April 29, 2018Van
Share Recipe:
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 22 minutes
Serves: 6-8
Chocolate Flan Cake is Mexican dessert also known as Chocoflan or Impossible Cake – it’s one of the most delicious desserts consisting of a thick velvety flan on top of a rich brownie like chocolate cake with a caramel topping. When you put the cake together, you pour the chocolate cake batter on the bottom of the pan and the flan mixture goes on top, when it’s done baking, the two layers switch places, so this “magic” is how it got the name Impossible Cake – seriously the coolest cake around.
I tried looking for a pan that fit into the Instant Pot in several stores, but I couldn’t find one small enough – so I ended up ordering a 7 Inch Bundt Pan on Amazon that fits in the 6 Qt and 8 Qt Instant Pot (link here) and it works perfectly for this recipe.
Click here to purchase this bundt pan on Amazon.
If you use your Instant Pot on the counter under your cabinets, this is an awesome accessory that diverts the steam downward and away from your cabinets (purchase here)
Be sure to click on the accessories list below to get the most out of your Instant Pot.
Share Recipe:
Print Recipe
April 29, 2018Van
- Prep time: 15 minutes
- Cook time: 22 minutes
- Serves: 6-8
www.foodisafourletterword.com
Ingredients
Flan
- 1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk, 14 oz
- ½ Cup Half and Half
- 2 Tablespoons Cream Cheese
- 1 Large Egg + 1 Egg Yolk
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 7 inch Bundt Pan
Chocolate Cake
- ½ Cup All Purpose Flour
- ¼ Cup Cocoa Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¼ Cup Butter, melted
- ½ Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Large Egg
- ⅓ Cup Half and Half
- 3 Tablespoons Caramel Sauce, (any store bought caramel sauce will work)
- 1-2 Teaspoons Butter, to coat the bundt pan
Method
- 1)
Prepare your 7 inch metal bundt pan (purchase here) by coating the entire interior of the bundt pan very well with butter, use your hands/fingers to get the butter into all the grooves of the pan. You want a very generous coating. (A bundt pan is necessary for this recipe, don’t use a springform or regular pan – it will not cook evenly) - 2)
Pour 3 Tablespoons of Caramel Sauce into the bottom of your bundt pan, if the caramel sauce is thick, microwave it for 5-10 seconds so it’s pourable. (I used Trader Joe’s Fleur de Sel Caramel Sauce) - 3)
Prepare the flan mixture by placing ½ Cup of Half and Half, 1 Can of Sweetened Condensed Milk, 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract and 2 Tablespoons of Cream Cheese into your blender, blend on medium until it looks blended and there are no cream cheese pieces floating around – usually takes 30-60 seconds. Add 1 Large Egg + 1 Egg Yolk and blend on low just until the eggs are blended in and the mixture looks smooth and set aside. - 4)
Add ½ Cup of All Purpose Flour, ¼ Cup of Cocoa Powder, ½ Teaspoon of Baking Powder and ½ Teaspoon of Baking Soda into a bowl and whisk well and set aside (*Optional – you can also sift this mixture if your cocoa powder seems lumpy) - 5)
In a separate large bowl, add ¼ Cup of Melted Butter, ½ Cup of Sugar, 1 Large Egg, ⅓ Cup of Half and Half and stir well with a whisk until the mixture looks smooth. Add the flour/cocoa mixture and stir until just combined. - 6)
Pour the chocolate cake batter into the bundt pan and use a spoon to even it out. Slowly pour the flan mixture on top of the cake batter, don’t worry if it looks like some of the cake batter got into the flan. Cover the top of the bundt pan well with a piece of foil. - 7)
Place 1 Cup of Water into your Instant Pot and place your trivet in it. Carefully place the bundt pan on top of the trivet and seal the Instant Pot lid. Switch the knob to Sealing and set the Instant Pot for High Pressure / Manual for 22 Minutes. When the timer is up, wait 10 minutes while it releases the pressure naturally, then switch the knob to Venting to release the rest of the steam. When the pin drops, open the lid. - 8)
Carefully remove the bundt pan from the Instant Pot, I just used the trivet handles and lifted it out with the trivet. Remove the foil and let it cool on the counter for about 60 minutes. Some people like to eat this warm, so you could serve this once the pan is cool enough to handle. The cake needs to be removed from the pan before you refrigerate it. Place a large plate on top of the bundt pan, then holding the plate and pan securely together, flip it over and the flan cake should slide out easily onto the plate. - 9)
If you prefer to eat the flan cake cold, refrigerate it for 2 hours. You can garnish the top of the cake with chopped pecans if you prefer and serve the slices with a large dollop of whipped cream. Enjoy!
↓ Supplies to make this recipe ↓
42 Comments
Victoria
April 30, 2018 at 6:57 am
Looks delish! If I made this before work and left it refrigerated in the pan all day–instead of just two hours–would it still work?
Reply
Van
April 30, 2018 at 8:01 am
Hi Victoria, yes you could definitely refrigerate it all day and it would still be amazing!
Reply
Janani
April 30, 2018 at 3:53 pm
Looks Amazing! Will I be able to make this without using eggs? Is there a substitute for eggs in this recipe?
Reply
Van
May 8, 2018 at 8:30 pm
Hi Janani, sorry I have never made flan or cake without eggs so I don’t know how you would substitute it in this recipe.
Reply
Elisabeth
May 5, 2018 at 9:29 am
I made this last night, looks like your picture and tastes pretty darn good. The only thing I was unsure of (after the cake was in the IP while re-reading the recipe) was the amount of sweetened condensed milk. I converted the can I bought here in Canada (300 ml) to fluid ounces and it was less than the 14 ounces you call for in the recipe. I was a little anxious, hoping it would set up and it did, whew 🙂
Reply
Van
May 5, 2018 at 2:00 pm
Hi Elisabeth, I’m glad the cake turned out well for you! I think all sweetened condensed milk cans are the same size, it’s 14oz in weight and about 1⅓ Cups measured which is the same as 300ml.
Reply
Joanne
May 16, 2018 at 3:57 pm
See AlsoEasy Pineapple Pretzel Salad Recipe - BubbaPieChocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls RecipeEasy Chocolate Zucchini Cake Recipe - Bubba PieEasy Chocolate Chip Cookies Dairy Egg Free | Milk Allergy Mom RecipesThank you for this fabulous recipe! I had never tasted flan before, so after making this I made flan. However, your recipe combines the flan with chocolate cake, which seem to even improve with age in the refrigerator, rather than the cake part drying out. So, wonderful recipe! MY QUESTION: my granddaughters prefers dairy free recipes, so would it be possible to substitute rich coconut milk (canned) for the half& half cream? I could substitute Earth balance for the butter, & maybe just use the small amount of cream cheese.
Reply
Van
May 17, 2018 at 2:30 pm
Hi Joanne, I’m so glad you enjoyed there chocolate flan cake! Yes you can substitute coconut milk for the half and half in the chocolate cake recipe. Are you trying to make the flan dairy free as well?
Reply
Susan
May 22, 2018 at 3:57 pm
Hi, can I make this in a 7″ springform pan instead of a bundt pan? Would I have to adjust the cooking time?
Reply
Van
May 23, 2018 at 6:54 am
Hi Susan, I have tried making this in a 7 inch springform pan & it doesn’t work well for this recipe, the cake cooks unevenly and you have to add more cooking time which dries out the out edge of the cake & over cooks the flan. It’s best to use a bundt pan.
Reply
Deb
May 24, 2018 at 8:14 pm
I’m confused: Your list of ingredients call for a teaspoon of butter to cost the bundt pan yet the directions state use a stick of butter. Please advise.
ThanksReply
Van
May 24, 2018 at 8:28 pm
Hi Deb, you only need about a teaspoon of butter to coat your pan, I just meant you could use a stick to do the coating, sorry for the confusing wording.
Reply
Barbara
June 2, 2018 at 2:43 pm
Hi, this recipe looks amazing and I’m eager to try it. I have a bundt cake pan from Amazon that says it’s 6-cup https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IOYJ186/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. I’m wondering if I could use my pan for this recipe. This pan *just*fits* in my 6-qt Instant Pot. Could you possibly measure your pan and tell me how many cups of water it holds when filled to the rim? Thanks! Barbara
Reply
Van
June 5, 2018 at 4:34 pm
Hi Barbara, the bundt pan I used holds 5.5 Cups of liquid, so if you have a 6 cup bundt pan, that would work great for this recipe. Hope you enjoy it!
Reply
heather
June 17, 2018 at 10:18 am
Awesome recipe! My husband loves chocolate cake and flan so this was the perfect recipe for him.
Reply
Van
June 20, 2018 at 8:28 am
Hi Heather, I’m so glad your husband enjoyed it! Thanks for trying out the recipe 😀
Reply
Sheila
July 9, 2018 at 9:03 pm
I just took this out.
Some cake spilled out to bottom of insert.
The foil was puffed up and cake doesn’t look cooked completely. Should I have plugged hole? I’m wondering if I should put it back in and save this desertReply
Van
July 9, 2018 at 9:11 pm
Hi Sheila, what pan did you use? Was it the same one that was posted with my recipe? You don’t need to plug the hole. Did you test the doness of the cake using a toothpick (it should come out clean) if you see wet batter on the toothpick you can put it back in for another 5 minutes.
Reply
Gina
September 20, 2018 at 9:38 am
See AlsoTwice Baked Potatoes RecipeThis cake looks great! Could I use a box cake or brownie mix instead of making the chocolate cake from scratch? Thanks … gk
Reply
Van
September 20, 2018 at 10:16 am
Thanks Gina! You can use any chocolate cake box mix if you want, you only need to use 1/3 of the box though. Hope you enjoy it!
Reply
Bonnie Swiney
September 21, 2018 at 3:53 am
I don’t buy all purpose flour, I use self rising.
Could I use that and omit the baking soda and powder?Reply
Van
September 27, 2018 at 8:21 am
Hi Bonnie, you can omit the baking powder in the recipe, but you still need to add the baking soda. Hope you enjoy it!
Reply
Julie
December 20, 2018 at 6:56 am
Please help! I tried your recipe twice and I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. The flan part mixes in with the cake in the Instant Pot. Almost the consistency of bread pudding instead of becoming it’s own separate layer at the top. Any suggestions?
Reply
Van
December 20, 2018 at 8:22 am
Hi Julie, are you making any substitutions and are you using a blender to blend the flan ingredients very well?
Reply
Julia
January 29, 2019 at 4:21 pm
I’m a little confused…You said to add the caramel to the bottom, then add the chocolate cake batter (which would be on top of the caramel) and then add the flan mixture. In that case, when you flip the cake out of the pan the chocolate would be on the top. Did you flip the cake over? Is there any caramel sauce on the flan part of the cake?
Reply
Van
January 29, 2019 at 8:18 pm
Hi Julia, if you read the little write up about this cake above the recipe, it explains why you put the flan and cake batter in that order – they switch places when you bake it – pretty cool huh? Hope you enjoy!
Reply
Lisa
June 29, 2019 at 4:45 pm
I followed your recipe exactly, letting it cool in the pan for an hour. I flipped it over onto a plate, however it is stuck in the pan. I thoroughly greased the entire inside with butter. Any thoughts on why this happened?
Reply
Lisa
June 29, 2019 at 5:03 pm
I was able to use a plastic knife to gradually loosen the cake from the pan. With all of the butter used, I thought it would slide right out. Would a non-stick spray have been a better option?
Reply
Van
July 2, 2019 at 9:42 am
Hi Lisa, which pan did you use? What caramel did you use? I haven’t tried a non-stick spray since I’ve never had an issue using butter – but give it a try next time and let me know if it helps.
Reply
Tricia
August 6, 2019 at 12:45 pm
Just rec’d the bundt pan in the mail. Can’t wait to make this.
Reply
Tracy
July 7, 2020 at 9:29 am
I‘d like to try this now but don’t have the caramel sauce. Can I just make the caramel on stovetop with sugar and water, like for regular flan?
Reply
Van
July 7, 2020 at 5:26 pm
Hello, yes that will work too, hope you enjoy it!
Reply
Sammye Daou
July 19, 2020 at 1:27 pm
Just got a 6 inch bundt pan but it is too big for my 3 qt. Thought it would be perfect as I use a 6 inch springform for cheesecake. Can I bake this cake in an oven? I’m not going to buy a bigger instant pot or return pan. Thanks!
Reply
Van
July 19, 2020 at 3:24 pm
Hi Sammye, yes you can bake this in an oven. Pre-heat your oven to 350F. You’ll need a larger baking dish that can fit the bundt pan in, place it in the oven and fill it with an inch of boiling water and place the bundt pan into the dish. Bake for about 40-50 Minutes, the surface of the cake should be firm and a toothpick inserted should come out clean.
Reply
Lena
July 22, 2020 at 3:18 pm
I used Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder and the cake part came out really dense, do I need to use the regular cocoa powder for a lighter or fluffier cake texture?
Reply
Van
July 22, 2020 at 4:10 pm
Hi Lena, the cocoa powder isn’t the reason the cake it dense – it’s from cooking it in the Instant Pot. If you read the description above the recipe I mention that it’s like a brownie.
Reply
CJ
August 8, 2020 at 9:03 pm
made this as directed. It came out fabulous! Oddly my caramel sauce repositioned itself between the other two layers, but it works great there between the flan and the cake. Using the IP is so much better than the long bake recommended for the “regular” versions of this dessert, and the size of this recipe is perfect. Thank you so much.
Reply
Jan
June 7, 2021 at 3:10 pm
I’m confused. Your directions say to put the flan ON TOP of the chocolate cake when putting it in the bundt pan yet the photo shows the flan as going in first, on top of the caramel. It doesn’t seem possible that the flan sinks below the chocolate cake while baking but in order to have the finished product look like the photo it would have to change places with the flan. Help, please
Reply
Van
June 8, 2021 at 7:08 am
Hi Jan, just read the short description above the recipe, I actually talk about this…
Reply
Pat L.
January 23, 2022 at 9:07 am
Anxious to try this recipe – I have pre-made dulce leleche sauce (made from condensed milk in IP) and wondering can I use that in the flan, rather then the condensed milk, if maybe I dilute a bit with some more 1/2 & 1/2 ?
Reply
Van
January 27, 2022 at 5:48 pm
Yes, that would work fine for the caramel.
Reply
Leave a comment
Previous RecipeNext Recipe
Hi everyone! I’m Van, the creator and recipe developer for FOOD is a Four Letter Word. Follow this page for delicious & eclectic recipes. I hope you find something that you enjoy making on here. Subscribe to my YouTube & Instagram below to get updates when I post a new recipe.
-Van
Shop Unique + Cool Kitchen Gadgets
Please make anyAmazon purchases using my affiliate link, Amazon sends me a small commission at no additional cost to you, but it helps cover the costs of running my site. Thank you for visiting and for your support♥
FOOD is a Four Letter Word is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites
*This site has no affiliation with Trader Joe’s. Any discussions are descriptions of the Trader Joe’s company or it’s products are not endorsed by the Trader Joe’s company and are expressly disclaimed.
Newest Recipes
- One Piece Strawberry Yogurt Fizzy Drink Recipe for Luffy
- One Piece Straw Hat Rice Krispies Treats Recipe
- How to make Yogurt using the Sun
