This recipe is by a new addition to the Food Network, Marcela Valladolid from "Mexican Made Easy". All I did was transform it into gluten-free. Flan is such a rich part of my Puerto Rican culture. Adding a chocolate cake to the mix was genius. My sister's love chocolate and I thought it would be a perfect dessert for this years Valentine's Day. We lost our father on the 13th and so for the first time since we were children we were spending Valentine's Day together. My mother was an expert flan maker and it was always one of those dishes that I would not even gander trying because I thought it would be too difficult, and that I could not live up to the legendary flan making of my mother. Making this flan was a sort of tribute to my mother and father. As sad as this Valentine's Day was for our family, it was also bitter sweet for we knew our mother was waiting for our father in heaven with her dancing shoes. Now they could finally be together after 6 years apart. We know that they are happy and shining their love down on us. Their memories and many of their traditions will live on through their children and grand children. Thank you mamí y papí! Feliz dia de San Valentín. Que los gozan!! (Happy St. Valentine's Day! Enjoy!).
Recipe courtesy Marcela Valladolid from the Food Network's "Mexican Made Easy"
Serves:10 servings
Ingredients
• 12-cup capacity Bundt pan
• Softened butter, to coat pan
• 1/4 cup cajeta or caramel sauce (see recipe below)
For the cake:
• 10 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 3/4 cups Amy's gluten-free cake flour (see recipe below)
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
For the flan:
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
For garnish:
• 1/4 cup cajeta or caramel sauce
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
Put an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
Coat a Bundt pan with a little butter, then coat the bottom with 1/4 cup cajeta and put it in a large roasting pan. (The roasting pan will serve as a water bath during baking.)
For the flan: In a blender, combine the evaporated milk, condensed milk, cream cheese, eggs and vanilla. Blend on high for 30 seconds.
Scoop the cake batter into the prepared Bundt pan and spreading evenly. Slowly pour the flan mixture over the cake batter. Cover with foil and add about 1-inch of hot water to the roasting pan.
Invert a large, rimmed serving platter over the Bundt pan, grasp tightly together, giggle a little and flip over. Remove the pan and scrape any remaining cajeta from the pan onto the cake, garnish with chopped pecans and serve!
Flan is a rich, creamy, cooked egg custard. It is often flavored with vanilla and baked in a water bath to retain its delicacy.
Cajeta is a thick and creamy spread or paste made with caramelized sugar and milk. It is used as a desert on its own or as a topping. Also known as "dulce de leche," it is sold in many supermarkets, Latin specialty markets or online. It can be substituted with a thick caramel sauce.
Amy’s Gluten-Free Cake Flour
My dear friend Amy Radbill, a teacher for many gluten free classes at the Davis Food Co-op. She became my inspiration for gluten-free baking. Prior to being diagnosed with Celiac I was considered the family baker. I would create all of the baked goods for all of our family gatherings. Once diagnosed it took two years before I was able to taste a piece (mind you an excellent piece!) of cake. With this recipe you cannot taste the difference between regular and gluten-free cakes. In fact in many ways it is even more delicious. The color, flavor and texture are phenomenal. My first class with Amy was “Gluten Free Cakes and Breakfast Breads”. It opened a new world for me and for my family. Life has not been the same.
For 3 cups:
1 cup rice flour
1 cup cornstarch or arrowroot
2/3 cup potato starch
1/3 cup tapioca starch
1 tablespoon potato flour
3 cups rice flour
3 cups cornstarch or arrowroot
2 cups potato starch
1 cup tapioca starch
3 tablespoons potato flour
*If you would like to purchase baking flour pre-mixed, Authentic Foods sells Bette Hagman’s Featherlight Rice Flour Mix, but it’s not as good as Amy’s. The differences are slight but enough to make the difference in the smooth texture of your cake.
Ingredients
1 cup of sugar
6 tablespoons butter
½ cup heavy whipping cream
Method
2. Heat sugar on moderately high heat in a heavy-bottomed 2 quart saucepan. As the sugar begins to melt, stir vigorously with a whisk or wodden spoon. As soon as the sugar comes to a boil, stop stirring. You can swirl the pan a bit if you want, from this point on. Note: This recipe works best if you are using a thick-bottomed pan. If you find that you end up burning some of the sugar before the rest is melted, the next time you attempt it, add a ½ cup of water tot he sugar at the beginning of the process, this will help the sugar to cook more evenly, though it will take longer as the water will need to evaporate before the sugar will caramelize.
3. As soon as all of the sugar crystals have melted (the liquid sugar should be dark amber in color), immediately add the butter to the pan. Whisk until the butter has melted.
4. Once the butter has melted, take the pan off the heat. Count to three, then slowly add the cream to the pan and continue to whisk to incorporate. Note: When you add the butter and the cream, the mixture will foam up considerably. This is why you must use a pan that is at least 2 quarts (preferably 3 quarts) big.
5. Whisk until caramel sauce is smooth. Let cool in the pan for a couple of minutes, then pour into a glass mason jar and let sit to cool to room temperature. (Remember to use pot holders whn handling the jar filled with hot caramel sauce.) Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Warm before serving.
• Makes a little over one cup of caramel sauce.
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