Magic Chocolate Flan Cake

Today's sweet treat is really special: Magic Chocolate Flan Cake. Yum! The name itself is good enough to eat.

In this recipe, tender, homemade flan is perched on a scrumptious layer of rich chocolate cake drizzled with warm caramel sauce. Built in a Bundt pan, this mouthwatering dessert is not only elegant, but "magical" too. First, you coat the bottom of the pan with a thin layer of the caramel; next, you add the cake batter; last of all, you pour in the liquid flan. Then, while the dessert bakes in the oven, the cake and flan layers miraculously swap places! Some say this process is purely science, but I like to think it's my little kitchen elves hard at work. :)





I won't mislead you--this wasn't the easiest baking project I've ever done. I started mixing ingredients at 8 in the morning, and we ate our first piece around 11 PM. There's also quite a bit of patience required--not to mention dishes to be washed--but trust me, the end result is completely worth the effort. You just can't beat the "wow" factor of this marvelous cake once it's sitting on a serving tray in front of guests. Just be sure to save a slice for yourself!

Happy baking!

Layer 1: Caramel Sauce

Magic Chocolate Flan Cake
From Cook's Country magazine, January 2013 issue

Cake
1/2 C caramel sauce or topping
1/2 C plus 2 T all-purpose flour
1/3 C cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
6 T unsalted butter
1/2 C buttermilk

Layer 2: Chocolate Cake

1/2 C sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Flan
2 (14-oz) cans sweetened condensed milk (Borden Eagle Brand recommended)
2 1/2 C whole milk
6 oz. cream cheese
6 large eggs plus 4 large yolks
1 tsp. vanilla extract

FOR THE CAKE: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 12-cup nonstick Bundt pan. Microwave caramel until easily pourable, about 30 seconds. Pour into pan to coat bottom. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in bowl; set aside. Combine chocolate and butter in large bowl and microwave at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally, until melted, 2 to 4 minutes. Whisk buttermilk, sugar, eggs, and vanilla into chocolate mixture until incorporated. Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Pour batter over caramel in prepared pan.

Layer 3: Homemade Flan

FOR THE FLAN: Process all ingredients in blender until smooth, about 1 minute. Gently pour flan over cake batter in Bundt pan and place pan in large roasting pan. Place roasting pan on oven rack and pour warm water into roasting pan until it reaches half-way up side of Bundt pan. Bake until toothpick inserted in cake comes out clean and flan registers 180 degrees, 75 to 90 minutes. Transfer Bundt pan to wire rack. Let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours, then refrigerate until set, at least 8 hours. (Remove roasting pan from oven once water has cooled.)

Place bottom third of Bundt pan in bowl of hot tap water for 1 minute. Invert completely flat cake platter, place platter over top of Bundt pan, and gently turn platter and pan upside down. Slowly remove pan, allowing caramel to drizzle over top of cake. Serve.

Valentine Cake & Sprinkles Snacks

 

Happy Valentine's Day!

This year, say "I love you" with a perfectly delicious, oh-so-sweet batch of Valentine Cake & Sprinkles Snacks! Remember making puppy chow or Muddy Buddies as a kid? That's what these little guys are like--just swap the peanut butter and chocolate for white confection and cover with powdered sugar and cake mix! Yummy!

It's easy to love these tiny snacks. They're easy on the wallet, since you likely have a lot of the ingredients on hand. They're simple and super fast, so they're great if you're in a time crunch. Best of all, you can tailor these treats to suit any occasion: pink and blue sprinkles for a baby shower, snowflake sprinkles and red velvet cake mix for Christmas, etc. I'd love to hear all about the fun twists and turns on which you take this recipe!

 

Divvy them up to classmates and co-workers in little cellophane bags tied with pink ribbon or take out boxes covered in shiny heart stickers. Toss them together with pretzels and marshmallows for a party mix worthy of any church gathering or Cub Scout activity.

The original recipe for this goody comes from my mom, who found it here. Please check out the site, as it has so many cute, cute, cute recipes and photos! In the end, I tinkered with the original recipe a bit, based on the upcoming holiday and what I had in the cupboard. Here we go:

Everything you need (minus the white candy melts--oops!)

Valentine Cake & Sprinkles Snacks

5 C Chex cereal
5 oz. white candy melts
5 oz. white chips
3/4 C cake mix (I used Funfetti, but any white cake mix will do)
1/4 C powdered sugar
Heart sprinkles (I used Wilton Micro Hearts)

Pour cereal into large bowl.

Melt white candy melts and white chips in microwave, stirring well. Be sure chocolate doesn't scorch. Carefully fold white confection mixture into cereal until cereal is completely coated. Generously shake sprinkles over mixture, using same folding technique.

 

Pour cake mix and powdered sugar into gallon-sized zip-top bag and shake well. Pour cereal mixture into bag and shake until cereal is completely coated.

Chocolate Cake Batter Cocktail

Chocolate milk in a fun glass? Nope, it's a chocolate cake batter cocktail!

As a little one growing up in my mother's kitchen, I spent a good chunk of my childhood measuring flour and sugar, mixing dough with a wooden spoon, spilling flour and sugar, and generally getting in my mom's way. We would always use these yellow and green Tupperware measuring cups and this beautiful cream-colored ceramic mixing bowl with pink and blue trim, which was passed down from my great-grandmother.

Learning to bake in my mom's kitchen!

Like any kid, however, I knew the best part about baking was licking the spoon once our cakes and cookies were in the oven. (These were the days before we all bit our nails over salmonella poisoning possibilities.) Now, as an adult, I'm able to resist the temptation to eat cake batter right out of the bowl. But that doesn't stop me from enjoying a good chocolate cake batter cocktail.

That's right...I said chocolate cake batter cocktail. It's love at first sip. Taking my inspiration from the Cake Batter Martini at How Sweet It Is, I mixed together a lovely little concoction made of rum, creme de cacao, heavy whipping cream, Godiva chocolate liqueur, and--you guessed it--UV Cake vodka! Pour it all into a dainty martini glass rimmed with cream cheese frosting and nonpareils, and you've got the answer to all of your sinful cravings.


Now, I must warn you--as sweet and cutesy as this liquid indulgence seems, it packs a heavy punch. Slurping and chugging are not advised, and please enjoy in moderation. Feel free to mix and match your flavorings, too--spiced rum with buttercream frosting and chocolate sprinkles, for instance. Here's my recipe so you can try it out and decide what your tastebuds like best:

Chocolate Cake Batter Cocktail

1 oz. rum
1 1/2 oz. UV Cake vodka
1 1/2 oz. creme de cacao
1/2 oz. Godiva chocolate liqueur
1 oz. heavy whipping cream
Frosting of your choice
Rainbow sprinkles or nonpareils

Generously fill cocktail glass with ice. Pour ice into cocktail shaker. Dab frosting around rim of glass using a small spoon or spatula. Pour sprinkles onto a plate or shallow dish and press frosted glass rim into sprinkles. Gently press sprinkles with your finger to ensure they stick. Pour remaining ingredients into cocktail shaker and shake together until the outside of the shaker condenses. Strain into cocktail glass.