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Flan Cake (Flancocho)

This easy flan cake (flancocho) combines two amazing desserts in one. Tender cake topped with a smooth layer of cream cheese flan and a caramel sauce all bakes together like magic. Plus, it starts with a cake mix so you can have this cake and eat it too, in no time at all!

Puerto Rican Flancocho - easy flan cake recipe!

One of my all-time favorite desserts is Puerto Rican flan de queso. It’s a baked custard made with cream cheese so it has a thick cheese cake-like texture and it’s swimming in a pool of sugar caramel sauce. It’s amazing and if you’ve never tried, I highly recommend!

My second favorite Puerto Rican dessert would have to be flancocho, or flan cake. In Puerto Rico, bizcocho is the Spanish word for cake. Whenever I go to a party and someone walks in with flancocho, they are my new best friend (either that or whoever brought the Puerto Rican Rice)!

Puerto Rican Flancocho - easy flan cake recipe!

So this dessert is a layer of cake topped with a layer of flan. Of course, there’s drippy caramel sauce involved as well. Now you don’t have to choose between cake or flan – you get the best of both worlds!

This recipe is for easy flan cake since it uses a convenient box mix. You can also change up the flavors  – chocolate or pineapple are delicious options. Or you can make the Paris Hilton funfetti flan cake and leave out the cream cheese.

Puerto Rican Flancocho - easy flan cake recipe!

How to Make Flan Cake

Let’s talk about the details to make sure your cake turns out amazing. Firstly, this cake is usually baked in a Bundt pan, but other shapes can be used as well.

You’ll need to use a large 12-cup Bundt pan or tube pan. If using a tube pan, make sure it is not the kind with a removable bottom or it will leak out everywhere.

Puerto Rican Flancocho - easy flan cake recipe!

If you’re like me and only have a small 10-cup pan, that’s perfectly ok. However, all of the cake batter won’t fit in the pan.

Just make the extra batter into cupcakes so it doesn’t go to waste. You’ll have something to snack on while the flan cake cools and sets up!

This easy flan cake is also called “magic cake” because the layers separate while baking. The flan always ends up on the bottom of the pan (top of cake when flipped).

Some people add the flan to the pan first, others add the cake mix first. It will turn out either way. I add the cake batter last, that way I don’t overfill my pan. About 85-90% full is perfect.

Puerto Rican Flancocho - easy flan cake recipe!

The cake is then baked in a water bath to ensure a smooth and creamy flan. Allow to cool completely, and then refrigerate before removing cake from the pan. Overnight is best, but allow at least 4 hours.

Your guests will be delighted when you flip it over onto a platter and all the caramel runs down. Meanwhile, you’ll see me first in line to get a slice!

Pin this to your Puerto Rican food board!

Puerto Rican Flancocho - easy flan cake recipe! #puertoricanfood #cake #recipe
Puerto Rican Flancocho - easy flan cake recipe!

Flan Cake (Flancocho)

Yield: 14 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Chill Time: 4 hours
Total Time: 5 hours 20 minutes

This flan cake features a layer of silky flan on top of a cake base - two desserts in one! A box mix speeds up the process.

Ingredients

For the Flan:

  • 1 cup Granulated Sugar
  • 4 ounces Cream Cheese, softened
  • 1 14 ounce can Sweetened Condensed Milk
  • 1 12 ounce can Evaporated Milk
  • 3 large Eggs, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract

For the Cake:

  • 1 box vanilla or yellow cake mix
  • Ingredients listed on the Box

Instructions

  1. Preheat to oven 350°F. Set a kettle of water to boil for a water bath. Grease a large 12-cup Bundt or tube pan and place inside a larger baking pan such as a roasting pan. Set aside.
  2. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt sugar until completely dissolved. Watch carefully so it does not burn. You may swirl the pan to stir. Remove from heat when it becomes amber or dark golden in color.
  3. Immediately pour the melted sugar into the bottom of the cake pan, working quickly before it hardens. Set aside.
  4. In a blender, combine cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, eggs and vanilla until smooth. Pour into pan over caramel sauce.
  5. In a large bowl with a mixer, prepare cake mix according to the package instructions. Carefully pour over flan until pan is 3/4 full (extra batter can be used for cupcakes). DO NOT stir the flan and cake batter together.
  6. Pour hot water into large baking dish so that water comes halfway up the sides of the Bundt pan. Bake for 60-75 minutes, checking for doneness after 1 hour. A toothpick inserted near center should come out clean.
  7. Remove cake from water bath and cool on wire rack. For best results, refrigerate overnight before unmolding. Place a serving plate over cake and then flip plate and cake together, right side up. Remove cake pan and serve. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 14 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 400Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 69mgSodium: 390mgCarbohydrates: 69gFiber: 0gSugar: 54gProtein: 8g

Nutritional information provided is an estimate only. Please consult the labels of ingredients you use for more accurate results.

Did you make this recipe?

Leave a comment below! Or tag @kitchengidget on Instagram with the hashtag #kitchengidget

Debbie Gonzalez

Saturday 8th of June 2024

Is this doable for a large group (80 people) in a couple large rectangle baking pans? Or..if familiar with the Bon Cook Silcone bakeware, and I use a few of the bundt molds to make enough for 80 so that I could invert them with cake on bottom and flan on top, would I still need to bake in water bath?

Rebekah

Sunday 9th of June 2024

Hopefully someone can answer this for you! I've been to parties that have the large rectangle cakes, but I've never done it myself, so I can't say, and I'm not familiar with those molds.

Nilda

Tuesday 16th of April 2024

Hello I’m looking forward to making this! If I don’t have a Bundt cake would it be possible to make it in a 10x3 round cake pan?

Thanks Nilda

Rebekah

Friday 19th of April 2024

Yes, I think that is similar capacity.

Stephanie Weed

Friday 12th of April 2024

I have made your recipe exactly as specified many times and EVERYONE always loves it. My daughter wants me to make it for every birthday. I am wondering, for the caramel can you use LaLechera to save time? I am thinking it might just bake into the flan instead for leaving the wonderful caramel sauce? But it would be a time saver…please let me know what you think!

Rebekah

Friday 12th of April 2024

No, La Lechera is a milk so it would just blend in with the flan. If you want to bake the flan without caramel sauce and then drizzle La Lechera on top afterwards that could save some time!

Patricia

Saturday 20th of January 2024

I’ve made this a few times without the cream cheese. Always a big hit. But this time I purchased an 12 cup angel food cake pan with out a removable bottom. Everything fit into the Pan . I baked in a hot water bath for 65 minutes. But this time the caramel topping did not completely dissolve. Not sure why. I only had in the fridge for 5 hours where I usually make the day before. It was an amazing hit everyone wanted the recipe. I’m happy I bought the pan. Made a big difference.

Z

Saturday 4th of March 2023

This recipe is great! However the assembly instructions get rid of the fun part. You can place the cake batter directly on top of the caramel, and place the flan mix on top. They will swap places in the oven. That’s why this is sometimes called magic cake! There are some great YouTube videos explaining the science behind it

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