Delicious Chocoflan Recipe From Spain

Andalucía in December gets pretty chilly, but luckily, the Spanish desserts are perfect for bringing that cozy, comforting feeling to your home.

The chocoflan recipe is no exception, providing a delightful balance of rich, velvety flan and moist, chocolatey cake that warms both the heart and the senses.

Keep scrolling down this article, and you will learn how to make chocoflan step by step, with the perfect tips for storing, serving, and customizing the ingredients.

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Pssst…!!?? You can’t get enough of Spanish dessert recipes? Have a look at my other posts: 

• Chocolate Turron
• Spanish Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Spanish hot chocolate

Background of the Dish

The chocoflan recipe was created in the mid-20th century, and it received the name of “Impossible Cake”, thanks to the magical way the flan and chocolate cake layers switch places during baking, producing a stunning, two-layer dessert.

You can find this delicious dessert at some stores, either as a whole cake or in individual portions, but since it’s often considered a seasonal treat, your best bet is to make the chocoflan homemade, ensuring it’s fresh, perfectly balanced, and tailored to your taste.

Today, it stands out among the best Spanish cake recipes because it offers a different layered experience, combining the silky texture of flan with the rich, chocolatey flavor of cake, creating a striking contrast of flavors and textures that’s both indulgent and visually impressive.

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Things You’ll Need for Chocoflan Recipe

The main ingredients for this chocoflan recipe are: sugar, water, evaporated milk, unsweetened cocoa powder, flour, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, and vanilla extract.

Ingredients

For the caramel:

• 1/2 cup (100 g) white sugar
• 2 teaspoons(30 ml) water

For the flan layer:

• 1 can (14 oz / 400 g) sweetened condensed milk
• 1 can (12 oz / 360 ml) evaporated milk
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the chocolate cake layer:

• 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (200 g) white sugar
• 1/2 cup (50 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• A pinch of salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) milk
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) hot water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

How to Make Chocoflan Recipe – Step by Step Guide

1. For the first step in this layered chocoflan recipe, grab a small saucepan and melt the sugar with the water over medium heat until it turns amber in color. Try not to overmix it, as that might cause the caramel to crystallize.

2. After that, pour the caramel into a bundt pan or flan mold, tilting until you cover the bottom and a bit of the sides evenly. Let it cool and harden.

3. Now, grab a blender or food processor, and combine the evaporated milk, eggs, vanilla extract, and sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Set aside.

4. Then, grab a large bowl and mix the eggs with the sugar until you get a light foam. Add the milk, oil, and vanilla, and incorporate them. Mix in the baking powder, baking soda, flour, cocoa powder, salt, and hot water until you get a smooth and glossy batter.

5. In the bundt pan with the caramel, pour the cake batter, and then the flan mixture. They will switch layers during baking. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) for 10 minutes.

6. For the next step, place the bundt pan inside a larger baking dish and fill it halfway with hot water (bain-marie). Bake the homemade chocoflan at 180°C (350°F) for 60–70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

7. To continue with the best chocoflan recipe, let it cool at room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours (or overnight).

8. For the final step, run a knife around the edges and invert onto a serving plate. The caramel will drip beautifully over the flan and chocolate cake. If the caramel is hard, you can melt it for a few seconds on the stove and pour it on top.

Substitution of Ingredients

What people love about this chocoflan recipe is that all the ingredients are usually found at home, but there are still some changes you can make to the recipe if you don’t want a last-minute run to the store.

If you don’t have sweetened condensed milk, you can replace it with a mixture of 1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream, 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar, and 1 teaspoon cornstarch.

Evaporated milk is easier to replace, as you only need to follow other flan recipes and substitute the same amount of whole milk.

For this chocolate flan dessert, we don’t recommend adding any flavorings other than vanilla extract or, at most, orange zest, since the highlight of this dish is the combination of vanilla and chocolate.

Do you have a sweet craving? Then, we have even more chocolate dessert recipes for you, such as the classic chocolate croquettes, the traditional chocolate-filled churros, and the fantastic churros with chocolate sauce.

Tips on Serving Chocoflan Recipe

The classic chocoflan dessert is commonly served either after lunch or dinner, or as an early afternoon snack.

To elevate this chocoflan recipe, you can top each serving with whipped cream to add more creaminess and a touch of freshness if you take it right out of the fridge.

You can also add more texture to the custard and chocolate cake by chopping and toasting almonds, walnuts, or hazelnuts, and using them as a topping.

Are you the biggest fan of chocolate? Then, melt a few tablespoons of Nutella with a tablespoon of heavy cream, mix it, and use it as a sauce to drizzle on top of the chocoflan.

If you are looking for other flan recipes that aren’t so chocolatey, then you must try the orange flan, the pumpkin flan cake, or the traditional Spanish Flan recipe.

How to Store Chocoflan Recipe

Once you finish preparing the chocolate flan recipe, you will have to let it rest in the fridge before serving, but if you are planning on storing it for longer, there are other steps you must follow.

First, you have to cover the chocoflan with a clean plastic wrap, ideally on contact with the top of the cake, so that it doesn’t form a thick crust.

Then, you will be able to store this delicious cake in the fridge for up to 5 days, and enjoy whenever you please (if the caramel hardens, then you can easily melt it in a few seconds on the stove).

You can’t freeze the results of this amazing chocoflan recipe, because the flan would go through texture changes, such as getting grainy or lumpy, which is best to avoid.

Recipe Card: Chocoflan Recipe

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