ChocoFlan Origin While the classic Crème Caramel is a French dessert, the ChocoFlan is actually a Mexican dessert. Since the French had colonized Lebanon as part of the French Mandate for a couple decades in the early twentieth century, the French culture had a significant influence on the Lebanese society.
Even celebrity chef, restaurateur, TV host, and cookbook author Rick Bayless is impressed. Known for his creative takes on traditional Mexican cuisine, Bayless first tasted Impossible Cake at a market in Mexico. “It blew me away,” he recalls on his website, adding, “I quickly went on the hunt for a recipe.” While tracking down an authentic recipe proved an easy task, Bayless was stymied when it came to tracing the roots of Mexican Impossible Cake. Hes not alone. The recorded history of chocoflan is sketchy at best, especially considering that there are other versions of this dessert popular across Latin American cultures, such as flancocho in Spain. While stories of its genesis vary, there seems to be one common thread suggesting its a fusion of French crème caramel, as well as Spanish flan, and Mexican chocolate cake that developed in the early- to mid-19th century.
While chocoflan is easy to make — Bayless says its within anyones reach — youll stack the odds higher in your favor by following a few tips. According to Bayless, its perfectly okay to go with store-bought cajeta (caramel sauce made with goats milk), but it can be a little bit hard to find. Your best bet is probably a Mexican grocery store. Look for brands like Corazon and Coronado. (If you come up empty-handed, dulce de leche is more commonly available and makes a good substitute.) Soften, but dont overheat, the cajeta before use. Pour the flan over an inverted spoon so it gently covers the cake batter. And finally, let it cool — an hour on the counter and another three or four hours in the refrigerator — before attempting to unmold the finished cake.
Its fun to imagine theres a bit of pixie dust involved in the shifting layers, but there is a scientific reason for the phenomenon. It all comes down to gravity. In a nutshell, chocolate cake batter is denser than flan. Uncooked, its dense enough to support a layer of flan, but as the batter cooks and rises, the cake layer becomes lighter by volume than the flan, rising to the top in the process. When the bundt pan holding the cooked cake is turned upside down onto a plate, you end up with a confection of chocolate cake, topped by flan, and — if you include the caramel layer — its all wrapped up in a sweet coating.
Sometimes desserts have confusing names. Baked Alaska has no real connection to Alaska. There are no hummingbirds (thank goodness) in Hummingbird Cake. And Buckle Cake bears no resemblance whatsoever to a belt buckle. Mexicos aptly named Impossible Cake, however, has a moniker thats spot on. Also known as a chocoflan, the tasty confection defies logic. Heres the mystery: The layers invert while the cake is cooking. The batter goes into the oven in a bundt pan holding a layer of chocolate cake batter covered by a layer of flan (some recipes call for lining the pan with a layer of caramel before adding the cake batter). When it comes out of the oven, magically, the chocolate cake layer is on the top.
Well-greased pan the linchpin in this two-in-one dessert
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Unmolding a chocoflan feels like a great feat: A Bundt pan is lifted to reveal a creamy flan atop a rich chocolate cake — but the two layers swapped places in the oven.
It’s no wonder this celebratory Mexican staple is known as el pastel imposible (the impossible cake), but this recipe is surprisingly simple. The key is in liberally greasing the pan and letting the cake firm up in the refrigerator.
How to Make Marcela’s Authentic Mexican Chocoflan | Food Network
FAQ
Where did Chocoflan come from?
Why did my chocoflan fall apart?
How long does chocoflan last?
Why does my chocoflan crack?
What is chocoflan?
Chocoflan is a sweet, delightful Mexican dessert. It is a fusion of chocolate cake, flan, and caramel baked in the same pan, and you can garnish it if you so wish. The other name for this dessert is ‘imposible cake’ or ‘pastel impossible’ because the final product is unique and fascinating.
What is chocoflan cake?
What is ChocoFlan? Chocoflan is aMexican dessert which combines flan and chocolate cake, smothered in caramel. It is also sometimes called pastel imposible, or “impossible cake.” This cake tends to be intensely sweet, with a very complex layered flavor which can be enhanced with a variety of garnishes.
Is chocoflan a Mexican dessert?
Chocoflan, or ‘impossible cake,’ is a Mexican dessert that combines chocolate cake, flan, and caramel topping. It is a lovely and delightful dessert with two elaborate layers. Although its nickname is the ‘impossible cake’, this dessert is easy to make if you have the right tools and ingredients.
How do you make chocoflan?
The cake use to make chocoflan is made chocolate. Chocoflan can be cooked in any number of cake pans. Square or rectangular pans work quite well, as do circular bundt pans. In any case, the hot water bath is extremely important, as it will keep the flan from cracking as it cooks.