Saturday, March 7, 2015

Flan Cake

This was AMAZING!  I found this recipe on www.MyBigFatCubanFamily.com.  I did make a slight adjustment to her original recipe in that I don’t make cakes according to the package directions.  I always follow the process outlined below when making cakes.  It makes the texture and taste more like “from scratch”.  What a fantastic treasure this cake is.  I’ve never had much luck making flan.  But, when I saw the recipe for Flan Cake – I thought it sounded wonderful.  Oh My… it was more than wonderful!  Deliciously sweet and the flan is so creamy and decadent.  In fact, as I’m creating this post I wish I had a piece of it waiting for me!  But, alas – I made this more than a month ago.   Hmm… might be time to run to the grocery store to get the ingredients to make it again – and soon! 
 
Ingredients:
 
For the cake -
 
1 yellow cake mix
4 eggs
¾ cup vegetable oil
¾ cup water
1 pkg instant vanilla pudding
 
For the Caramel Topping & Flan -
 
1/4 cup caramel topping
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 large can evaporated milk
1 Tbsp. Vanilla extract
Ground cinnamon
 
Directions:
 
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
 
Grease and flour a large Bundt pan
 
Place the cake mix and instant pudding in a mixing bowl.  Add the 4 eggs and beat slightly.  Add the oil and water and beat until well blended – starting very slowly at first.  I use my KitchenAid stand mixer for this.  Stopping halfway through the mixing process to ensure the dry ingredients are being thoroughly combined.
 
Pour the caramel topping around the bottom of the Bundt pan.
 
Pour cake mix over caramel.
 
In a blender, mix together well: remaining 4 eggs, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and vanilla extract.
 
Pour gently through a mesh strainer over cake mix in the Bundt pan. (You’re sifting out any large pieces of the egg.)
 
Sprinkle with cinnamon.
 
Place filled Bundt pan in a 9×13 pan filled with hot water about 1 1/2 to 2 inches up the side of the Bundt pan.  The cake mix will begin to rise to the top.
 
Bake (in the water bath) one hour at 350 degrees. It should be slightly golden brown. Test for doneness by inserting toothpick in the cake. If it comes out clean, it’s done.
 
Remove from water bath and cool 10 to 15 minutes.
 
Invert onto a cake plate. The caramel will still be runny – it’s supposed to melt over the cake, so be careful when inverting.  Some of mine remained in the bundt pan – so I drizzled additional caramel sauce over the cake before serving.
 
Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.