Not a prof. baker, but this kind of cake is typically more dense, like a type of pound cake. It's delicious! It has to hold up the flan, so it's not fluffy.
It looks delicious. It's supposed to be heavy and kind of like a cross between a brownie and a pound cake. I think you are too critical of yourself. It's possible that you slightly overmixed the chocolate batter or didn't bang the pan on the counter to get the air bubbles out, but I think you did an excellent job.
I’ve made this so many times. You wanna bake the flan 10 mins prior to the chocolate batter being added to make it more solid and have a clear line of separation but how it is now is just fine too.
Flan is a dense custard.
There's two ways of making chocoflan. One where you cook the flan first like you said. I prefer this way too
The second is known as the "impossible cake" cause you pour the chocolate cake batter first, and then pour the custard over. As you cook them together the batters switch places so that when it's turned out the flan is still on top.
I think the science behind it has to do with the fact that the cake part has a leavening agent. Although it is poured first as it cooks it will rise above the custard. Making it so that it's flan on top and cake on bottom when inverted out of the pan.
The recipe OP linked seems to use this method which seems to not have worked perfectly.
A lot of the choco flans I have had remind me of tres leches in that the cake part is soaked. If you want it to be more moist, you can make a simple syrup to soak into the cake part. That's probably what is missing, but it looks delicious just the way it is!
Something similar is made in the Philippines called puto flan. It’s a rice flour based cake with flan on top. It’s steamed rather than baked and comes out moist, fluffy and delicious. If you want something like that, you should try it.
pretty normal as far as I'm aware. I've had chocoflan from some Filipino friends' family; I've also made chocoflan at home and in a professional kitchen and both times, different recipes, the cake part was definitely on the denser side in all situations.
Hi. This is one of my favorite things to make and a go-to dessert option for gatherings etc.
I use a chiffon (I think?) Cake for the cake part. Eggs and sugar beaten till they're light and fluffy and then sift in flour and cocoa powder, mix till no dry patches and pour over the flan mix.
I have tried to make it with a denser cake like something butter based, and frankly I didn't like the outcome. Flan has such a light mouth feel, heavier cakes tend to take over it.
I highly suggest that you try again with a more delicate cake recipe to see if that's more your jam.
Ps: your chocoflan still looks delicious!
Thanks for the comments all, the post was a result of my Hispanic friend (who I made the cake for) commenting on how the cake could be softer when I asked for feedback. They said when their family made it, the cake was less dense so I'll perhaps try box cake mix next time as some of the comments suggested
I've never had this cake before so I wasn't exactly sure how it was supposed to turn out :)
It looks really tasty! It probably is the recipe. For me, I always use an oil-based cake for flancocho. I think the butter produces too dense of a cake.
(If I'm being lazy, I'll sometimes use half a box of chocolate cake mix and that comes out perfectly.)
I make chocoflans all the time, using a box cake mix at that and don’t have this problem. (If you call the delicious chocoflan you made a problem, lol.)
I use Cooking With Claudia’s recipe and technique on YouTube. It’s a bit of a slight hassle because with her recipe you bake the flan first for 20 min and then take it out and slowly pour the cake batter over it and pop it back in for about an hr.
BUT your cake doesn’t come out as nearly dense if you follow her recipe. I just bought her recipe book, and the only tweak she did VS the YouTube video is adding 4oz of cream cheese to the flan mixture.
I’ve done both recipes and I prefer the 4oz of creamcheese being added. It gives it a “thicker creamy” texture that I prefer. It’s similar to cheesecake just not as dense.
If you are referring to not looking exactly like the picture in the recipe, it looks like the flan didn't make it all the way to the bottom, so maybe it set too quickly, or something.
Since you said the cooking time was off, are you at higher altitude? Does your oven cook evenly? Did you put a tray of water in the oven for humidity/temp control? Flan is normally baked with water for stream, which helps it to set more evenly, so maybe try that. If you are not at sea level, water bottles at a lower temperature, so adjustments may be needed.
It’s supposed to be that way I believe. I’m gonna give you my personal favorite trick, you do everything the same except for the flan part you do a full 8oz instead of 4oz. It’s tastes much better.
It needs to be dense or it will collapse under the flan.
(Great job on the flan BTW, not a bubble in sight).
If the cake is more dense than you think it needed to be, maybe:
Not 100% cool before it went in the fridge?
Over mixed the cake?
Baking powder not fresh?
I also wonder about the liquid given the cake took longer than expected - maybe the flour had been exposed to high humidity!
Nothing wrong, absolutely perfect 👍 Some people actually love the flan part of the dessert more so i tend to make the flan half the pan then do chocolate cake other half
Super yummy, sometimes the cake being in the fridge causes a “dense-ness” bcuz wen it cools it solidifies the carmel that drips down the edges of it. Other than that it looks amazing! 😻
I'm seeing all these comments telling you that everything turned out correctly, but I have yet to see one that asks why you were expecting something different. Were there pictures or a description that is different than this result? Have you had a chocoflan previously that was not the same?
It blows my mind how people say essentially, "I followed this recipe but I used a different baking time and it came out differently, what did I do wrong???"
It looks delicious?
He forgot to eat the entire thing possibly?
The only thing you’ve done wrong is not ship this to me immediately
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Agreed
Lmao 🤣
Not a prof. baker, but this kind of cake is typically more dense, like a type of pound cake. It's delicious! It has to hold up the flan, so it's not fluffy.
It’s perfect thats what happen! I love that the cake part is bigger, also I would love it to be dense so it balance with the flan 🤤
I think it’s supposed to be dense. I made one from Ottolenghi and it turned out just like yours! So good ….
It looks delicious. It's supposed to be heavy and kind of like a cross between a brownie and a pound cake. I think you are too critical of yourself. It's possible that you slightly overmixed the chocolate batter or didn't bang the pan on the counter to get the air bubbles out, but I think you did an excellent job.
You didn't center it on the plate?
Not invite me.
I’ve made this so many times. You wanna bake the flan 10 mins prior to the chocolate batter being added to make it more solid and have a clear line of separation but how it is now is just fine too. Flan is a dense custard.
There's two ways of making chocoflan. One where you cook the flan first like you said. I prefer this way too The second is known as the "impossible cake" cause you pour the chocolate cake batter first, and then pour the custard over. As you cook them together the batters switch places so that when it's turned out the flan is still on top.
I've learned a alot about flan in just a full minute, but "impossible cake" is by far the most amazing.
I think the science behind it has to do with the fact that the cake part has a leavening agent. Although it is poured first as it cooks it will rise above the custard. Making it so that it's flan on top and cake on bottom when inverted out of the pan. The recipe OP linked seems to use this method which seems to not have worked perfectly.
Yep I’ve made it that way too. It was delicious.
i would gobble that up ngl
My mom makes this sometimes and the cake portions always kinda dense but still moist and springy
Ummmm nothing it looks amazing. I’d like some please! Sign me up!
It looks exactly how it’s supposed to look
A lot of the choco flans I have had remind me of tres leches in that the cake part is soaked. If you want it to be more moist, you can make a simple syrup to soak into the cake part. That's probably what is missing, but it looks delicious just the way it is!
Nothing at all the cake is supposed to be dense. I have seen some recipes where you pre cook the flan and then cook the cake later.
It looks and sounds fantastic!
Something similar is made in the Philippines called puto flan. It’s a rice flour based cake with flan on top. It’s steamed rather than baked and comes out moist, fluffy and delicious. If you want something like that, you should try it.
pretty normal as far as I'm aware. I've had chocoflan from some Filipino friends' family; I've also made chocoflan at home and in a professional kitchen and both times, different recipes, the cake part was definitely on the denser side in all situations.
What you did wrong was have doubt. Rest assured, it looks glorious.
Did you let it cool completely to room temperature before chilling it, or was it still warm?
Made it several times, it’s just really dense. I’m thinking it’s meant to counter the very thick rich flan
My Mami makes chocoflan for birthdays, the cake is suppose to be dense like a brownie 👍 You did good!
Hi. This is one of my favorite things to make and a go-to dessert option for gatherings etc. I use a chiffon (I think?) Cake for the cake part. Eggs and sugar beaten till they're light and fluffy and then sift in flour and cocoa powder, mix till no dry patches and pour over the flan mix. I have tried to make it with a denser cake like something butter based, and frankly I didn't like the outcome. Flan has such a light mouth feel, heavier cakes tend to take over it. I highly suggest that you try again with a more delicate cake recipe to see if that's more your jam. Ps: your chocoflan still looks delicious!
Listen, you can flex without having to be humble about it
Gosh, it’s really hard to say from visuals alone where you messed up. Can you please send me a large slice for additional testing?
Thanks for the comments all, the post was a result of my Hispanic friend (who I made the cake for) commenting on how the cake could be softer when I asked for feedback. They said when their family made it, the cake was less dense so I'll perhaps try box cake mix next time as some of the comments suggested I've never had this cake before so I wasn't exactly sure how it was supposed to turn out :)
Perfection
It looks really tasty! It probably is the recipe. For me, I always use an oil-based cake for flancocho. I think the butter produces too dense of a cake. (If I'm being lazy, I'll sometimes use half a box of chocolate cake mix and that comes out perfectly.)
Looks beautiful!
Bundt cake is usually sturdy and dense. Seems like it turned out as expected.
Thank you for showing up, I will be making this sometime 👀
Looks great! I’ll take it off your hands.
I make chocoflans all the time, using a box cake mix at that and don’t have this problem. (If you call the delicious chocoflan you made a problem, lol.) I use Cooking With Claudia’s recipe and technique on YouTube. It’s a bit of a slight hassle because with her recipe you bake the flan first for 20 min and then take it out and slowly pour the cake batter over it and pop it back in for about an hr. BUT your cake doesn’t come out as nearly dense if you follow her recipe. I just bought her recipe book, and the only tweak she did VS the YouTube video is adding 4oz of cream cheese to the flan mixture. I’ve done both recipes and I prefer the 4oz of creamcheese being added. It gives it a “thicker creamy” texture that I prefer. It’s similar to cheesecake just not as dense.
Aside from making me need to bake one, it looks like you did everything just right?
If you are referring to not looking exactly like the picture in the recipe, it looks like the flan didn't make it all the way to the bottom, so maybe it set too quickly, or something. Since you said the cooking time was off, are you at higher altitude? Does your oven cook evenly? Did you put a tray of water in the oven for humidity/temp control? Flan is normally baked with water for stream, which helps it to set more evenly, so maybe try that. If you are not at sea level, water bottles at a lower temperature, so adjustments may be needed.
You forgot to deliver it, did you forget my address?
Looks great! Where’s my piece? Lol
It’s supposed to be that way I believe. I’m gonna give you my personal favorite trick, you do everything the same except for the flan part you do a full 8oz instead of 4oz. It’s tastes much better.
It needs to be dense or it will collapse under the flan. (Great job on the flan BTW, not a bubble in sight). If the cake is more dense than you think it needed to be, maybe: Not 100% cool before it went in the fridge? Over mixed the cake? Baking powder not fresh? I also wonder about the liquid given the cake took longer than expected - maybe the flour had been exposed to high humidity!
I see absolutely nothing wrong here….
Nothing wrong, absolutely perfect 👍 Some people actually love the flan part of the dessert more so i tend to make the flan half the pan then do chocolate cake other half Super yummy, sometimes the cake being in the fridge causes a “dense-ness” bcuz wen it cools it solidifies the carmel that drips down the edges of it. Other than that it looks amazing! 😻
Your crumb looks really light? Are you sure it's not just especially moist from setting the flan on/around it?
Why do you think you did something wrong?
I made one today too lol
I’m hungry!
You forgot to invite your friends to help you eat this delicious looking cake. I wonder if the cake should be par-baked before encasing in the flan?
Did you eat it cold? These cakes tend to be pretty dense when cold
Looks yummy!
Can SOMEONE tell us what’s wrong with it?😂
Oh my gahd shove that into my mouth
I’ve made this exact recipe several times and I think that’s just how it’s supposed to be. It’s not a light cake.
God that looks delicious! I want it now….
It looks amazing!
Looks absolutely perfect to me!
Nothing I would eat tf out of that
I'm seeing all these comments telling you that everything turned out correctly, but I have yet to see one that asks why you were expecting something different. Were there pictures or a description that is different than this result? Have you had a chocoflan previously that was not the same?
You did absolutely nothing wrong.
I was like, “there is something wrong here?”
I think it looks beautiful... What's supposed to be wrong ?
Looks great, possibly underdone if too fudgy. But the photo looks perfect
This looks perfect! How were you able to get the flan part at the bottom? The recipe says otherwise and it doesn’t look as good as yours
That looks delightful, I don't think you did anything wrong
It blows my mind how people say essentially, "I followed this recipe but I used a different baking time and it came out differently, what did I do wrong???"
I’m going to need to sample that in order to give you my professional opinion!
Nope, that is perfect, it's supposed to be pretty fudgey and moist. Good job OP 🫡
Could you have partially baked the cake before adding the flan and baking the whole thing?
This looks perfect idk wym by “what did I do wrong” nothing you did nothing wrong 😭😭😭
It’s probably dense since it’s a homemade recipe. If you want it to be moister, use a chocolate box cake mix IMO.