Get the Best of Both Worlds with Esteban Castillo’s Classic Chocoflan Recipe

“Chocoflan has been referred to as the ‘impossible’ cake,” Esteban Castillo — culinary creator and the brains behind Chicano Eats — writes in his cookbook, Chicano Bakes: Recipes for Mexican Pan Dulce, Tamales, and My Favorite Desserts. “Because when you make it,” he continues, “you first add the cake batter to the pan and then pour in the flan — and during the baking process they switch places. Chocoflan is basically a magic trick you can eat!”

Want to bring a bit of this magic into your own kitchen? Castillo is sharing a recipe that will earn you the reputation of pastry wizard. If you like, you can even make your friends and family gather around when you do the pan flip: “When you invert the cake out of the pan, you end up with a bottom layer of moist chocolate cake and a classic vanilla flan on top.” Who doesn’t want to witness that sorcery?

Classic Chocoflan

Serves 16

Ingredients

For the pan

⅓ cup (100 g) dulce de leche or cajeta

For the flan

1 can (14 ounces/397g) sweetened condensed milk
1 can (12 ounces /340g) evaporated milk
4 ounces (115 g) full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
5 large eggs

For the chocolate cake

1⅓ cups (167 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup (200 g) sugar
½ cup (45 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt or ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature
½ cup (120 g) brewed coffee
½ cup (114 g) buttermilk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For serving

Dulce de leche and chopped nuts, or whipped cream and ground cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

Prepare the pan: Liberally coat a 10-cup
Bundt pan with cooking spray. Drizzle the dulce de leche into the bottom of the pan.

Make the flan custard: In a blender, combine the condensed milk, evaporated milk, cream cheese, vanilla, and salt, then blend until smooth, 20 to 30 seconds. Add the eggs and blend for another 15 seconds until smooth.

Make the chocolate cake batter: Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon directly into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle. Mix on the lowest setting until just combined. Add the softened butter and continue mixing on low speed until the mixture resembles wet sand. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed.

In a spouted measuring cup, combine the coffee, buttermilk, egg, and vanilla and whisk. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly pour the liquid mixture into the flour/butter mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat the mixture on high for a full minute.

Assemble the chocoflan: Pour the cake batter into the prepared Bundt pan, smoothing out the top with an offset spatula or spoon. Carefully ladle in the flan so you disturb the cake batter as little as possible. Transfer the Bundt pan to a roasting pan or baking dish large enough to fit the Bundt pan. Grease a piece of foil and place it greased side down onto the Bundt pan, folding it over the edges to loosely seal it.

Transfer the roasting pan with the Bundt pan to a pulled-out oven rack. Pour water (from the tap is fine) into the roasting pan or baking dish to come 2 to 3 inches (5 to 7.5 cm) up the sides of the Bundt pan.

Bake until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out with little to no crumbs sticking to it, 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes. Start checking for doneness at the 1½-hour mark.

Carefully remove the Bundt pan from the roasting pan and let it cool to room temperature before placing it in the refrigerator to cool completely, for at least a couple of hours.

Once you’re ready to serve, carefully run a knife around any edges that are still sticking, then invert onto a serving platter, gently shaking it up and down if it’s being difficult. (If it was greased properly, you shouldn’t have any major issues). I like to dip the bottom of the Bundt pan in a bowl of hot water for 2 to 3 minutes and then invert it to make sure it doesn’t stick.

If desired, serve with dulce de leche and a sprinkle of chopped nuts or with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

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Excerpted from Chicano Bakes: Recipes for Mexican Pan Dulce, Tamales, and My Favorite Desserts by Esteban Castillo.