Vegan Chocoflan
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.
So delicious!
Yay!!