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Puebla-Style Chocoflan Cake

Name: Puebla-Style Chocoflan Cake
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 90 min
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 250 ml Rompope; 100 g Butter; 200 ml Milk; 150 g Sugar; 200 ml Condensed milk; 170 ml Evaporated milk; 120 g Plain flour; 200 g Cream cheese; 200 g Dark chocolate; 1 cdta Vanilla extract; 4 Eggs

90 min (30 prep + 60 cook) Medium 8 servings Puebla

Edmond Bojalil

Recetas Mexas

Published: 30 Mar 2026 · Updated: 30 Mar 2026

The classic impossible cake in its Puebla version, with artisan rompope flan instead of cajeta.

About this recipe

The Puebla-style take on the iconic impossible cake, replacing traditional cajeta with artisan rompope liqueur. This two-tone cake combines a moist dark chocolate base with a creamy, aromatic rompope flan — a dessert that magically inverts its layers during baking.

History & Origin

Chocoflan, affectionately known as the "impossible cake", is one of the most celebrated desserts in contemporary Mexican baking. Its magic lies in an apparently inexplicable phenomenon: the chocolate mixture is poured first, followed by the liquid flan, yet when it emerges from the oven the layers appear inverted — the flan at the bottom and the chocolate cake crowning the creation. This Puebla-style version of chocoflan has deep roots in the culinary traditions of Puebla, a city recognised as the birthplace of some of Mexico's most iconic sweets. Whilst the most widespread version in central Mexico uses cajeta — that goat's milk caramel originating from Celaya — the Puebla variant incorporates rompope, the milky, alcoholic beverage of convent origin that the Augustinian nuns of the city of Puebla perfected during the 17th and 18th centuries. Puebla-style rompope, made with egg yolks, milk, sugar and aguardiente, lends the flan an incomparable depth of flavour: notes of vanilla, a subtle hint of cinnamon and the warmth of the liqueur entirely transform the texture and aroma of the dessert. Puebla families of generations past prepared this cake for important celebrations: quinceañeras, weddings, Christmas posadas and Día de Muertos. The bain-marie technique is fundamental to achieving the silky texture of the flan, whilst good-quality dark chocolate ensures the lower layer is dense and moist, with that characteristic bitterness that balances the sweetness of the rompope. Today, Puebla-Style Chocoflan Cake remains a gastronomic pride of the angelópolis and is served at the finest family tables and traditional restaurants throughout the state.

Estimated cost

£6.50

Total cost

£0.81

Per serving

* Approximate prices based on UK supermarkets

Nutritional information per serving

380

Calories

Protein

52g

Carbohydrates

16g

Fat

1.5g

Fibre

180mg

Sodium

* Approximate values. May vary depending on ingredients used.

Method

1
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a 24 cm bundt or tube tin with butter and dust with cocoa powder to prevent sticking. Set aside.
2
For the chocolate cake: melt the dark chocolate with the butter in a bain-marie or in the microwave in 30-second intervals. Stir until you have a smooth mixture and leave to cool for 5 minutes.
3
In a large bowl, beat the 4 eggs with the sugar until the mixture turns pale and doubles in volume. Fold in the melted chocolate with a gentle, folding motion. Gradually add the sifted flour until incorporated, without over-mixing. Pour the chocolate mixture into the prepared tin.
💡 Do not over-mix the flour to avoid the cake turning out dense.
4
For the rompope flan: place the cream cheese, condensed milk, evaporated milk, milk, rompope and vanilla in a blender. Blend on medium speed for 1 minute until you have a completely smooth mixture.
5
Carefully pour the flan mixture directly over the chocolate mixture in the tin. Do not stir — the flan will sink and the chocolate will rise during baking.
💡 Pour the flan slowly, using the back of a spoon so it falls gently.
6
Cover the tin with aluminium foil and place it inside a large roasting dish filled with hot water (bain-marie). The water should reach halfway up the tin. Bake for 55–60 minutes until the flan is firm to the touch.
💡 Check that the water in the bain-marie does not evaporate during baking; top it up if necessary.
7
Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely at room temperature for at least 1 hour. Then refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours, or preferably overnight, before turning out.
8
To turn out: run a knife around the edges of the tin, cover with a large serving plate and invert in one swift, confident movement. Serve cold with an extra drizzle of rompope if desired.
💡 If the chocoflan does not release easily, submerge the base of the tin in hot water for 30 seconds.