This Mexican dessert is a moist, dense chocolate cake, scented with cinnamon and cayenne layered with a creamy vanilla flan and a goat’s milk caramel sauce. It’s like two desserts in one.
As we all #stayathometogether, comfort food takes on a whole new meaning. I love making recipes I’ve collected from loved ones. It evokes fond memories, warm feelings, and tons of comfort and love.
This recipe comes from a friend’s mom in Houston. It was a Sunday staple in their home and one that I came to adore. It’s delicious and very different. It has a few extra steps involved, but it’s not a difficult cake to make. Well worth the effort, in my opinion. I had to do a lot of begging to get this wonderful recipe.
The best part of this Mexican dessert is that it goes into the oven layered first with caramel sauce, then the cake layer and the flan layer is last.
BUT, when it comes out of the oven, it is caramel sauce, flan, and then the chocolate cake. It’s fun to see the way it inverts layers as it bakes. For this reason, this dessert is also called “Impossible Cake” or “Magic Cake”. Okay yes, it’s official. I’m a nerd.
This cake is worthy of a beautiful Mexican meal. I like to make a pan of Tex-Mex Beef Fajitas, a side of Mexican Grilled Corn, and a luscious, Creamy Cilantro Jalapeno Sauce.
Looking for a few more decadent dessert recipes? Here are a few to try:
PrintThis classic Mexican dessert is like two desserts in one. A spicy, rich chocolate cake is topped with a layer of creamy, vanilla flan, and buttery caramel sauce. This delicious cake is easier than you think and well worth the extra steps.
For the pan:
For the chocolate cake layer:
For the flan layer:
Prepare your oven for baking the cake:
Bring a large kettle of water to a full rolling boil.
Set one oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Set a large, flat roasting pan in the middle of the oven. Fill it with about an inch of the boiling water. Keep the water at a simmer.
Generously coat the bottom and sides of a 12-cup bundt pan with the softened butter. Be sure to grease each crevice in the pan.
Pour the caramel sauce in the bottom of the pan. Set aside.
Make the cake layer:
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the egg.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, cayenne, baking powder, and baking soda.
In a measuring cup, stir the buttermilk and instant espresso powder together. It won’t dissolve completely, but you want to moisten the espresso powder.
On slow speed, add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, ⅓ at a time, alternating with the buttermilk mixture. Don’t over mix the batter. Set aside.
Make the flan layer.
In a blender, pour in both kinds of milk, cream cheese, eggs, and vanilla paste. Blend on high for 30 seconds until smooth.
Scoop the cake batter into the prepared bundt pan on top of the caramel layer. Smooth it out with the back of a spoon.
Next, gently pour the flan mixture into the bundt pan on top of the cake layer.
Lightly butter a piece of foil and tightly cover the top of the bundt pan, butter side down against the cake.
Bring the kettle of water back up to a full rolling boil.