makes
8
prep
10 minutes
cook
30 minutes
difficulty
Mid
makes
8
serves
preparation
10
minutes
cooking
30
minutes
difficulty
Mid
level
I’ve seen this traditionally Mexican flan cake hybrid many times over the years, and it has always piqued my interest. Traditionally, it’s made with a chocolate cake base and a flan top. However, whenever I see the word ‘flan’, Vietnamese iced coffee immediately springs to mind. Why? Well, for one thing, my brain is a magical place. But probably more relevantly, sweetened condensed milk = Vietnamese iced coffee = flan.
I hope you enjoyed my flow chart. The magic of this one is that the flan is poured on top of the cake layer, then sinks to the bottom during the baking process. If you want to make the authentic version of this, just leave the coffee out.
Ingredients
Caramel layer
- 180 g (6½ oz) caster (superfine) sugar
Chocolate cake
- 90 g (3¼ oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 40 g (1½ oz) cocoa powder
- 50 g (1¾ oz) unsalted butter, melted
- 45 ml (1½ fl oz) neutral-flavoured oil
- 140 g (5 oz) caster (superfine) sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 1 egg
- 40 ml (1½ fl oz) full-cream milk
- 100 ml (3½ fl oz) hot coffee
Coffee flan
- 4 eggs
- 120 ml (4 fl oz) thickened (whipping) cream
- 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) sweetened condensed milk
- 3 shots espresso (or 1 tbsp instant coffee powder)
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 4 tsp plain (all-purpose) flour
Resting time: 30 minutes. Cooling time: at least 1 hour.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F) fan-forced (or 180 °C not fan-forced). Spray 8 × 180 ml (6 fl oz) mini-pudding moulds with oil.
- This is a three-part recipe, so let’s work in steps!
- For the caramel: Place the sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly, until deeply caramelised, then add 75 ml (2½ fl oz) water (be careful – it will splatter!). Cook, until the sugar melts into the water, then remove from the heat.
- Pour around 2 tablespoons of the caramel into the base of each pudding mould and put them in the freezer while you make the cake batter.
- For the cake: Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and cocoa in a bowl and whisk to combine.
- In a separate bowl, combine the melted butter, oil and sugar. Add the vanilla and egg, mixing until well combined.
- Fold the dry ingredients through the butter mixture, then add the milk and coffee.
- Place a small cookie scoop (about 50–60 g/1 9¾ –2 ¼ oz) of the chocolate cake mixture on top of the frozen caramel layer. Smooth this out to an even layer, then set aside.
- For the coffee flan: Combine all of the ingredients in a jug and whisk until smooth. (I like to use a stick blender for this, but a hand whisk is also fine.) Slowly (slowly!) pour the flan mixture over the top of the chocolate cake batter, filling each mould three-quarters to the top.
- Transfer the mini-pudding moulds to a roasting dish, then half-fill the dish with boiling water. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 22–25 minutes, or until the cake layer is completely baked (you can test this with a skewer).
- Remove the moulds from the roasting tin and allow the cakes to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before placing in the fridge to cool completely (for at least an hour).
- To demould these cakes, I like to fill a bowl with boiling water and dip each pudding mould into it – this will loosen the flan from the moulds. Invert onto a serving plate to reveal the magic! Drizzle with extra caramel from the moulds, if you like.
You Had Me at Cake by Emelia Jackson, photography by Armelle Habib (Murdoch Books RRP $39.99).
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
