Chocoflan
Bricia Lopez, a cookbook author and Los Angeles restaurateur, says this dessert marries the two all-time favorite desserts of every Mexican kid she knew growing up: a moist chocolate cake and a custardy flan. It is a very traditional chocolate cake and the flan is ridiculously creamy thanks to the addition of cream cheese. When Bricia was growing up, her mother always baked cakes and this was everybody’s favorite. At one point, her mom’s flan cakes got so popular that their neighbors even started to put in orders for their own chocoflans. To this day, Bricia says, it remains the best-selling dessert at her restaurant, Guelaguetza.
Ingredients
- For the caramel:
- 1/2 cup (2 3/4 oz./85 g) white sugar
- 1 Tbs. water
For the flan:- 1 can (14 fl. oz./430 ml) sweetened condensed milk
- 1 can (12 fl. oz./360 ml) evaporated milk
- 8 oz. (225 g) cream cheese
- 4 eggs
- 1 Tbs. vanilla extract
For the chocolate cake:- 3 eggs
- 1 cup (6 1/2 oz./200 g) white sugar
- 1/2 cup (4 fl. oz./120 ml) milk
- 1/2 cup (4 fl. oz./120 ml) canola oil
- 2/3 cup (2 3/4 oz./85 g) all-purpose flour, sifted
- 1/4 cup (3/4 oz./25 g) cocoa powder
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 pinch of sea salt
Directions
To make the caramel, in a saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar and water. Stir constantly until the color starts to change to a dark-brown caramel color. Have ready a 10-inch (25-cm) round cake pan and carefully drop the caramel into the pan. You might need to spread the caramel all over the pan. Set aside.
To make the flan, in a blender, combine the condensed milk, evaporated milk, cream cheese, eggs and vanilla. Lightly blend in pulses until the ingredients are combined, about 1 minute. Slowly pour the flan mixture into the caramel-lined cake pan.
Preheat an oven to 300°F (150°C).
To make the chocolate cake, in a bowl, combine the eggs and sugar. With a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat until evenly mixed. Add the milk and oil and keep mixing until thickened.
When all of the ingredients are well mixed, reduce the mixer’s speed to the lowest setting and gently drop in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and lastly, the vanilla and salt. Stop mixing as soon as the flour is mixed in. Small clumps are okay.
Drop the cake batter into the cake pan on top of the flan mixture. Make sure that it is evenly distributed, using a spatula to create an even layer of chocolate cake batter.
Fill a roasting pan with water and gently place the cake pan in it. Carefully transfer to the oven and bake until a fork inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 35 minutes.
Remove the cake from the oven and hot-water bath, and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate the chocoflan until it is completely cold. Invert the chocoflan onto a large plate or platter, then slice and eat. Serves 12.
Adapted from Oaxaca: Home Cooking from the Heart of Mexico by Bricia Lopez and Javiar Cabral (Abrams Books, 2019)