When ready to use, snip the corner of the bag diagonally. The size of the snip will determine how much dough you will get out.

Making pudding

1. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend on high speed for 2-3 minutes or until well blended.
2. Set aside.

Assembling chocoflan

1. Pipe the cake batter into the cake pan, covering the caramel you added earlier.
2. Smooth it out using a rubber spatula.
3. Pour the flan mixture over the cake mixture.
4. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and place it in a pan of water. If necessary, pour additional hot water into the pan. The water should come halfway up the sides of the pan.
5. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the cake batter floats to the top of the pan.
6. Test by inserting a sharp knife into the deepest part of the cake. The cake should come out clean. If not, bake for another 5-10 minutes.
7. Remove the cake from the pan of water and let it cool completely before removing it from the pan. Shake the pan in a circular motion to loosen any cake that is stuck to the edges of the pan.
8. Garnish with chopped roasted pumpkin seeds, roasted spinach and cocoa nibs.
9. Adding a few crushed ancho chili flakes adds a different dimension.

Did this chocoflan recipe work for you? Any changes? Let us know in the comments below.

Deborah McCoy is a former author of popular wedding reference books who has turned her attention to food, specifically sweets, desserts, and fruits. She is the founder of CakeChatter and the author of four baking books for “Dough Punchers” through CakeChatter (available on @amazon.com). She is also the president of American Academy of Wedding Professionals.