Chocoflan Impossible Cake – Mexican Chocoflan Impossible Cake is a dense, rich chocolate cake stacked with creamy vanilla flan, dripping with a delicate layer of cajeta caramel sauce!

Slice of chocoflan cake on a white plate with a fork.

Mexican Chocolate Cake

Have you always wanted to try Impossible Cake, but never had the nerve? This easy Chocoflan recipe, aka “Pastel Imposible” is a winner!

Mexican Chocoflan Impossible Cake is a dense, rich chocolate cake stacked with creamy vanilla flan, dripping with a delicate layer of cajeta caramel sauce! A Mexican caramel sauce made with goat milk.

This amazing Chocoflan Impossible Cake will make you do a double-take.

It is a beautiful double-layered cake covered with Cajeta caramel sauce. It is like no other cake I have ever made or enjoyed.

Mexican Chocoflan Impossible Cake after being baked and placed on a serving platter.

Magic or Miracle?

Chocoflan defies the culinary logic by inverting its layers during the baking process.

The pan goes into the oven layered with caramel, then chocolate cake, then flan. Then later comes out of the oven with the flan and chocolate layers reversed. It goes into the oven one way and comes out another.

Is it magic or a miracle?

One bite of Chocoflan Impossible Cake will leave you believing in the Impossible!

Caramel being drizzled in the bottom of a greased bundt pan.

What Ingredients You Will Need

For the Flan Layer:

  • Sweetened Condensed Milk
  • Evaporated Milk
  • Softened Cream Cheese 
  • Large Eggs
  • Vanilla Extract – Mexican if possible

For the Chocolate Cake Batter Layer:

  • Softened Unsalted Butter 
  • Granulated Sugar
  • Large Egg
  • All-Purpose Flour
  • Unsweetened Cocoa Powder 
  • Ground Cinnamon
  • Baking Powder
  • BakingSoda
  • Buttermilk

For the Pan:

  • Softened Butter for greasing
  • Cajeta (Caramel Sauce)
Chocolate cake batter in a mixing bowl next to a hand mixer.

How To Make This Cake

You will need a 12-cup bundt pan and a roasting pan large enough to put the bundt pan inside of and have plenty of room for water. You are creating a Bain Marie or water bath to cook the flan layer.

Set one oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat the bundt pan with butter and drizzle the bottom of the pan with cajeta.

Boil about 2 quarts of water for the Bain Marie.

For the Chocolate Cake Layer: With an electric stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Beat in the egg. Sift all dry ingredients together in a separate bowl. Then mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, 1/3 at a time, alternating with buttermilk until all ingredients are incorporated.

For the Flan Layer: Place all the flan ingredients together in a blender and blend on high until smooth, about 30 seconds.

Set the bundt pan inside the roasting pan. Scoop cake batter into the bundt pan on top of the cajeta, smooth it out. Then gently pour the flan mixture over the back of a large spoon into the bundt pan so that it lays on top of the cake batter.

Lightly butter a piece of foil and cover the bundt pan tightly, butter side down against the cake. Pour boiling water in the roasting pan about two inches high. Gently slide the pan onto the middle oven rack. Bake for 1 hour without opening the oven door. (You need to keep all of the steam inside the oven to do its job.)

Remove the foil and test the cake. It should be firm to the touch, and an inserted toothpick should come out clean. (If not, place back in the oven for another 10-20 minutes.) Remove the cake from the water bath and cool completely to room temperature. When cool, shake the pan from side to side to loosen, place a large platter inverted over the cake, hold tightly, and quickly flip over. With a rubber spatula scrape the remaining cajeta onto the cake.

Serve at room temperature, or chill and serve cold. Both are ! Muy Delicioso! Garnish with more cajeta if desired.

Pro Tip: Cajeta is easy to find in most grocery stores. Check the Mexican food section or Mexican market. You can also find it online. If you can’t find it you may substitute Dulce de Leche or another type of caramel sauce.

Hand pouring a can of condensed milk into a blender with other ingredients in it.

Chocoflan Impossible Cake Baking Tips

The first time I made this marvelous cake I just assumed that I had the standard-sized Bundt cake pan.

Yet I soon discovered mine was a bit smaller than needed, and had to borrow the correct size pan. (Thanks Mom!)

It is the attention to little details that can boost a recipe from good to amazing.

In Chocoflan Impossible Cake there are really no hidden tricks. If you follow the directions you will “Nail it!” every time.

Chocoflan Impossible Cake has the look of a cake you slaved over all day.

Contrary to appearances, it is surprisingly fun and easy to make. However, there are specific steps you must attend to, in order to achieve the desired magic, but there is nothing too hard about that.

This recipe requires a minimum 12-cup capacity pan. The cake also came out of the pan much better when I buttered it, instead of spraying it with baking spray.

Butter is better!

Bottom of chocoflan cake after it is baked and still in the bundt pan.

Chocolate Mexican Cake

This Chocoflan Impossible Cake is such a perfect combination of textures and flavors.

The moist cake, silky flan, and creamy caramel are not your everyday cake, but you will want it to be.

It is impossibly addicting, impossibly easy, and very possibly your new favorite dessert!

Get the Full (Printable) Chocoflan Impossible Cake Recipe Below. Enjoy!

Chocoflan cake on a serving platter.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should The Cake Move When The Pan Is Moved Side To Side?

It can be a tiny bit wobbly when you take it out of the oven, but not a big wobble, or it might collapse.

What Can I Use If I Don’t Have Buttermilk?

You can make your own buttermilk in just a few minutes using this recipe from my blog!

Can I Make This A Day In Advance?

Yes, you can make this recipe several days in advance. Cover and chill, in the pan, until the day you plan to serve it. Then set it out at room temperature for 1-2 hours before flipping it out of the pan.

Slices of chocoflan impossible cake on plates with the rest of the cake in the background.

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Chocoflan Impossible Cake

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Mexican Chocoflan Impossible Cake is a dense, rich chocolate cake stacked with creamy vanilla flan, dripping with a delicate layer of cajeta caramel sauce!
Servings: 12 slices

Ingredients

For the Flan Layer:

For the Chocolate Cake Layer:

For the Pan:

Instructions

  • You will need a 12-cup bundt pan and a roasting pan large enough to put the bundt pan inside of and have plenty of room for water. You are creating a Bain Marie or water bath to cook the flan layer. 
  • Set one oven rack in middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat the bundt pan with butter and drizzle the bottom of the pan with cajeta.
  • Boil about 2 quarts of water for the Bain Marie.
  • For the Chocolate Cake Layer: With an electric stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Beat in the egg. Sift all dry ingredients together in a separate bowl. Then mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, 1/3 at a time, alternating with buttermilk until all ingredients are incorporated.
  • For the Flan Layer: Place all the flan ingredients together in a blender and blend on high until smooth, about 30 seconds. 
  • Set the bundt pan inside the roasting pan. Scoop cake batter into the bundt pan on top of the cajeta, smooth it out. Then gently pour the flan mixture over the back of a large spoon into the bundt pan so that it lays on top of the cake batter. 
  • Lightly butter a piece of foil and cover the bundt pan tightly, butter side down against the cake. Pour boiling water in the roasting pan about two inches high. Gently slide the pan onto the middle oven rack. Bake for 1 hour without opening the oven door. (You need to keep all of the steam inside the oven to do its job.) 
  • Remove the foil and test the cake. It should be firm to the touch, and an inserted toothpick should come out clean. (If not, place back in the oven for another 10-20 minutes.) Remove the cake from the water bath and cool completely to room temperature. When cool, shake the pan from side to side to loosen, place a large platter inverted over the cake, hold tightly and quickly flip over. With a rubber spatula scrape the remaining cajeta onto the cake.
  • Serve at room temperature, or chill and serve cold. Both are !Muy Delicioso! Garnish with more cajeta if desired. 

Video

Notes

Cajeta is easy to find in most grocery stores. Check the Mexican food section or Mexican market. You can also find it online. If you can’t find it you may substitute Dulce de Leche or another type of caramel sauce.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice, Calories: 453kcal, Carbohydrates: 58g, Protein: 10g, Fat: 20g, Saturated Fat: 12g, Cholesterol: 112mg, Sodium: 267mg, Potassium: 371mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 39g, Vitamin A: 685IU, Vitamin C: 1.4mg, Calcium: 247mg, Iron: 1.6mg
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Mexican
Author: Sommer Collier
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