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This pumpkin chocoflan is my classic chocoflan gone all in on fall, with pumpkin and warm spices in both the chocolate cake and the creamy flan layer. It’s topped with cajeta and chopped pecans, bakes in about an hour and a half, and makes a really fun alternative to pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving.
A Note from Isabel
This pumpkin chocoflan is basically my classic chocoflan, but fall-ified. I took out the cream cheese and used pumpkin puree instead, because I wanted it to taste really, really pumpkiny. Then I threw pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon into the chocolate cake too. I mean, if we’re doing pumpkin, let’s just go all in, right?
This one took me a lot of tries. Some of them didn’t flip right, and one time the flan was still soupy and oozed literally everywhere when I flipped it. Not cute. So now I let it cool on the counter and then pop it in the fridge for a few hours before flipping. You can still make it the same day, or just make it the night before.
It’s such a fun swap for pumpkin pie on your Mexican Thanksgiving table, but honestly it’s just a really good fall dessert. It’s also so good for Día de Muertos with some pan de muerto.
What Is Pumpkin Chocoflan?
Chocoflan is a Mexican dessert that’s part chocolate cake, part flan, with cajeta poured over the top. People also call it pastel imposible, or impossible cake, because of what happens in the oven. You put the cake batter in the pan first and pour the flan on top, and then while it bakes, they completely switch places. The cake gets light and airy and floats up, and the heavier flan sinks down. So when you flip it out, the flan’s on top and the chocolate cake’s on the bottom.
This pumpkin one works the exact same way. The difference from my classic version is that there’s no cream cheese in the flan, it’s all pumpkin, and both layers get cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. So you’re getting pumpkin in every single bite, not just the flan.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here’s what you’ll need. You’ll find the full amounts in the recipe card below.
- Chocolate cake: This is the same cake from my classic chocoflan, made with flour, cocoa powder, sugar, butter, baking soda, salt, milk, one egg, and a splash of white vinegar. The only difference is the cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice mixed in.
- Pumpkin puree: Make sure you grab 100% pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling, which already has sugar and spices added. This is what replaces the cream cheese from my classic version, and it’s where all the pumpkin flavor comes from.
- Flan base: Evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, three eggs, and vanilla. Everything goes into the blender together with the pumpkin, so it’s super easy.
- Spices: Cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice go into both the cake and the flan.
- Cajeta: Cajeta is a Mexican caramel made with goat’s milk, and it goes in the bottom of the pan so it ends up drizzled over the top. You can use store-bought or make my homemade cajeta. If you can’t find it, dulce de leche or regular caramel sauce works too.
- Pecans: Chopped pecans on top add a little crunch. They’re optional, but I love them here.
How to Make Pumpkin Chocoflan
Here’s the quick version. The full recipe is in the card below.
Make the cake batter. Beat the butter and sugar together, then mix in the flour, cocoa powder, spices, baking soda, and salt, followed by the milk, egg, and vinegar. Spread it into a greased bundt pan that already has the cajeta in the bottom.
Blend everything for the flan, then slowly pour it over the cake batter. Don’t stress if they mix a little, they’ll sort themselves out in the oven.
Bake, cool, and chill. Cover the pan with foil, set it in a water bath, and bake until the cake is firm and a toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool on the counter for about 2 hours, then chill it for at least 2 more hours.
Flip and serve. Run a knife around the edges, put a big plate on top, and flip the whole thing over. Scrape any leftover cajeta on top and sprinkle with pecans.
Recipe Tips
- Don’t overbake. Start checking at 1 hour and 20 minutes. The cake should feel firm on top, and a toothpick in the cake should come out clean. If it bakes too long, the cake dries out and the flan gets tough.
- Chill it if you can. It’s totally fine to eat it warm right away, but the flan keeps firming up in the fridge.
- If it won’t come out of the bundt pan after chilling in the fridge, set it in a bigger pan of warm water for a few minutes to loosen the cajeta, then try flipping it again.
- Use a 12-cup bundt pan. That’s what I use, and it holds all the cake batter and flan. Another pan works as long as it holds 12 cups, but the bake time might change.
Pumpkin Chocoflan FAQs
Either one works! You can serve it cold straight from the fridge, let it sit out and serve it at room temp, or even dig in while it’s still warm. It just keeps firming up the longer it chills.
Nope! Flan is just the creamy custard with caramel on top, like my classic flan. Pumpkin chocoflan has a whole layer of chocolate cake underneath the pumpkin flan.
Yes, this is a great one to make the day before, especially around Thanksgiving when your oven is already packed. Bake it, let it cool, and keep it in the fridge overnight, then flip it right before you serve it. Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Pumpkin Chocoflan
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, divided
- ½ cup cajeta (dulce de leche or caramel sauce also work)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, divided
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- 1 cup whole milk
- 4 large eggs, room temperature, divided
- 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
- 12 ounces evaporated milk
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- ½ cup 100% pumpkin puree
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Hot water, as needed
- Chopped pecans, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Generously grease the inside of a 12-cup bundt pan with 1 tablespoon of softened butter. Pour the cajeta in to coat the bottom and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment or in a large bowl using an electric hand mixer, beat together the sugar and remaining 4 tablespoons of softened butter until creamed.
- In a separate medium bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
- Add the flour mixture to the creamed butter and sugar and mix until combined.
- Add the milk, 1 egg, and vinegar. Mix for another 40-60 seconds until completely smooth.
- In a large blender, add the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, pumpkin puree, the remaining 3 eggs, remaining pumpkin pie spice and ground cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Blend on high for 30 seconds.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared bundt pan and spread it evenly. Then, slowly and gently pour the blended flan mixture over the cake batter. It’s okay if the cake batter and flan mixture combine a bit. They will invert during baking anyway!
- Cover the bundt pan with foil and place it in a large roasting pan. Pour hot water into the roasting pan until it covers halfway up the side of the bundt pan.
- Carefully place the roasting pan in the center rack of the oven and bake for 1 hour and 20 to 1 hour and 40 minutes or until the surface of the cake is firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
- Remove the pan from the water bath and let it cool to room temperature, about 2 hours. Then refrigerate for at least 2 more hours, or overnight.
- Slide a knife along the edges of the cake pan to unstick any pieces, then place a large plate or cake stand over the bundt pan. Grasp both of them tightly, give it a little jiggle, then flip it over. The chocoflan should slide right out.
- Remove the pan and scrape any remaining cajeta from the pan onto the cake. Garnish with chopped pecans and serve.
Notes
- Storage: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Serve cold or let it sit out to room temperature.
- Serving it warm: You can eat it right away if you can’t wait. The flan just sets up firmer after chilling.
- Don’t overbake: Overbaking dries out the cake and makes the flan tough.
- If it sticks: Set the bundt pan in a larger pan of warm water for a few minutes to loosen the cajeta, then flip again.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
More Desserts To Try
- Pumpkin Tres Leches Cake
- Calabaza en Tacha
- Easy Pumpkin Empanadas
- Pumpkin Conchas
- Pumpkin Arroz con Leche
- Champurrado
- Flan
Photography by Ashley McLaughlin.
