Flan Cake
This Flan Cake is the famous Brazilian Pudim Cake. And it’s one of my favorite desserts.
Taste wise, it’s phenomenal, unbeatable.
A very moist chocolate cake under a silky flan, and don’t forget about the sticky caramel layer on top.
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This is the type of dessert that you bring to a celebration, maybe an end of the year party. Impress your guests with this marvelous dessert, scrumptious treat! I am positive everyone will love you for it.
And the best thing, this Flan Cake is totally super easy to make!
Just follow my instructions and tips bellow!
This Flan Cake is also known as Chocoflan in Latin America. And it’s extremely popular because of being so delicious.
Flan Cake is also usually known as Magic Cake, or even Impossible Cake. And that’s because the batters invert as you bake the cake. You pour the chocolate cake batter on the bottom of the pan, and it will rise to the top of the pan as it bakes. And finally, it will end up in the bottom of the final cake once you flip it upside down onto a plate.
Therefore… Impossible Cake, or Magic Cake!
So here are some tips on making this Flan Cake:
Bundt Pan
Grease your Bundt pan with some vegetable shortening, and then sprinkle granulated sugar all over it, and tap the pan over the sink to shake off the excess sugar.
Caramel
To make the caramel, simply melt the sugar in a pan with a heavy bottom, over medium heat, ALWAYS stirring. This way, the sugar will melt evenly.
Once the sugar has melted and browned slightly, remove the pan from the heat and add water to it.
The mixture will crystalize. You have to bring it back to the heat, and melt the sugar again. Always stirring.
Let the syrup cool down until it’s room temperature.
Then, pour cooled mixture over greased and sugared bundt pan.
And now, place the pan in the freezer while you make the cake. This way, the caramel will have hardened and won’t mix with the batter when you add that later.
Assembly
Now here’s the biggest trick.
You add the chocolate cake to the bottom of the pan, directly on top of the hardened caramel. And you pour the flan on top of the cake.
Sounds crazy, but trust me, it works! The flan batter will go to the bottom of the pan, and the cake batter will float to the top. And your cake will bake exactly like the pictures.
Baking
To bake the flan cake, use a water bath.
I usually use a large turkey roasting pan (this is a cheap pan I use exclusively for my water baths, for cheesecake and etc). But any large pan will do, as long as you are able to add water to it, up to the middle of the height of the bundt pan.
Disassembling
After baking your Flan Cake, let it cool down. Then transfer the bundt pan to the fridge, where you will let your Flan Cake rest for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
Remove the cake from the fridge.
Now, use the same pan where you had your water bath in. Pour some hot water in that pan, and place the bundt pan over the hot water. This will help the caramel loosen from the bottom by melting it slightly.
Give the bundt pan a little jiggle, and if the cake jiggles around, you are good to go. Otherwise, place it back over the hot water.
And now you are ready to turn this Flan Cake into a plate.
I have a feeling everyone around you will adore you for making this.
And as you can see above, this is not a difficult recipe at all.
I ended up sharing my flan cake with my neighbors, and with some friends. But that was after I had a huge delicious slice.
Since I make lots of desserts, I try not to eat too much of them. Sometimes I’ll just taste test.
However, I did save some space in my stomach for a big slice of this one, since it’s a recipe that lives so close to my heart. Because it is a Brazilian recipe, and one of the first things I’ve ever baked years and years ago when I was about 17 years old. I mean, I’m not using that same recipe, since I don’t have it anymore. So I had to go search for another recipe.
So it doesn’t matter if you know it as Chocoflan, Pudim Cake, Impossible Cake, Magic Cake, or Flan Cake (so many names!!!) you will LOVE this decadent dessert!
Trending recipes at the moment: Lemon Macarons, Raspberry Macarons.
Recipes to make for the Holiday Celebrations: Pecan Fig Cake, Cashew Caramel Babka.
What I am craving for today: Cannoli.
Flan Cake
Ingredients
Caramel
- 1 cup granulated sugar 200 grams
- 1/2 cup water room temperature (113 grams)
Chocolate Cake
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 191 grams
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 60 grams
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature (170 grams)
- 1 cup granulated sugar 200 grams
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup milk 113 grams
Flan
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup heavy cream 113 grams
- 1 condensed milk can 396 grams
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour 15 grams
Instructions
- Grease a 10 or 12 cup bundt pan generously with vegetable shortening or butter, then coat it with granulated sugar. Tap out the excess. Set it aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
Caramel
- Place the granulated sugar in a small, heavy-bottom saucepan and set it over medium heat. Stir constantly with a heat-resistant spatula as the sugar begins to melt. Continue stirring until all the sugar has dissolved and the mixture becomes fluid and lightly amber in color, with no remaining granules.
- Remove the pan from the heat (or shut it off). Carefully and slowly pour the water into the melted sugar—it will bubble and steam vigorously, so keep your hands and face back. Once the bubbling settles, return the pan to the stove over medium heat and stir continuously until the hardened sugar dissolves back into the water and you have a thin, smooth caramel.
- Cook just until the crystallized sugar remelts. Remove from the heat and let it cool while you make the chocolate cake batter and the flan.
Chocolate Cake
- Pre-heat oven to 350F.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- With a mixer, beat the butter for one minute. Add the granulated sugar and continue beating until the mixture becomes light and fluffy, about 3 more minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract.
- Pour in the milk and mix just until combined. Add the sifted dry ingredients and fold them in with a spatula until the batter is smooth and no streaks of flour remain. Avoid over mixing so the cake stays tender.
- Set aside while you prepare the flan batter.
Flan
- Crack the eggs and pour them in a large bowl through a fine-mesh sieve to strain out any chalazae (the rope-like membrane part) or thicker bits. This ensures the flan stays perfectly smooth and prevents tiny cooked egg specks from appearing in the final texture.
- Add the condensed milk and flour to the strained eggs. Whisk to combine before adding the heavy cream and vanilla. This can ensure the flour won't be lumpy.
- Add the heavy cream, vanilla extract, and flour to the bowl. Whisk gently but thoroughly until the mixture is smooth and thin.
To assemble
- Pour the cooled caramel into the bottom of the prepared bundt pan.
- When pouring the chocolate cake batter into the bundt pan, use a cookie scoop or large spoon to transfer it gently and keep it centered. Try not to smear the batter up the sides of the pan—any chocolate smudges on the walls can keep the flan from coming out in an even, clean layer and may cause uneven lines when you unmold the chocoflan.
- Slowly pour the flan batter over the chocolate layer. As the cake bakes, the flan will sink and the chocolate cake will rise. This natural shift is what creates the classic “magic” separation of chocoflan.
- Bake the chocoflan uncovered, directly on the oven rack, for 35–40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake portion comes out clean. The center should look slightly set but still soft.
- Let the cake cool to room temperature in the pan. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, or overnight, so the flan can fully firm up and the caramel can dissolve into a pourable sauce.
To unmold
- To unmold, fill a larger pan with hot water and set the bundt pan in it for 2–3 minutes to loosen the caramel. Place a serving plate on top of the bundt pan, then invert to release the chocoflan.
Storage
- Store it in the fridge, covered, for up to 4 days.
Notes
Baking the assembled chocoflan freestanding for 35–40 minutes keeps the flan silky while preventing the chocolate cake from over baking. I tried both methods while remaking this recipe and the freestanding method was much better. If you prefer, you can use a water bath. You’ll just have to bake for almost double the time. Unmolding tip:
Do not skip warming the pan briefly in hot water before flipping. This ensures the caramel is fluid enough to release the cake cleanly.
Hii! Thanks for the recipe! Making it today 🙂
What can i use instead of vegetable shortening to grease the pan?
Thanks !
you can use butter 🙂
thank you!
Hi Camila,
Thank you for sharing this great recipe. I made 4 days ago for the first time and it came out so perfectly. My husband, who doesn’t like eating dessert, has surprisingly enjoyed this cake. He always asked for a slice after our dinner. We shared some slices to his parents too. I was just planning to post my comment and photo. However, today, I tried making it again but I was so disappointed as the chocolate cake came out really dry. What do you think I did wrong this time, Camila?
I appreciate all your useful tips and would really appreciate if could help me identify what caused the cake to be so dry?
Thank you again, and hoping to hear from you soon, Camila. All the best!
Hello! What could have happened is:
-over mixing the batter once adding the flour
-maybe over measuring the flour and adding too much dry ingredients
-or maybe over baking the cake.
Sorry about that, hope it works out better next time!
Hello. I love this recipe, ive had great success with choco! But my flan always falls in the middle. I added a diff cake recipe (strawberry cake) and i was afraid to overcook the cake bc the recipe said 35 mins… but i did it for 45 and was afraid to overcook the cake. Will the cake overcook if i let it cook for 1 hour like in your recipe?
The cake might be slightly denser, make sure to cover the pan with foil at the end stages of baking, to avoid burning the cake. But it should be fine, just won’t be as fluffy as if you baked less time.
would it be better to cover it the whole time?
when I covered in the beginning before, the foil stuck to the cake when the cake started to rise. So i wait for the cake to set on the outside (but not fully bake on the inside) to place the foil on top. If your pan is very tall and has a lot of room, then go for it!
I see, hopefully the foil with slow down the cooking of the cake. Thank you so much! thank you for this great recipe, ive made your chocoflan 3 times already and everyone loved it!!
Awe thank you so much!!! That’s very kind!!! 🙂
Hi! I can’t wait to try this! I do have two questions:
I ordered my bundt cake pan, and turns out it is 16 cups. Will this work okay? Maybe if I just reduce the baking time slightly?
When you say condensed milk, do you mean sweetened condensed milk? Or evaporated milk?
Thanks!!
Sweetened condensed milk. And it will be ok, but the cake might not be so tall, it will be shorter, but wider. And baking time should be about the same, slightly less like you said. When you see it coming off the sides of the pan, and a toothpick is coming out clean, it’s time to turn the oven off.
Hi! I am making this recipe today and had to use a Duncan Chocolate Cake mix due to the limited baking supplies at the grocery store. I have the cake in the oven and nearing 1.5 hours baking. Will the cake be okay with this substitution?
I believe any kind of chocolate cake would work 🙂
Hi Camila,
Omg, what a hit. I haves saved this recipe since last August and Just made it on Saturday. It was a long process but boy!!!! It was worth ittttttttt! The whole family loved it and it turned out perfect as well. I have shared the recipe 4 times already
. Great job and thank you.
Awe this is so awesome!! Thank you so much I am so happy to hear!! ❤️
I love the idea of this recipe, but on my second attempt, the caramel layer just ran all off the cake. I kept it in the water to loosen it only about 30 seconds (not like the first time when I let it sit for much longer and the caramel took off without the cake). The other problem is that I didn’t get the lovely definition between layers. The flan was muddy looking and the cake did not have that dark chocolate color in your picture. I REALLY want to make it for another function because it tastes so darn good, but I like pretty. Any other hints?
So when you say the caramel took off without the cake, what does that mean, because there’s supposed to be quite a bit of caramel sauce in the pan, you’re supposed to spoon this on top of the cake. The caramel won’t bake into the cake.
What does muddy looking mean? Do you have any pictures you can email me?
Also, the chocolate cake not having the same color could be due to the ingredients you are using. I make this flan in a chocolate version on this recipe here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjFKpuVdkW0&t=211s the recipe is pretty much the same but the flan layer is pumpkin flavored, but maybe watching this video can help you see what the method is like? Also, the chocolate cake and the caramel are exactly the same recipe from this Flan Cake.
Hope it all works out!
What a very interesting and I must say scrumptious cake! My only problem is that the caramel ran when I turned it out. Maybe it was too long in the warm water. I making it again tonight and taking it to a dinner party in a couple of days. My reputation will be made with this cake! Thanks for the wonderful directions. So helpful.
Yes that’s probably what happened, Chris! Try leaving it a little less time in the warm water. give the pan a wiggle and as soon as the cake jiggles around in there it’s ready to turn into the plate!! Everyone will love it! Every time I bring it somewhere it’s a hit! Thank you!!!
Can you omit cocoa and replace it with more flour if I just want vanilla flavor for the cake part? Thanks in advance!
I wouldn’t recommend doing that. But you can replace for the vanilla cake found in this recipe https://www.piesandtacos.comdulce-de-leche-cake/ just use the recipe for the vanilla cake batter and then use it in the Flan recipe to assemble the cake in place of the chocolate one 🙂
Great! Thank you 😁
The cake was so good, my family absolutely loved it. I used a ridged bunt pan and it still worked perfect.
Awesome!!!! Thank you so much for the feedback!!! 🙂
As we speak my Flan Cake is in the oven, fingers crossed it comes looking as delicious as yours. 🤞🏻🤞🏻
I will post pictures once it’s done 🍮
Awesome!!! Let me know how it goes!! 🤞
Hi Camilla, your cake looks so good. Just wondering when you say you can store in the fridge for 5 days covered, is that still in the pan not turned out or after it’s turned out? I’d love to try to make it today but will be eaten for Christmas Eve. Thank you for your help
I would take it out of the pan a day after making it. So make the flan, then place it in the fridge at least for 6 hours or overnight preferably, and then you can flip it onto a plate. Remember to put it in some warm water so the caramel on the bottom will soften so you can remove the cake from the pan. When you give the pan a wiggle and the cake jiggles around in there, you can flip it onto a plate.
Then, make sure to cover it nicely with a lid, or something, so it doesn’t get dry in the fridge, and you can store it for up to 5 days 🙂
With Holidays coming up, I really want to try this. Question, however: what size pan are you using for this recipe? If I use a pan that’s too large, it won’t work so well. Also, is a tube pan necessary, or could a solid/regular cake pan be used, and what size? TIA for your assistance.
I have used a 12 cup bundt pan to make this. And yes you can make it on a solid cake pan, I’ve seen it done before, a 10″ pan might work just fine, since my 12 cup bundt pan is 10″ diameter and 3.5″ high, and it has the tube in the middle, so I am assuming a 10″ or 12″ cake pan would work well.
Let me know how it goes!! I hope you enjoy it!
Have a fabulous day!!!
Dear Camila,
I’ve commented before (in August, about the lack of heavy cream in the Netherlands) and told you I’d let you know how the cake turned out. Well, I finally got around to baking it this weekend and it’s a huuuge hit! 🙂 Everyone loves it: ‘fudgy and creamy’ and ‘wickedly good’ is what my ‘testers’ reported back (unfortunately, I could not try it myself due to a migraine-prevention diet I am currently on). It looks gorgeous too – the layers are very well defined, though the outside does show some ‘chocolatey blemishes’ on the flan-layer (like the hide of a spotted cow), whilst yours is a spotless light golden color – which I think is even more gorgeous. However, once you cut into it, it is very sleek looking with nicely separated layers. Also, quite a forgiving recipe I’d say, for I feared I had hopelessly overbaked it (that skewer just would not come out clean, so I think I had it in the oven (fan, 160 C)for close to 1h and 45minutes!) but it’s not dry at all. Safe to say: this is a keeper! I am already thinking of a good occasion to bake it again 😉 I have 2 questions though if that’s alright: do you have any tips as to how to prevent the blotchiness on the outer rim? And why do we add the water to the caramel layer – I’ve seen so many recipes that omit it so I was wondering why you recommend incorporating it. Thanks again for such a brilliant recipe! 🙂 Sarah
Dear Camila,
I’ve commented before (in August, about the lack of heavy cream in the Netherlands) and told you I’d let you know how the cake turned out. Well, I finally got around to baking it this weekend and it’s a huuuge hit! 🙂 Everyone loves it: ‘fudgy and creamy’ and ‘wickedly good’ is what my ‘testers’ reported back (unfortunately, I could not try it myself due to a migraine-prevention diet I am currently on). It looks gorgeous too – the layers are very well defined, though the outside does show some ‘chocolatey blemishes’ on the flan-layer (like the hide of a spotted cow), whilst yours is a spotless light golden colour – which I think is even more gorgeous. However, once you cut into it, it is very sleek looking with nicely separated layers. Also, quite a forgiving recipe I’d say, for I feared I had hopelessly overbaked it (that skewer just would not come out clean, so I think I had it in the oven (fan, 160 C)for close to 1h and 45minutes!) but it’s not dry at all. Safe to say: this is a keeper! I am already thinking of a good occasion to bake it again 😉 I have 2 questions though if that’s alright: do you have any tips as to how to prevent the blotchiness on the outer rim? And why do we add the water to the caramel layer – I’ve seen so many recipes that omit it so I was wondering why you recommend incorporating it. Thanks again for such a brilliant recipe! 🙂 Sarah