This Instant Pot Chocoflan is one of the most amazing desserts you can make in your pressure cooker. If you love chocolate cake and you love flan, this Chocoflan is the answer to your dessert prayers!
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What is Chocoflan?
Chocoflan, also known as Impossible Flan is an incredibly beautiful and delicious cake with two layers. One layer is a decadent dark chocolate cake and the other layer is a creamy and delicious flan. Sounds amazing, right? It is!
It’s called impossible flan because it seems impossible the cake would layer so beautifully when baking it, or in this case, pressure cooking it. When you originally pour it in the baking pan, the cake batter goes at the bottom and the flan mixture layers on top. But when it bakes, magic (or science) happens and the two layers switch positions.
What Chocolate Cake Mix Should I Use?
For this Instant Pot Chocoflan, I recommend using Devil’s Food Cake Mix. You will make the box cake mix according to the instructions on the box BUT you will only be using half the batter. You can make chocolate cupcakes with the remaining half, or another chocoflan, like my super-duper special Irish Car Bomb Chocoflan. That one is a doozie!!
I usually use the Pillsbury Devil’s Food cake mix but you can use whatever brand you prefer. Devil’s Food chocolate cake is slightly darker and richer than regular chocolate cake and is perfect for this recipe. It is not bitter like dark chocolate. It’s just chocolatey and delicious!
How Do You Make the Caramel for Flan?
Making the caramel for any flan is probably the hardest part of the recipe. The only reason it’s hard is that it requires patience. That’s not my strong suit! As long as you’re patient, your caramel will be perfect! This is the only semi tricky part of this Instant Pot Chocoflan.
You will only need sugar to make the caramel. That’s it, no other special ingredients. You will heat the sugar on the stove at medium heat and keep stirring it until it turns to caramel.
Essential Items
Here are some essential prep tools, utensils, and appliances I used to make this recipe.
Featured Items
Here is a list of the products featured in this post or products similar to those featured in this post:
- Instant Pot
- 7-Inch Bundt Pan
- Trivet with Handles
- Wooden Turner
- Small Saucepan
- Mini Mitts
- Ninja Professional Blender
23 Must-Have Electric Pressure Cooker Accessories
Make sure to check out my Ultimate List of Electric Pressure Cooker Accessories! I’ve included everything you could ever need to help make your pressure cooking quicker, easier, and even more convenient.
You need to make sure and remove it from the stove as soon as it looks perfect or it will go from perfect to burnt in the blink of an eye! If you want detailed instructions on making the caramel, I suggest you visit my original Instant Pot Flan recipe where I have a detailed step-by-step for the caramel-making process, with pictures included for every step of the way.
Keep in mind that caramel is extremely hot and you have to handle it with care. When you pour it into the baking pan, do it with caution so you don’t burn yourself.
I’m certain you will love my Instant Pot Chocoflan when you try it! It’s a perfect dessert for a special occasion or for when you need a chocolate and flan fix! Let me know in the comments when you try it!
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Instant Pot Chocoflan
LAYERS OF MOIST CHOCOLATE CAKE AND CREAMY CUSTARD TOPPED WITH CARAMEL
Essential Equipment
Ingredients
for the Caramel Topping
- ½ cup granulated sugar
for theCake
- 1 box chocolate cake mix divided, I prefer Pillsbury Devil Foods Cake
for the Flan
- ½ can evaporated milk ½ of a 12 fluid ounce can, 6 fluid ounces
- ½ can sweetened condensed milk ½ of a 14-ounce can, 7 ounces
- 3 eggs
- 4 ounces cream cheese cubed, ½ of an 8-ounce package
for the Instant Pot
- 3 cups water
Instructions
making the Caramel Topping
- Caramelize Sugar: Heat the sugar in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir the sugar constantly. It will first start to clump and once it begins getting hot enough it will start to turn a golden brown and melt into a caramel. Continually stir until all the sugar has been liquefied and there are no more clumps left in the skillet. Do not leave the stove. Your caramel can go from perfect to burnt in the blink of an eye!
- Pour Caramel into Bundt Pan: Once all the clumps are gone, immediately pour it into the bottom of a bundt cake pan. Leaving it on the stove any longer could cause the caramel to burn. When pouring the caramel into the cake pan, make sure that it is spread evenly across the bottom of the entire pan.
- Coat Bundt Pan with Caramel: Very carefully rotate the pan so that the caramel will also partially cover the sides of the cake pan as well. The caramel is extremely hot and can cause severe burns if you get it on yourself, so make sure to always handle it very carefully. Keep rotating the caramel until it cools and hardens to the point that it no longer moves around.
- Set Bundt Pan Aside: Set the cake pan aside and allow the caramel to cool and harden.
Preparing the Cake Batter and Flan
- Prepare Cake Batter: Make the cake according to the box instructions. You will only be using half of the cake batter for this recipe. Save the other half for another flan cake or cupcakes.
- Prepare Flan Mixture: Add the evaporated milk, cream cheese (I cube the cream cheese), condensed milk and eggs to a blender. Blend on high until fully mixed.
layering the Chocoflan
- Add Cake Batter: Spoon half of the batter into the bundt pan and spread it out evenly over the hardened caramel. You can use the other half of the cake batter to make another chocoflan, cupcakes, or a mini bundt cake.
- Add Flan Mixture: Pour the flan mixture over the cake batter in the bundt pan and then cover the bundt pan tightly with foil.
setting the Cooking Time
- 20-Minute Cook Time: Add 3 cups of water to the Instant Pot and carefully place the bundt pan in the pot using the trivet. Close the pot and set it to cook on “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” High Pressure for 20 minutes.
- Full NPR: Once the 20-minute cook time has completed, allow for a full NPR (Natural Pressure Release). After the NPR has completed and the pin has dropped, open the Instant Pot and carefully remove the Chocoflan. Set it on the counter to cool for 10 minutes before placing in the refrigerator. Place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. Letting the chocoflan sit in the refrigerator overnight will give the best results.
Unmold and Serve
- When ready to serve, remove from the refrigerator and unmold. To unmold the flan, place a plate over the top of the bundt pan and, holding the plate firmly to the top of the bundt pan, carefully flip the flan over so that it releases from the pan onto the plate. You may need to tap on the bottom of the bundt pan a few times to get it to release.
- Enjoy your Chocoflan!
Do you think this would also work if I used strawberry cake mix instead of chocolate? Gracias!
Hi Jessica! I’ve never made it with strawberry cake but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. Might be delicious!
My son’s girlfriend made it with strawberry cake mix since he does not like chocolate as much and it was the hit of the party!
Hi Kat! That’s so cool that it was great with strawberry cake! I’ll have to try it out and post it! Happy to hear everyone enjoyed it. I appreciate you stopping by and commenting.
If I wanted to make this in the oven how do I do this?
Hi Brittany! You can make this in the oven. To bake it you’ll need to do it in a water bath. Put the pan with the flan/cake mixture in a roasting pan with approximately 1 inch of water. Bake it at 350 degrees for approximately an hour and 20 minutes but you’ll have to keep an eye on it. Not 100% sure on the timing. Hope this helps!
Curious if the flan/cake mix still needs to be covered in this oven instance?
Hi Aly! You can cover it with foil. Thanks for stopping by!
Valerie it will still cook without the water bath. Just cover with foil. Last 15 min take off foil.
Hello there and I’m excited to try this out. I made your standard flan yesterday in the 7″ Pyrex and it is amazing. I’m looking at this picture and it looks like the flan goes in first and then the cake batter. If the caramel is first then the batter and then the flan, when you flip it onto the plate it wouldn’t it be – flan, cake and then caramel? – but this is not what is in the picture – so has it been flipped again? Are the pictures upside down and there is more caramel sauce on the cake that we just can’t see? Lastly – can I make this in my 7″ Pyrex as I do not have a bundt pan?
Hi Michael! I’m so glad you enjoyed the flan. The magic in this is that the two layers change positions when you bake them. The pictures aren’t backwards. You pour the cake batter in first and then the flan mixture. Then voila, when you take it out it looks like mine. If not using a bundt make sure the batter will all fit. Not sure about any change in cooking time but hopefully it will work out perfectly. Let me know if you try it!
Thank you so much for getting back to – I always enjoy a little magic when baking or cooking so this is going to be neat – especially for my kids!
The cake part goes in first, than the flan. The flan part will go right through the bottom. So when it’s done baking, you’ll only flip it once. Than it would look like the picture. You could add more Carmel on top after you flip it if you like!! I believe any other pan will work!
Do you need to grease the pan at all? Sounds delish!
Hi Jana! You do not need to grease the pan. If you do, the caramel won’t harden and stick to the pan when you pour it in. Enjoy!
Most of my caramel hardened and stayed stuck to the pan. I got a very thin coating on my chocoflan. Any suggestions? It tasted great!
Hi Terri! I’m glad it tasted great! Did you leave it in the fridge for the time suggested? There will always be caramel stuck to the pan, but usually the longer it stays in the fridge the better. Thanks for stopping by!
So the cake mix god in first? Send like the flan does. I’m a bit confused about that part but can’t wait to try this and shock my fam! My neighbor makes the best chocoflan but we have to wait till Christmas every year for him to bring it over haha
Hi Claudia! You pour the cake batter first and then the flan mixture. Hope you love it!
If I don’t have a small Bundt pan, can I use a spring form, no middle thing like Bundt?
Hi Laurie! When making a flan, you can’t use a springform pan or any other pan that is open at the bottom since the caramel will leak out during cooking. You can try using any other kind of baking pan as long as it’s completely sealed at the bottom. Hope this helps! Thanks for stopping by!
Unfortunately I cannot get my hands on a 7 inch Bundt pan, could I use a flan mold?
Hi Kathleen! I feel like the batter would be too much for a smaller flan pan. You could cut the recipe somewhat to make sure it fits, and the time would need to be adjusted since you’re cooking a smaller volume. I can’t give you an exact answer because I would have to test it first. I hope this helps some! Thanks for stopping by!
I was wondering about your bundt pan. Is it a 6 or 7″ pan to fit in the pressure cooker?
Hi Sandy! There’s a section in the post above called “Kitchen Prep Tools, Utensils & Appliances”. The title is in an aqua box. I have the right bundt pan linked there. It’s a 7-inch pan. Thanks for stopping by the blog!
Valerie con este postre me robaste el corazón! Yo amo el Chocoflan y en mi país le ponen Arequipe encima, es un sueño 💕 Gracias, gracias, gracias!!
Ah tan linda Kari! El Arequipe o Dulce De Leche como le decimos en Honduras es delicioso!! Tengo un chocoflan con arequipe, pero lleva licor. Es este: https://www.onehappyhousewife.com/instant-pot-irish-car-bomb-chocoflan/ Esta espectacular!! Gracias por visitar el blog!