Chocolate Flan Cake

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This cake is part delicious dessert and part science experiment. I was watching the Food Network one morning and I watched Marcela Valladolid make this cake, she called it Chocoflan, and it amazed me. You pour this cake into a pan – caramel sauce, cake batter, flan mixture. But when it bakes, the cake ends up on the bottom and the flan rises to the top. They don’t combine, they switch places.

Insane.

I have no idea how it works. I sort of forgot about this cake until I was flipping through this month’s Cook’s Country magazine and there is was again. I put the magazine down, walked into the kitchen and made it. Magic. Pure magic.

I also love this cake because it needs to be made a day before you want to serve it. I love anything that you can make ahead of time. I also love it because it makes a gorgeous presentation. I love black and white. It is so pretty on a plate. And it tastes great. Everybody wins.

Cake:

1/2 cup caramel sauce (store bought is just fine)
1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons Gold Medal all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
4-ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
6 Tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Flan:
2 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
2 1/2 cups whole milk
6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
6 eggs
4  egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla

Spray a 12-cup Bundt cake pan with cooking spray. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Add butter and chocolate to a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 2 minutes at 50% power, or until melted.

Add buttermilk, sugar, eggs, and vanilla to the chocolate. Whisk until combined.

Stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Pretend that this picture is of flour, not buttermilk.

Pour the caramel sauce into the bottom of the pan.

Spread the batter over the caramel layer.

Blend sweetened condensed milk, milk, cream cheese, eggs, yolks, and vanilla for 1 minute.

Pour flan over cake batter. Place the cake pan in a roasting pan.

Pour boiling water halfway up the sides of the cake pan.

Bake for 75 to 90 minutes, a toothpick will come out clean, or you can take an internal temp, it should register 180 degrees.

Transfer the cake to a wire rack. Let come to room temperature, transfer to fridge and chill for at least 8 hours. To unmold, dip the bottom of the cake pan in hot water for one minute. Place cake plate over cake pan and flip over. The cake will release and the caramel will drip down the sides.

This post is sponsored by Gold Medal Flour, but all opinions are mine.