This amazing cake has many names: flancocho, chocoflan or torta imposible, which literally means “impossible cake”. This cake is the best of two of my favorites desserts, chocolate cake and flan.
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How to make the flan?
The flan on this recipe resembles a lot of Spanish flan de queso. Creamy, dense and silky flan with cream cheese.
For me, the pro tip for a rich and delicious flan is the cream cheese.
Some people — including my mom— only uses eggs and sweetened condensed milk. The result is a lighter and more gelatin-like flan. Don’t get me wrong, I love this type of flan too. But for this recipe, a creamier flan will add a bigger contrast to the fluffy chocolate cake.
Ingredients for the Flan:
- 4 eggs
- 4 oz cream cheese (110 gr)
- 1 can of sweetened condensed milk (400 gr)
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Caramel:
- ¼ cup of water
- ½ cup of sugar
The first thing to do is the caramel. It will be at the bottom of the pan and I prefer the caramel chilled before adding the flan batter.
Even when it’s extremely easy to achieve the perfect caramel, it’s best to babysit it to avoid burned caramel.
A quick glance at my Instagram and BANG… Burned caramel. Trust me, I’ve been there so many times I could cry. So, be careful.
In a saucepan, I add the water and the sugar. I let it boil and caramelize without stirring it. This way I avoid crystallization and clumps. Let the heat do its work.
I cook the caramel over medium heat and occasionally I move the saucepan to gently mix the caramel. As soon as it gets a nice brown color, remove it from the stove. Immediately, pour it in the bundt mold previously greased (I use butter). Move the mold to distribute the caramel on the surface evenly.
To make the flan you can use a hand mixer or a blender. Mix the cream cheese, eggs, condensed milk, and vanilla until you get a homogeneous batter. Pour into the cake mold and take it to the oven for 20 minutes at 200ºC (400ºF). It’s important to bake in a bain-marie. This way the flan won’t curdle.
In the meantime, it’s time to make the moist chocolate cake.
How to make the cake?
The original recipe is made with chocolate cake but you can totally swap it for a vanilla-flavored cake if you like it.
You can use your favorite box cake mix for this part. Especially, if you want to cut some time from the process.
Personally, I enjoy making my own cake batter because I can control the result better and add as much chocolate as I like 🙂
Also, for this particular recipe, I use one of my easiest chocolate cake recipes. This is a dump-all-the-ingredients-and-mix kind of cake and… I love it!
The ingredients for this moist chocolate cake:
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cacao powder (70%)
- 4 eggs
- 1 ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup of vegetable oil
- ½ cup milk
- 2 tsp baking powder
First, I mix all the ingredients except the flour and the baking powder. Once I get a homogeneous batter, I add the flour and the baking powder slowly into the mix avoiding clumps.
Carefully, pour this batter on top of the semi-cooked flan (after 20 minutes of baking). Do it slowly to avoid breaking the top of the flan and mixing the flan and the cake accidentally.
Bake it for 35-40 minutes until the cake is fully done.
Let the cake chill for at least 10 minutes, flip and serve the Chocoflan!
- 4 eggs
- 4 oz cream cheese 110 gr
- 1 can of sweetened condensed milk 400 gr
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup of sugar
- ¼ cup of water
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup of cocoa powder 70%
- 4 eggs
- 1 ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup of vegetable oil
- ½ cup milk
- 2 tsp baking powder
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Preheat the oven to 200ºC (400ºF)
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In a saucepan over medium heat, add ¼ cup of water and ½ cup of sugar for the caramel. Let it caramelize without stirring. Cook until the caramel is brown and remove it from the stove. Immediately, pour the caramel into the bundt mold and move it to distribute the caramel evenly.
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In a blender, add all the ingredients for the flan and blend until you get a homogeneous batter. Pour the batter into the bundt mold and take it to the oven for 20 minutes in a bain-marie.
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In a big bowl, mix all the ingredients for the chocolate cake with exception of the flour and the baking powder. When the batter is homogeneous, add the flour and the baking powder slowly into the mix to avoid clumps.
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Slowly, pour the chocolate cake batter on top of the semi-cooked flan. Be careful in this step to ensure the chocolate cake doesn’t go into the flan. Bake for 40 minutes or until the cake is fully done.
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Let the flancocho fully chill and serve.
I’m Maria and I love cooking—and mostly EATING—food from all around the world. I’ve been sharing my abuela’s secret Latin-American recipes for the last 7 years with the world on this blog. I’ve been a full-time food blogger for many years and I’m always trying new delicious meals that don’t require a culinary degree or a Michelin-star chef. I also love traveling, cats, and knitting.