Chocoflan

"Cameron, dear friend? And you thought we wouldn't have any fun. Shame on you." Ferris Bueller's Day Off

We'll be out of order chronologically here, my gentle readers, as this one's for my girl Belle of Big Ass fame. Belle's prose quite simply makes my heart ache with envy, admiration and empathy. I get completely caught up in her stories and have blubbered openly at many of them, especially those detailing her absent mother or ailing father. I stalked Belle online for months - if a gay man can stalk a woman - finally wearing her down with my silver tongue and honey-dipped charm. We're now more than mere FB pals, but still get a kick out of leaving comments & messages regularly on one another's profile pages. But food and the pornography that is Williams-Sonoma solidified our bond. She went ape shit over a Key lime pie that I didn't even have anything to do with, yet I got all the credit. Well, wait'll you get a load of this one, Belle!

Chocoflan - recipe by Marcela Valladolid

For the cake

10 Tbsp butter, room temperature 1 cup sugar 1 egg, room temperature 1¾ cups all-purpose flour ¾ tsp baking powder ¾ tsp baking soda ⅓ cup cocoa powder 1¼ cups buttermilk

For the flan

1 12-oz can evaporated milk 1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk 4 oz cream cheese, room temperature 3 eggs 1 Tbsp vanilla extract

For the topping

¼ cup caramel sauce ¼ cup chopped pecans

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa over a piece of wax paper. After creaming the butter, sugar and egg together in a large mixing bowl, alternately beat in ⅓ of the dry ingredients and ½ the buttermilk, repeating and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat until well mixed. For the flan, meanwhile, combine the evaporated milk, condensed milk, cream cheese, eggs and vanilla in a blender, beating on high for 30 seconds.

Coat the entire inside of a large (12-cup) Bundt pan with a little butter, then add a little caramel sauce to the bottom of the pan before adding the cake batter and spreading evenly with a spatula. Slowly pour the flan mixture over the cake batter. Cover the Bundt pan with aluminum foil and place the pan in a bain-marie (water bath) with about an inch of water coming up the side of the pan. Bake for 1 hour on the middle rack of a 350° F pre-heated oven. After an hour, check the firmness of the cake, or insert a toothpick into the cake. A clean toothpick means the cake is done. Remove the Bundt pan from the water bath and allow the cake to completely cool to room temperature.

Place a large rimmed platter over the cooled cake, giggle jiggle a little bit, then invert the pan and platter. Remove the pan and marvel at the sight of the flan now on top of the cake. Drizzle with more caramel sauce and top with chopped pecans. Feed that mean streak running up your spine with cell phone photos sent to siblings and FB pals.

That pretty much covers it, my Belle. I keep promising to cook for you and the Druid at your little Mexican paradise (I'll even have the Lone Ranger in tow), but the invitation seems to be lost in the mail. If you try this one for yourself, substitute cajeta for the caramel. That way you can sell fat slices of Chocoflan in the village square for a little extra pocket money!

Thanks for taking the time - Blog O. Food