Also known as pastel impossible (or impossible cake), vegan chocoflan is the fusion of chocolate cake and flan. That’s right! The bottom layer is a rich chocolate cake which is then topped with a layer of flan, then drizzled with cajeta and chopped pecans.
Trying to make this vegan added a new level of impossibility to this already notoriously finicky cake. Let’s just say there were a couple of failed attempts, but once I was able to figure out the vegan flan recipe the rest fell into place!
How to make Chocoflan??
This cake is referred to as the impossible cake, because of the way it is traditionally prepared. The chocolate cake batter is poured into the cake pan, followed by the flan mixture. In the baking process the layers reverse themselves due to the density of the substances. The flan sinks to the bottom of the pan, leaving the chocolate cake on top. When you unmold the cake you get a beautiful 2 layer cake.
In this vegan version of Mexican chocoflan, the flan mixture is poured into the bottom of the pan and let set for a couple of minutes, then the chocolate cake batter is poured on top. Then the whole thing is baked in the oven in a water bath.
My favorite Vegan Mexican Desserts
This cake has got to be in my top five favorites, but there are so many options to choose from. I love vegan tres leches cake, vegan Carlota de limon, arroz con leche, and vegan flan. What are some of your favorite Mexican desserts that you would like to see veganized?
The Recipe: Vegan Chocoflan
- I used my recipe for vegan cajeta to top the cake, but you could also top it with a vegan caramel.
- You can use your favorite chopped nuts.
- For the flan I used a combination of coconut milk and oat milk, but you can use your favorite plant milk. The higher in fat the plant milk is the creamier the flan will be.
- Make sure to lightly coat your mold in vegan butter or a cooking spray so the cake is easy to unmold.
- If you have trouble unmolding the cake place the mold in a warm water bath, at the level you think the flan is for a couple of minutes.
- If you’re looking to make this oil-free you can use this recipe for chocolate cake
Vegan Chocoflan
Ingredients
Flan mix:
- 1 can (15 oz.) Full fat coconut milk
- 1 cup Oat milk unsweetened
- 1 tsp. Chickpea flour
- ⅓ cup Sugar
- 1 tsp. Vanilla
- ⅓ cup + 1 tbsp Cornstarch
- 1 -2 drops Gel Yellow food coloring (optional)
Chocolate Cake:
- 1 ½ cups All-purpose flour
- 1 cup Sugar
- ¼ cup Cocoa powder
- 1 tsp. Baking soda
- ½ tsp. Salt
- ⅓ cup Vegetable oil
- 1 tsp. Vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. Distilled white vinegar
- 1 cup Water
Garnish:
- ¼ cup Vegan cajeta
- ⅓ cup Chopped Pecans
Instructions
- Coat a (10 -12 cup capacity) bundt pan with a little bit of vegan butter or vegetable cooking spray. Set aside.
Flan
- Place coconut milk in a medium sauce pot, and bring to a simmer.
- While the milk is heating up, combine the oat milk, cornstarch, sugar, chickpea flour, and vanilla in the blender and process until smooth. Pour this mixture into the pot with the coconut milk. Add food coloring if using, mix to combine.
- Bring mixture to a simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat, and pour into the bundt pan. Give it a little shake to evenly distribute the flan mixture in the bottom the pan. Set aside.
Chocolate Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Sift the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl and mix to combine. Make a well in the center of your bowl and add the vanilla, oil, vinegar, and water. Whisk until smooth.
- Pour cake batter on top of the flan mixture already in the bundt pan.
- Place a sheet tray with water in the center rack of the oven (this will function as our water bath) and place bundt pan in the center of the sheet tray. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. (Be careful not to insert the toothpick all the way to the bottom of the bundt pan, we just want to test the cake, not the flan).
- Remove cake from the oven and let cool. Place in fridge for at least four hours or until it is completely cool. Pass a butter knife around the edges of the bundt pan only at the cake level. Place the flan part of the cake in a warm water bath for 2 minutes, so the flan unsticks from the pan. Flip the bundt pan over onto a plate and give the bundt pan a shake. The cake should slide out. If it doesn't slide out, place the cake back in the water bath and try again.
- Garnish with vegan cajeta and chopped pecans.
Ooo wee!! I was so psyched with how my vegan chocoflan came out for friends!! Thank you so much for the successful recipe!!!!
Here's an browser photo of my proud masterpiece:
https://i.ibb.co/0cGM8sz/IMG-2392.jpg
So, a few notes from my experience that others can be aware of!
- For some reason, my ratio of flan:chocolate cake came out 4:1. I followed the recipe, so I'm not sure what happened. I'll be more mindful if I do this recipe again in the future since I'd want the 1:1 ratio. For myself, I'd consider halving the flan/doubling the chocolate cake, and pour any excess into a small mold — but ultimately just really observe the proportions you make and keep a watchful eye on the amount that's poured into the cake pan.
- I foolishly forgot to grease my bundt pan. You can't imagine my gasp after I had JUST poured in the chocolate cake batter... But! Thankfully after some superficial knife cuts around the cake edge-pan, then letting the pan sit in a waterbath for a random 5 minutes to help with release, and then flipping it onto the plate+shaking the pan+plate a little vigorously till I felt a *THWUMP* — the release THANKFULLY came out as a whole!!! The modern Nordic Ware bundt pans are naturally non-stick but in the future I would still grease the pan, haha. Don't be like me, and forget and end up giving yourself a mini heart attack.
- I went with a traditional heating of granulated sugar+bit of water to pour caramel into the bundt pan first (before the flan and cake batter). I'm glad I did since it gave the flan top the traditional gorgeous caramel coloring. Though, pouring cajeta on top in the end is still an excellent alternative. It's a matter of personal preference!
- I eyed out about 1.3 teaspoons of tumeric to color the flan, giving it a pseudo-eggy appearance. I added it into the blender step. And nope, you don't taste it in the end :). Alternatively, one could use yellow food coloring at your own discretion.
- I added 1.2 teaspoons of agar agar powder to the step of heating coconut milk. I was really paranoid about the flan holding up for the flip release+subway commute to my friend's (NYC ftw). I tried asking the recipe author if she thought agar agar would still work after baking & for chilling, plus I also tried Google'ing if agar agar powder would be ineffective due to baking at 350F, but ultimately I think it helped for the flan to hold together, for me! Phew!
- After baking, the cake sat at room-temp for 1 hour before I put it into the fridge for 8 hours before flipping it. I just left it for that amount of time due to sleep, so I can't say for certain if it'd be fine the same way after 4 hours. It shooouuuld be fine.
I highly recommend this recipe, with my notes! Good luck!
Hi!
Absolutely lovely cake. My cake cracked a lot and I wanted to know if the water Bath must be in the oven whilst the oven is heating or should the water Bath and cake go inside once the oven is ready?
Not sure why my cake cracked a lot.
Thanks again!
Hi, Did you wait until it was completely cool? That could be one of the issues. The water bath does not need to be in the oven. Another reason why it could have cracked is if you had trouble unmolding or if it was overcooked.
How long does the flan need to set? I poured the cake batter and it got all mixed up, and the base that is supposed to hold it all together is not sturdy at all.
I just let it set while making the batter, like the recipe states and i wonder if i should have waited longer, and possibly refrigerating.
In my testing, all it needed was to let it sit room temp while I made the cake batter. The flan mixture should be pretty firm and thick like in the video. Did you use cornstarch for the flan mixture??
So delicious! This is my favorite recipe so far. I made it for a party and it was gone by the end of the night!
I picked up some vegan cajeta from a boutique shop that happened to have some!
Hi Dora!
In most chocoflan recipes I’ve seen the cajeta or caramel is poured into the pan first and baked with the flan. Would that be possible to do with this chocoflan, using your vegan cajeta recipe?
I didn't do it in my testing, because I was afraid the flan wouldn't set. I think as long as the cajeta or caramel is not hot when you add the flan mix it should be ok.
How long does the chocoflan stay good for in the refrigerator? I used a modified vegan recipe with this one and was wondering how long I have to eat this deliciousness?
It will last up to 3 days in the fridge
Hi! I’m going to make this for Thanksgiving I think. However, I’m having to travel by car. Can I make this ahead and freeze it? If so, should I add the cajeta before serving? And also how would I reheat?
I don't know if you can freeze this. If you do freeze it I would let it defrost in the fridge slowly and add cajeta before serving
Freaking amazing. I’m not vegan but I made this instead of a non vegan one and it’s great the cake is so fudgey and the flan is so custard like for a vegan flan. Great job. I topped it with homemade caramel &chocolate sauce and Some chocolate chunks And nuts
Hey I’ve been trying to bake chocoflan the traditional way. Can I attempt that with this recipe or will the densities not work? Thanks!
I recommend you follow my recipe. I made many tests and this is the best way to do it
I’m confused did you use baking powder or baking soda ?
Baking soda
Can we used unsweetened soy milk? And can we substitute the chickpea flour with another type.?
Yes you use unsweetened soy mik. The chickpea flour is just to give it an eggy taste. You can omit it.
Just a quick aside, be careful of any food coloring you may be using. Most that you find in grocery stores are petrochemical derivatives (yum, toxic waste!) while others are decidedly NOT vegan (carmine, or carminic acid, a common red dye, is made from crushed beetles). Look for plant-based dyes, and if your stores don't carry them, you can find many varieties, including gel colorant, online (I got mine from Amazon).
Hi Dora! I love your recipes. I saw the previous comment for a possible substitution for the full fat coconut milk and you could add a few drops of coconut flavoring. Do you think applesauce or pumpkin could be a substitute for the oil in the cake?
Sandy you can use any plant milk you like, you don't need the coconut flavoring. The applesauce should work as a substitute for the fat.
Hi,
This looks amazing! Since becoming vegan I can no longer enjoy my mom's flans and gelatins. I would love to make this but have a coconut intolerance. What can I use instead? Thanks so much.
I'm not sure if it would taste the same but I found this information online "Silken (or soft) tofu is made by pressing condensed soy milk into blocks. It's a popular vegan ingredient for soups, smoothies, sauces, and desserts. Due to its high water content, silken tofu blends well with equal parts soy milk to create a smooth, creamy mixture that can replace coconut milk at a 1:1 ratio." For gelatins I have also seen agar powder is good to use. Good luck!
Hi! I found this online, not sure if it'd work "Silken (or soft) tofu is made by pressing condensed soy milk into blocks. It's a popular vegan ingredient for soups, smoothies, sauces, and desserts. Due to its high water content, silken tofu blends well with equal parts soy milk to create a smooth, creamy mixture that can replace coconut milk at a 1:1 ratio.". I also have hear agar powder works well for gelatins. Good luck!
Hi Mich, you can use any other plant milk. Soy would work the best.
This looks so delicious! I can't wait to try it! I'm having trouble finding chickpea flour. Any other flour I can substitute that for? Also I do not own a bundt pan, does this need to be made in a bundt pan? :)
You can just omit it. It give the flan an eggy flavor, but it' not necessary.
What are good substitutes for cane sugar?
You can use turbinado sugar, and I haven't tried it but I think coconut sugar will work.
Hello. thank you for this. I am currently baking this Chocoflan now. What I'm having is that the batter next to the "pans chute is still raw after 1 hr. Any tips? This is my first time making this cake.
Hi, keep it in the oven until the cake is done. When you test the cake make sure you only test the cake. If you insert the toothpick all the way down you're going to get some of the flan on there