Chocolate-Dulce de Leche Flan

 

Everything in that name screams of richness. A moist, dark, fudgy chocolate cake topped with a thick layer of  caramelised sweetness. Now that's a cake fit for anyone craving dessert.


Dulce de Leche is the Spanish name for a milk caramel that originated from Argentina. Popular in many South American countries, this delicious spread has recently captured the fancy of sweet-tooths in the rest of the world, which explains the sudden explosion of Dulce de Leche recipes online. For us dessert-lovers in the East, there is good and bad news. The bad: this spread is not easily available in most Asian countries. The good: its predecessor, however, is ubiquitous and it is so easy to make!


All you need is condensed milk and a day when you finally decide to ignore the amount of calories in this recipe and give your tastebuds a treat. This treat will then slowly become a more frequent event and you'll soon find yourself adding Dulce de Leche to almost anything you can. That being said, it tastes incredible drizzled on ice-cream or smeared on bread!

The French also have a similar version, Confiture de Lait or milk jam. For those who are still unconvinced, the fact that even the French love it must be enough reason to try it!


Be warned however, this is not for the faint-hearted. 

Chocolate-Dulce de Leche Flan
from David Lebovitz


Dulce de Leche or Confiture de Lait
Preheat the oven to 425° F (220° C).
Pour one can (400 gr/14 ounces) of sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk) into a glass pie plate or shallow baking dish. Stir in a few flecks of sea salt.
Set the pie plate within a larger pan, such as a roasting pan, and add hot water until it reaches halfway up the side of the pie plate.
Cover the pie plate snugly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 to 1¼ hours. (Check a few times during baking and add more water to the roasting pan as necessary).
Once the Dulce de Leche is nicely browned and caramelized, remove from the oven and let cool. Once cool, whisk until smooth.

After preparing the Dulce, here's how to prepare the cake.


3/4 cup dulce de leche (to smear the bottom of the cake pan)


For the cake layer:

3/4 cup (150g) sugar
3/4 cup (110g) flour
1/3 cup (35g) unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-process
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 cup (125ml) buttermilk or plain whole milk yogurt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 egg, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the flan layer:
1 can (12 ounces, 340g) evaporated milk
1 can (14 ounces, 395g) sweetened condensed milk
4 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt


1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC.) Lightly brush or spray an 8-inch (20cm) porcelain mold or cake pan (not a springform pan) with oil.
2. Smear the dulce de leche around the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Place the mold or cake pan in a larger roasting pan, which you’ll use as a double boiler for baking.
3. To make the cake layer, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk or yogurt, vegetable oil, 1 egg, and vanilla.
5. Use a spatula to stir the wet ingredients into the larger bowl of dry ingredients, mixing just until combined. Scrape the batter in the mold, over the dulce de leche.
6. Make the flan layer by blending together the evaporated and condensed milks, the 4 eggs, the vanilla, and salt, until smooth.
7. Over the back of a large spoon (like a big mixing spoon), pour the flan mixture over the cake layer, using the spoon to diffuse the custard as you pour.
8. Cover the mold or cake pan loosely with foil, fill the roasting pan with very hot water, so it reaches halfway up the side of the mold, and bake for 50 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out relatively clean.
(Note: I found the flan took considerably longer to bake than 50 minutes; mine took practically an 1 1/2 hours. So being checking it at 50 minutes, but note that it may take longer.)
9. Once done, remove from the oven and carefully lift the custard out of the water bath wearing oven mitts, then let the flan cool to room temperature. Then refrigerate the flan until ready to serve.
To serve: Run a knife around the perimeter of the flan, then set a cake or dinner plate overturned on top of the mold or cake pan. Holding both the mold and the plate, flip the two simultaneously and shake gently, until you hear the flan release. Remove the mold. And remaining dulce de leche can be smeared back over the flan.


Storage: The flan can be kept for up to three days in the refrigerator.