Hello, Salut, Marhaba!  So, I’m totally into learning languages and geeking out on the origin of words. Currently, I am fluent in three languages (English, French, Arabic), can engage in conversational Italian, and navigate my way around Thailand, speaking their language, while shopping.

During the Covid lockdown, I crushed all the levels on Duolingo for Spanish, but let’s be real—I still feel hesitant to claim fluency. To achieve that, I believe I need to spend at least three months in a Spanish-speaking country.

Now, check this out: one of the MVPs in my personal dictionary is “NO.” I heard somewhere that in Irish Gaelic, they don’t even have a direct translation for it. What’s up with that? As a no-nonsense kind of person, I’m all about straightforward answers. “YES” means yes, and “NO” means no. No beating around the bush, you know?

But let’s get real about people. Why do they sometimes dance around the truth, leaving you to play detective? Sure, sparing feelings is cool, but there are those everyday situations where you’re just too nice to say NO to pizza when you’re totally gluten-intolerant or nod along to plans at a place your friend picked, and you secretly hate it.

Anyway, I was supposed to be chatting about chocoflan, but man, this whole avoiding a straight-up YES or NO just gets on my nerves.

Okay, back to the good stuff—the chocoflan! This dessert is next-level awesome. It’s fancy, it’s tasty, and guess what? It’s a breeze to make. Pour that flan mix over the cake batter, stick it in the oven, and bam! Like magic, it comes out with chocolate at the bottom and flan chilling on the top. Seriously, the first time I tried it, I felt like I had David Copperfield on speed dial. I never expected it to work so flawlessly on the first try. The sense of pride and accomplishment was overwhelming; I felt like a baking genius. I encourage you to try this recipe, hoping you’ll share in the joy and satisfaction I experienced. 🍰✨

Ingredients

• 12 cup Bundt cake

For base:

• Butter, softened or Butter Coating Spray
• 1/4 cup caramel sauce

For the flan:

• 354ml can evaporated milk
• 397ml can condensed milk
• 120g cream cheese, room temperature
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla

For the cake:

• 150g butter, room temperature
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Pinch of Salt
• 1 cup Greek yogurt (or sour cream)

For garnish:

• Chocolate sprinkles

Preparation:

1. Coat a 12-cup Bundt cake with butter or use the butter spray. Then drizzle caramel sauce and place the whole Bundt in a large oven dish or roasting pan that will be used for a water bath (bain-marie) during baking.
2. For the cake: Beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs, vanilla, flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.
4. Pour yogurt gradually while mixing and scraping down the bowl with a spatula as you go.
5. Pour the batter into the cake pan.
6. For the flan: In a blender, combine the evaporated milk, condensed milk, cream cheese, eggs, and vanilla. Blend on high for 40 seconds.
7. Pour the flan mixture evenly over the cake batter.
8. Add about 1 inch of hot water to the roasting pan and place it gently into the oven.
9. Bake at 180°C / 350°F for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
10. When the cake is done, remove it from the water bath and cool completely to room temperature, about 1 hour.
11. Chill in the refrigerator and invert the cake onto a large serving dish just before serving. Garnish with chocolate sprinkles and serve!