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.
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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.
Hey camilla!
I’m looking to make this cake for my grandfather’s birthday with a couple alterations to accommodate his health issues. I was wondering if there was a way I could have less of a cake layer and more flan? Like an inch or so worth of cake and the rest is flan? Is that possible? And do I need to have caramel or can I omit it?
Thanks!
you can definitely halve the cake recipe and make it that way and see how it works. And also you can omit the caramel but it wont be quite the same. do make sure to grease the pan super well if you dont add the caramel
looks Delish. I haven’t made it…yet. but I plan to, with the dulce de leche cake.
In the US we have both condensed milk and SWEETENED condensed milk. I did find someone ask for clarification – it’s a very important distinction and a pet peeve on online recipes missing steps or key ingredients. I tend to not trust most bloggers recipes due to the lack of proofing and editing to ensure all ingredients and steps are included… just saying. I’ve had some successes, but more failures – a little jaded, can you tell? BTW, sweetened condensed milk – isn’t that a desert all on its own? LOL
That being said I have made flan several times and the carmelized sugar is always problematic – I haven’t seen a recipe to add water to it after it carmelizes – that seems to be a valid tip. Someone asked about that…I didn’t see a response.
Hello Camila- I made this for my parents 50th wedding anniversary. Your instructions were perfect and it came out perfectly. It was enjoyed by all despite there being tough competition on the dessert table! Thanks, Fiona
That’s awesome to hear! Happy anniversary to your parents.
Best and most impressive cake ever.! It didn’t want to come out of the pan for me in the beginning. I left it sitting on my cake plate upside down for about 10 min and the weight of it finally brought it out. It looked great and tasted even better. I like to serve most of my cake with a small pitcher of baileys or other liquor to pour onto the slice on the side for those who want it. It was incredible!
Wow amazing!!! Thank you so much!!! I appreciate it!!!!
Hi Camila,
Happy holidays! Thank you for posting this amazing recipe. I am planning to make it for new year’s eve. However I have a rookie question , I ‘ve read the recipe a couple of times but still unable to figure it out. I wanted to understand if we are putting the cake batter in the pan first wouldnt the caramel get mixed with it and then how do we get that brilliant caramel glaze on the flan, should we save some caramel and glaze the flan later? If i am picturing this correctly once we take out the cake, do we have to flip it back to get the flan layer on top and then glaze it ?
If you want you can place the pan in the fridge until the caramel hardens up before putting the rest of the batter in, however the caramel will go to the bottom anyway as the flan bakes in the oven
Hi Camila,
I was wondering does this work if i use chocolate brigaderao instead of flan? Im looking for chocolatey chocolate 😊
I believe it would work yes!
Hi Camila
I have a pan that is 10 inch in diameter and is only 2inch in height. It also has a 4.5 in hole in the middle. Not sure what kind of a pan it is though but its not bundt. Can I still fit your recipe in this size? Eager to make this for a Mexican themed dinner party…
I don’t know if it will fit with those measurements sorry!
Hi Camilla..we have chatted on a FB vegan macaron group before where you helped me to troubleshoot…thanks for that!
I tried this recipe and while it’s come out well, I had a few issues and would love your insights on it
1. My layers were not so clean looking, that is some of the cake batter mixed with the flan layer when baked and hence could be seen as leapord spots.
2. The caramel layer did not unmould fully . I think overall I may have overbaked the flan as the custard layer too was not jiggly but very firm.
3. I found overall the eggy tasty to be a bit overpowering. Can I try the queso de flan recipe instead of a normal caramel custard?. I find the cream cheese and evaporated milk better at masking the eggy taste. Will the addition of this make the flan layer too heavy? As in it won’t have any issues in sinking and beneath the cake layer upon baking?
Would appreciate your feedback and opinions… thanks so much ! I love your macaron recipes and tried a few of them
A lot of the caramel will be left in the pan yes, you can heat up the pan after unmolding and then pour the caramel over the flan.
About the layers not being clean looking could be the type of pan you used, how well you greased it, how neatly you poured the liquid in. And I dont know about the queso de flan I havent tried with this recipe!!
Thank you so much!
I just remembered the foil with only 20 minutes left to bake. All that work and I forgot that one step. 😞
It’s still fine, wish I saw this earlier, it would still be fine, perhaps it would be a bit overbaked on the cake part but still will be ok.
It wasn’t perfect in looks, but it was fabulous in taste! I’m definitely going to try again. I used a silicone Bundt pan and it seemed underdone, and fell apart a bit. Do you think a metal pan would make it better?!
This recipe was much easier than I had anticipated….although I haven’t turned it out from the pan yet.
I was wondering what the absolute minimum time is to leave it in the refrigerator before turning it out. Is it the 6 hours you list or can it be any less? Asking because we’re too impatient to wait to try it!
I understand your excitement lol I am excited for you! It’s best to wait though! sorry 😅 and dont forget to place the pan in a bowl of warm water to loosen up the caramel from the bottom of the pan.
Hi,e I’m excited to try this recipe. Can I use almond milk instead of regular milk?
you mean for the cake part? I think it would be ok, but you need actual sweetened condensed milk from cow for the flan part.
Wow- I really didn’t think that this was going to work, but it did! Magic indeed. I’m not sure if it was me or what, but making the caramel took AGES. Probably 45 minutes or so, and it was really annoying to stand there stirring the entire time. Was I supposed to have the heat hotter to melt the sugar? The rest of the recipe was actually really simple, and everything worked perfectly. I wasn’t sure how long to leave my bundt pan in the hot water bath when I wanted to remove it, so I ended up for maybe 40 minutes and it was probably too long. The caramel was a bit melted, but that didn’t matter. This was a major hit, and everyone has absolutely loved it!
it’s really not supposed to take that long to make the caramel, just a few minutes, not sure what happened there. I am happy the overall result was good! Thanks
These look easy and delicious. Just a good time to make these ideas for Christmas /friends social events. Thankyou
I just made this, yesterday actually, but I finally tasted it today. It’s delicious! 😍 I was a little scared while baking because the bottom had a very light flan-color that I realized quickly after testing for doneness, was only a thin layer of custard that stayed on the chocolate cake part. Then when I unmolded it, I was worried because the whole thing was sort of all brown, not color-blocked like yours. Upon cutting it, I then saw that it was perfect inside, 2 separate layers. I will definitely be making it again, and again. Thank you for the recipe!❤
Awe that’s amazing to hear! Thank you so much Johanna!
It’s been 40 min and it still hasn’t inverted. Should I give more time
Or just cover it cause it won’t invert
just continue to bake. It takes longer to bake than 40 min. dont open the door. Just leave it in there. it takes 60 to 90 min to bake the cake.