Chocoflan
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Apr 10, 2025 Chocoflan Impossible Cake – Mexican Chocoflan Cake is a dense, rich chocolate cake stacked with creamy vanilla flan, dripping with a delicate layer of cajeta caramel sauce!
What is Impossible Cake?
Chocoflan is often referred to in media as an “Impossible Cake” because it defies 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 chocolate and flan layers reversed. When you take the cake out of the pan, the chocolate cake layer will be on the bottom, even though you cooked it in the middle layer!
This happens because of science, not magic. The flan layer is denser than the cake layer and will drop down and cook in the bottom of the pan while in the oven. Yet it looks and tastes like magic. One bite of our Chocoflan Recipe will leave you believing in the Impossible!
Sommer’s Recipe Notes
Chocoflan – AKA Impossible 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 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 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. 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, to achieve the desired “magic”, but there is nothing too hard about that. This Chocoflan Cake is such a perfect combination of textures and flavors. It is impossibly addicting, impossibly easy, and very possibly your new favorite dessert!
Chocoflan Recipe Ingredients
For the Flan Layer:
- Sweetened condensed milk – don’t mix it up with evaporated milk
- Evaporated milk – adds a creamy texture
- Cream cheese – softened
- Large eggs – helps bind and adds a firm, creamy texture
- Vanilla extract – Mexican vanilla, if possible
For the Chocolate Cake Batter Layer:
- Unsalted butter – unsoftened
- Granulated sugar – adds sweetness
- Large egg – used to bind and adds structure
- All-purpose flour – provides structure and stability
- Unsweetened cocoa powder – adds deep chocolate flavor
- Ground cinnamon – adds warm flavor
- Baking powder – helps the cake rise
- Baking soda – works with the buttermilk to create additional lift
- Buttermilk – or use a combination of lemon juice or vinegar and milk (use this homemade buttermilk recipe)
For the Pan:
- Softened butter – for greasing
- Cajeta – caramel sauce
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.
How To Make Chocoflan
Find the full Chocoflan Impossible Cake recipe with ingredient proportions, detailed instructions, and video tutorial in the printable form at the bottom of the post.
Tips & Tricks
- Use the right size bundt pan! This recipe requires a minimum 12-cup capacity pan. If you use a smaller one, it might come over the edge of the pan!
- Grease the bundt pan well! The cake came out of the pan much better when I buttered it, instead of spraying it with baking spray. Butter is better! Be sure to get into all the nooks and crannies!
- Don’t skip the water bath! The water bath is critical to making this impossible chocoflan come out perfectly. It will help the flan layer to cook properly and the layers to reverse while cooking.
Frequently Asked Questions
It can be a tiny bit wobbly when you take it out of the oven, but not a big wobble, or it might collapse.
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.
To store, place the leftover chocoflan in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days!
To freeze the chocoflan, tightly wrap the cooled cake in at least two layers of plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 3 months! To serve, thaw in the refrigerator overnight and serve the next day.
Looking for More Delicious Cake Recipes? Be Sure to Try:
- Strawberry Bundt Cake
- Blueberry Muffin Bundt Cake
- Lemon Olive Oil Cake
- Butter Pecan Cake
- Chocolate Pudding Cake
- Strawberry Crunch Cake
- Heavenly Peach Cake
- Texas Sheet Cake with Coffee
- Homemade Strawberry Cake From Scratch
- Best Buttermilk Lemon Cake
- Best Cream Cheese Pound Cake
- Japanese Castella Cake (Wagashi Sponge Cake)
- Better Than Sex Cake (Retro Recipe)
Chocoflan Impossible Cake
Video
Ingredients
For the Flan Layer:
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 12 ounces evaporated milk
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 3 large eggs
- 4 teaspoons vanilla extract, Mexican if possible
For the Chocolate Cake Layer:
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/4 cup buttermilk
For the Pan:
- 2 tablespoons softened butter for greasing
- 1/4 cup cajeta (caramel sauce)
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.
Really great! The chocolate and cinnamon in the cake are delicious and the flan was excellent. It’s a dense, moist cake (probably because of the water) and for me took about 90 minutes to cook. Amazing recipe all around.
Amazing recipe, that cake looks so yummmyy, i wanna try it now.
This cake was so much fun to make and it came out great for my first time! My mixer broke in the middle of prep so I could not beat the chocolate batter (had to stir by hand) so I think that is why it was not as high as in the picture but otherwise it came out so pretty and was delicious. We all loved it. I followed recipe exactly – easy to follow!
The impossible cake was impossible for me. I cooked it for about 1.5 hours, followed the directions carefully but when I turned over the cake the flan was watery and slid off the cake part. Do you have any ideas on what went wrong? It was a big disappointment. The reason I gave it 3 stars is i put it in a bowl with raspberries and whipped cream on top and called it pudding. It tasted good but it looked like a disaster.
Hi! A common problem people have with this dish is that the water they put in the dish surrounding the flan isn’t hot enough. You need some pretty dang hot water for the water bath. That’s how you cook the flan, after all.
Also, something that some people do is they will just skip the “impossible” bit and put the cajeta and the flan in the pan, bake that alone for about 20 minutes, and then put in the cake batter and bake for ~an hour. That way, the flan will definitely be cooked, and some people don’t like that the flan can be a little darker when it travels through the chocolate cake. I hope this helps if you end up trying again!
The first took 5 minutes longer to cook. I would start checking it at 1 hour 20 minutes. The first attempt was 1 hour 35 the second was set by 1 hour 25 minutes. I was never a huge chocolate cake or flan person but the combo is absolutely amazing and now I make it for all gatherings. It is addicting for sure.
Seldom do I ever rate or leave comments but this was just too delicious and amazingly easy for such an elegant look. I didn’t have a 12 cup bundt pan so I didn’t put quite as much of everything in. I used a regular cake mix and followed the box instructions. I even forgot to put the foil on top and it still came out beautiful!! Everyone commented how delicious and moist it was and that it wasn’t an overly sweet dessert. Definitely making many many times again especially if I want a WOW factor dessert.
I love the cake but i am eating this lovely Choco flan impossible cake thanks
This cake was so much fun to make and it came out great for my first time! My mixer broke in the middle of prep so I could not beat the chocolate batter (had to stir by hand) so I think that is why it was not as high as in the picture but otherwise it came out so pretty and was delicious. We all loved it. I followed recipe exactly – easy to follow!
My grandson called it “magic” and I even wrote about that in my own personal blog (giving you credit of course). Thanks for creating such a fun recipe.
I plan on making this in the next couple of days. Can this be made a day ahead? If so, do I leave it in the pan until ready to serve?
I leave chocoflan in refrig overnite..loosen edges with knife…flipped and covered with microwave cover next day. Leave for another 2 days…amazingly creamier and thicker…unless of course u dont like thick….then I poured more homemade caramel over flan..depends on ur taste..
(I made extra caramel by melting 1 cup sugar in heavy pot ..then when u see that golden caramel color pour 1/2 or 1/4 warm water lightly) be carefull u dont burn urself becuz it will sizzle and bubble up quickly and try to turn hard..Just remove from heat and keep stirring with wooden spoon til it all melts
(USE GLOVES !
You might have a little piece that didnt melt..throw out..I make alot and when it cools down I pour in a jar, bottle whatever u have..It turns thicker in refrig. Save for whenever u need..for flan or fruit or ice cream..Be Creative!!😉
amazing creamy thicker flan.. and that cake..DELISH!
NOTE: I used the original recipe Mexican caramel on bottom of bundt pan..then cake..then flan..as recipe calls for..
TIp: try
Betty Crocker Red RedVelvet
Duncan’s Hines Chocolate
(Instead of using water for box cake..substitute with Vanilla yogurt)
Works wonders also
GOOD Luck!!
Hi Joanne,
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.
Wow, this is looking so delicious and yummy recipe of cake. Thanks for sharing this article.
I don’t have a bundt pan. Can it be used in a reg circle or square tin? Just wandering if the aeration through the centre of the bundtaters cooking time?
Just thinking the same thing!! Like a short cake pan
Since it calls for a 12 cup Bundt pan, I think you would need a deep cake pan or split into two but then cooking time is going to vary quite a bit.
Everyone said it’s the best cake they’ve ever had. Substituted in dulce de leche (homemade). I will be making again!