Trialled Recipe: Chocoflan

How to make a ChocoFlan

(the Impossible Chocolate Cake)

If you are a fan of chocolate AND a fan of Trinidad baked custard (called flan in the food industry), then this is for you. The creaminess of the flan mixed with the chocolatey goodness of the cake goes so well together. And with this recipe, you have caramel and pecans to add extra oomph. 

I might take a bite out of my computer just by looking at this slice of chocoflan!
Chocoflan is a traditional Mexican dessert which consists of a dense chocolate cake topped with a vanilla cream cheese custard, caramel and pecans. The caramel sauce that they use is called cajeta and it is a caramel sauce made from goat's milk.

I decided to try this recipe because it is very intriguing how you add the layers one way and it ends up in reverse. The main reason for this phenomenon is because the flan layer is denser than the cake layer which causes the cake layer to rise to the top of the pan while the flan sinks during baking. Baking it in a water bath completes the process of the separation of the layers. For this trial, I used Mexican chef, Marcella Valladolid's recipe which is a really good one to use as a first attempt. Next time I make this I will be doing a few changes that suit me since I have my way of making custard and chocolate cake, so wish me luck!

The design of my Bundt pan. There are so many
nice designs that I'm sure I will buy another.

First of all, you will need a 12-cup capacity bundt pan. There are so many bundt pans that exist, it's basically up to your preference. You can actually bake this in a normal 10-inch round pan, however, it will take longer to bake. The main benefit of the Bundt pan is that you get a delicious crust all around the cake with each slice you cut. 

Ingredients:

For the pan: 

1 12-cup capacity bundt pan

1/4 cup caramel or dulce de leche sauce. I used store-bought caramel sauce

1 roasting pan big enough to hold the bundt pan

softened butter

For the cake:

10 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 egg, room temperature

1 3/4 cups  flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 1/4 cups buttermilk- If you don't have buttermilk like me, then substitute 1 cup milk mixed with 1 tablespoon vinegar. Let the mixture sit for at least 5 minutes before use.

For the flan or custard:

1 1/2 cups evaporated milk

1  14-ounce can condensed milk

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

3 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For garnish:

1/4 cup chopped pecans

Method:

• Preheat to 350 degrees F.

• Coat the Bundt pan with softened butter, making sure you get to all the nooks and crannies. Add 1/4 cup caramel sauce to the bottom and put it in your roasting pan. The roasting pan will be used to hold the water bath for baking the chocoflan. This is how it will get that creamy texture ensuring that the layers separate beautifully. Btw, I overbaked mine a little (because I was tending to a very clingy 16-month-old) and it still came out great 😁.

For the cake: 

Before creaming.

• Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa in a medium bowl. 
• Cream the butter and sugar in your mixing bowl. It will take about 5 minutes to look light and fluffy. 

After creaming- it will look fluffy.

• Add the egg and mix for 1 minute. 

Baker's note: If you have a stand mixer, then put the sugar and butter to cream. While this is creaming, mix together the dry ingredients and set aside. This is some good time management here since no one like to stand around creaming when you can be doing other things 😆 .  If you don't have a stand mixer, then follow the steps as is. 

• Add  1/3 of the flour mixture until incorporated. And 1/2 of the buttermilk and mix. Repeat, ending with the flour mixture. Blend until well mixed and remember to scrape down the sides.

Baker's Note: This alternating of the flour and liquid addition is one of the techniques that enhances a cake's fluffy texture. If you add all the flour at once, this leads to a very dense and heavy cake, so please take the time and do this. Rule of thumb: Always start and end with flour. 

• For the flan: Add all ingredients to your blender and blend for 40 seconds. You can also mix this using your stand mixer. 

• Carefully spoon the cake batter into the prepared Bundt pan, spreading evenly using a spatula or spoon. Slowly pour the flan mixture over the cake batter. It will seem to mix but don't worry, it will separate accordingly as it bakes. The video below shows how it will mix slightly when adding the flan or custard layer. 

• Cover with foil and add about 1-inch of hot water to the roasting pan. Why are we doing this? Well, it's learning time! Baking a flan or custard in a water bath is essential to give it that creamy delicate texture. The water bath or bain-marie ensures that it bakes slowly by insulating it. This technique allows for even distribution of heat which prevents it from cracking and developing a rubbery texture. 

Define: Bain-Marie

Noun,  ban-mah-rie 

Bain-marie is a pan or container with hot water which you place a cooking container in, to allow for slow cooking or keeping warm. When used in the oven, you place the baking pan inside of another pan and pour in about 1 inch of water before baking in the oven. Another example of bain-marie is the use of a double boiler where you place a pot with water on the stove on low heat with a bowl inside of it, making sure it does not touch the water. This is used to melt chocolate and cook egg-based custard for ice cream. 

• Carefully place the pan into the oven, and bake for 1 hour. After the hour, remove the cake and test for doneness. Insert a toothpick and if it comes out clean then its good to go. 

• Remove from the water bath and cool completely to room temperature. This should take at least 1 hour.

• Put a plate or serving platter over the pan and invert. Jiggle and tap the base of the pan to help release.  

• Remove the pan and scrape any remaining caramel sauce from the pan onto the cake, sprinkle with chopped pecans. 

If you are anything like me then you can have a slice immediately, or you can put it in the refrigerator to cool before cutting. This is also the perfect cake to make a day ahead if you want to make this for a family gathering. Store any leftovers in the fridge, in a sealed container and enjoy every day until it's all done. 

How good does this look? !! If you don't think this is a showstopper, then I don't know what is 😝. Enjoy!!!

What is my Blog About

What is my Blog About

In a nutshell, the intention of this blog is to share recipes that I think are worth disclosing, some time management tips that I use to balance being a working mom and a homemaker, and snippets of activities I like doing with my kids and family. 

Anita's Circadian is about so many things including Birthday party planning,
Cooking and Baking, DIY activities and many more.

Firstly, I would like to address the name of my blog which people have come to me asking how to pronounce. The best way to do this is with a video so please click play below to understand further how to pronounce this and why I chose that name.

Click play above!

Ok so now that you know how to pronounce the name of my blog, let's get back to what it's about. As I mentioned before, I am always asked many questions. And it's not just about food. It's also about how do you get the time to do things? What are some things you do with your kids to keep them occupied (since they don't play video games, play with phones or watch nonstop videos and tv)? This is where I will answer these questions. 

At this point, I must make mention of one of my key blogging goals as well. It is not just to share recipes and ideas. I also want to impart some knowledge behind why we do what we do when cooking and baking; so that you can understand some of the science behind it. For each recipe I post, you will learn something; whether it's new or just reinforcing something you were already familiar with.

So far I have developed a few features and titles on my blog which I would like to share with you and their meanings.

• About Anita: This is where I will write posts pertaining to me specifically. This will include how I got into baking and cooking, what inspires me and many other things.

• Anita's Dictionary: I will include any words, ingredients or techniques that I think require defining. It can be found as a tab at the top of my blog and can be used as a reference anytime in the future. 

Just click on the "Anita's Dictionary" tab to access.

Some of my Approved Recipes

• Approved Recipes: Recipes that I have developed personally and have been approved by my family will be portrayed here. To a great extent, this will pertain to cooking since cooking is more open to changes and adjustments without leading to major kitchen disasters. You can't really spoil a recipe when you are cooking, and you can tweak it in such a way to please your family's taste buds. One of my favourite cooking personalities once said that "Recipes for cooking meals are just suggestions which you can adjust to suit your palates."   Another thing to note is that when it comes to baking, I want you all to become confident in baking from scratch! Some people tend to think that making things from scratch is territory that you cannot venture into because it's so hard, but I am here to let you know that it is not! It is very easy to do once you understand some of the basic concepts. 

Some of my Trialled Recipes

• Trialled Recipes: It's not a secret that I like to try new recipes and techniques. As such, this is where I will include recipes that are not mine but have been tried. It will show specific details of the steps inclusive of pictures!! This might be more helpful, especially with persons who are now trying out the cooking and baking thing.  Most recipes I include here would be baked goods since baking IS a science. You need particular ratios of fat to sweetener to liquids and to flour. If you go crazy and change things up too much it will affect the quality, taste, and texture of the baked goods. You need to follow the specific ratios. There are certain things that can be adjusted without having major negative effects, but, that usually comes with experience. 

• Cooking Tip: This will be about tips that I use which I think are important in the kitchen. I am all about making my prep time as short as possible and these tips help with that. 

• Holidays and Special Events: After having my kids I make an effort to do little things with them around the holiday times. In this section, I will include some things that I like to do with my family and friends,  which can give any reader some ideas for planning ahead for themselves. It is very important to interact with your little kids to ensure that they have these enjoyable memories to reminisce on when they are older. And you know what? This is actually where you can start traditions in your family to keep in the years to come. 

Approved Recipe: Best Chocolate Cake

How to make the Best Chocolate Cake

(with Frosting)

Chocolate Cake is a weakness of mine and has been passed down to my kids. I am very particular about the flavours and the level of moistness in a chocolate cake. Because of this, I have searched far and wide to get the best recipe that I could find to meet these requirements. And this is it!!! It's THE best! This is my go-to chocolate cake recipe, which is extremely easy to make and tastes even better when it's stored in the fridge. 

Rich, Moist and Delicious Chocolate Cake!

I grew up with a chocolate cake recipe that my neighbours used to make. It contained a vast amount of oil instead of butter, and the batter was very liquidy. After being baked, this cake was sooo rich! You would see elongated holes throughout the cake that were exceptionally moist. I have since lost this recipe and I still want to cry whenever I think about it 🙈. So my mission was to find something as close to it as I possibly can.

My 5 year old eats it without frosting
when I bake it in my Rectangular pan.
Look at the air pockets in that cake!
It's guarenteed fluffliness 

I have tried many, many recipes; some with butter only,  some with oil and butter, but this one was the one that stood out the most. It came quite close to the one that I grew up with, although still not as rich, but definitely better than the rest. I can't remember exactly where I came across it, but I have never forgotten what it entails. My 5 year old will make a request for it whenever she likes, and it can be whipped up in about half an hour since it does not include any creaming of butter, sugar and eggs. It cannot be over or under mixed and hence it cannot be spoilt!! It's foolproof! Just make sure everything is incorporated, and that you bake it at the right temperature.

The "Fancy" 2 - layer cake, covered in sprinkles,
Disclaimer: I am NOT a cake decorator! LOL.  I'm all about
the taste. And I like to include my 5 year old in the frosting
of the cake part, hence the rustic look. 

You can use this recipe to make a simple rectangular cake where you just cut slices as you like -  it's good just as it is, no frosting needed. But if you want to do a little fancy 2-layer cake, then this recipe works well too. I made a plain rectangular cake with frosting for Christmas to take to my in-laws last year. And boy was it a hit!! Some people commented saying that it was better than where they normally buy their chocolate cake. Imagine that!

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

1 cup boiling water

1 cup oil

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

3/4 cup cocoa powder

2 cups sugar
2 eggs

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

For the Frosting:

1 cup softened butter

4 cups powdered sugar

3/4 cups cocoa powder
Pinch of salt

2 teaspoons vanilla

1-2 tablespoons milk

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350˚F. 
• Butter your rectangular pan, or your two 9-inch circle pans. Place a piece of parchment paper inside the circle pans to ensure that your cake comes out in one piece. 
• Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl and set aside. Ever wondered why we add baking soda and baking powder? Take a look below.

Once for this recipe, I forgot to add the baking
powder and soda. The cake came out like
chocolate bread pudding! It tasted so good.

Difference between Baking Powder and Baking Soda. 

Both are leavening agents that react in different ways to produce carbon dioxide (CO2). The CO2 gas then allows baked products to rise, thus giving them that fluffy texture. 
Baking soda or sodium bicarbonate, is basically that one component. Once added to your ingredients that contain some sort of acid, the reaction to produce carbon dioxide starts immediately.  Baking Powder contains sodium bicarbonate AND 2 acid components. One reacts with the sodium bicarbonate when it's wet, while the other reacts when it is wet and hot. So as the batter bakes, it causes more leavening since the reaction progresses with the hot temperature in the oven. Wow- Flashback to Reaction Kinetics class in UWI! Speaking of chemical reactions here surely brings back some chemical engineering memories 🤭🤭.

• Place the boiling water in a measuring cup. Add cocoa powder and whisk, making sure all is dissolved. Place this mixture inside of your mixing bowl. 

• Add the oil and milk, and mix until combined. 

• Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. 

Always crack your eggs in a separate bowl, one
at a time. This helps when you get a bad egg,
or shells. I usually crack one and add to the mixer,
then crack the other while that one incorporates.

• Add the sugar and continue mixing for about 2 minutes. 
• Put the mixer on low and add all of the dry ingredients. Make sure it's on low to prevent the flour from flying everywhere. Stop the mixer, and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Continue mixing for a further 5 minutes. Take a look at the video below which shows the consistency of the batter at this point.

• Pour batter into your desired pan or pans. I really can't stress enough how liquid-y it's gonna be as you can tell in my video below.

• Bake for 30-35 minutes or until done. Test if it's done by placing a toothpick in the centre of the thickest part of the cake. If it comes out clean without any batter sticking to it then it's done!

This cake can be stored in an
airtight container in the fridge
for up to 7 days. It tastes great 
cold,  or you can warm it for 
10 seconds in the microwave.

• Let the cake cool completely if you are going to frost. If not, then go ahead and cut a slice while it's warm....Add some ice cream and you have just taken it to another level 🙌. This warm cake absorbing the melty ice cream is plain heaven!

Make the Frosting

• Whip the butter in a mixing bowl. 
• Mix the cocoa powder, salt and the powdered sugar in a separate bowl. 
• Put the mixer on low and add the powdered sugar/cocoa powder mixture in 1/2 cup increments, making sure it mixes through. Scrape down the sides whenever necessary.
• Add the vanilla and 1 tablespoon milk and mix well. If you like this consistency, then go ahead and frost your cooled cake with it. If you prefer it a little thinner, then add 1/2 tablespoon of milk; add 1/2 tablespoon more is desired.

Slice from my rectangle cake
with frosting 😋. Care to indulge?

• Rectangular cake- I usually just leave the cake in the pan and slather on the frosting. Any remaining frosting can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container.

• Fancy 2 layer cake- Remove the first cake from the pan and place on a wide enough plate. Spread about 1 cup of frosting. If this does not cover the whole top, then add a little more. Go right ahead, you can never have too much frosting right😉? Place the other cake gently on top of this layer. GENTLY, with no pressing at all. I like to use an offset spatula to frost the sides first, then the top. Next step is to cover with sprinkles or chocolates, or just leave it as is. 

Cut me a HUGE slice, please! 

Whenever we have this cake in the fridge, everyone in the house eats a slice a day!
Me included 😁

Holidays: Easter Activities with my Kids

Easter with my Kids

It's no secret that I have 2 toddlers; a 5 year old and a 16-month old. So for Easter I like to do fun things with them where we interact with each other and build great memories. To me you can do any little activities with your kid and it will have a huge impact on them. And you know what? It doesn't have to be expensive. The main thing here is doing it with your kids. You may be surprised at how appreciative they are of the little things.

One of my cute decorations this year.

Her first Easter Egg Hunt

When my older girl was 2, I started organizing an Easter basket for her with a few little goodies in it that she likes- a stuffed animal, some crafts, stickers. When she was 3, I decided to ask one of our friends to have a little Easter egg hunt together since it's always more fun with other kids. She loved this so much that last year she made us hide eggs for her over the entire Easter weekend just for fun 😂- not even with any fillers. When she was 4, I added on some Easter cookie baking and decorating. She loves sugar cookies! And eats about 4 in one day if given the chance. And you know what? I let her. Yes ....I let her eat as many as she likes because it's not everyday this happens😁. That year I baked all the cookies and made the frosting ...it was fun but I ended up with a million cookies! Way too much than I asked for.

Home made Easter-themed sugar cookies. Yes I know it looks very amateur but
the main thing here was all the fun we had. And it wasn't your typical sugar cookies.
It was chocolate sugar cookies! Who doesn't love chocolate right? !!

This year, I have another toddler on my hands to plan and prepare for. So what should I do? Well I definitely want to keep the traditions of the previous years alive...with some added on extras. 

Firstly, I bought some cool items to fill their Easter baskets with. Of course I was thinking I could just do one basket for them to share, but knowing my big daughter, it's best to do 2 separate ones; just in case someone doesn't want to share. In my experience, the first child grows up sharing a lot, but somehow when they get a sibling, that goes out the window at times.  Below I shared some of the Easter basket fillers which I give them on Easter Sunday morning.

Easter Basket for my 5 year old- Some lindt chocolates,  good old
peeps of course! Easter egg decorating crafts, a pen (she loves writing),
an Easter egg mitten for her to use in her pretend kitchen, some stickers
and a notepad.

Easter basket for my 16-month old: Bunny sun glasses, age-appropriate
flash cards, a cute unicorn stuffed animal, a pretend make-up set and
peeps of course! It will be her first time tasting peeps.

My lovely cookie decorating box. 

On Easter Saturday, it's all about baking and decorating cookies. This year I decided to order an Easter sugar cookie decorating kit which consists of 12 cookies, royal icing and Easter themed sprinkles. This is just the right amount for us; none gets wasted and my 5 year old loves decorating and eating them all. This year I'll give the little one a cookie as well, although  I'm sure she will end up wasting it 😆. I might do some gingerbread cookies on Saturday, IF I feel up to it. These have such a nice flavour with hints of molasses, ginger and other spices that are a pleasant change from the regular sugar cookies. 

She was super excited to get her hands on
these. Kept eating the sprinkles in between 😆.

This little one's job was to add the sprinkles.
She got  a little carried away with this for sure 😅

The finished product! I don't think we did that bad!

On Easter Sunday I like doing an Easter egg hunt. I buy lots of plastic Easter eggs which I fill with various trinkets. I'm not into too much chocolates. Instead, I look for little fillers that they can use. I got some race cars, some little animals and I still included some chocolates. This year I also thought it would be fun to include some extra actions inside some of the eggs. I expect it to be lots of fun for the little ones who will be here to enjoy. So wish me luck! 

Little animals that fit inside the eggs.
These were about $25 for a pack of 15. 

The kids will have to earn their eggs by performing some of
these actions! 

I came across these little signs to make the place look a little more fun.

These are just some of the things that I like to do. 

What are some fun things that you like to do with your family?

Approved Recipe: Hot Cross Buns

How to make Hot Cross Buns

Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of hot cross buns, but since Easter is right around the corner, I had to take up the opportunity to teach my girls about this delicious and simple Easter treat. This was my very first attempt so please don't be too harsh with scrutiny 😝! I added a few little extras to make it my own and now I'm hooked 😁 Hope you like!

Hot Cross Buns

Typically hot cross buns were baked and eaten on Good Friday, or at least that's what my mother told me. I have read that these buns carried the purpose of warding off evil spirits for the remainder of the year when made on this day. I also came across superstitious beliefs where the buns were believed to carry some sort of magical purpose. I am not too familiar with the actual reason for this, so please comment on my post if you know! I will greatly appreciate learning this 😊. 

I researched a few recipes, and developed this one to suit my tastes and style of baking, where I included orange zest and replaced the raisins with dried cranberries. The "cross" frosting was also changed to a delicious cream cheese version and I used a different glaze for the top of the buns before baking, but you can use an egg wash (1 egg mixed with 2 tablespoons milk) or milk alone. The egg wash will give a more glistening look.

Yield: 12 buns.

Ingredients:

For Frosting:

1/2 cup powdered sugar 
1 1/2 teaspoon liquid milk

1 tablespoon softened cream cheese (optional) 
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Buns: 

1/2 cup dried cranberries plus 1/2 cup boiling water
3 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup milk, plus 1/4 cup milk.
1/2 cup sugar, plus 1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 packet instant yeast - equivalent to approximately 2 1/4 teaspoons
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon orange zest 
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

For Brushing the Buns:
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon maple syrup

Method:

• Combine cranberries with 1/2 cup boiling water and let sit for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

• In a bowl or measuring cup, add 1/4 cup warm milk, 1/2 teaspoon sugar and yeast. Stir and let sit at until bubbly (about 10 minutes).

When the yeast is first added to the milk, it will look like 'A' in the pic above.  After being mixed, it will look froth as in 'B'

  

After 10 minutes, it will look all bubbly . 

Lessens Learnt from my Research: Some of the recipes I 
researched asked for the raisins to be added after the dough
was already kneaded. This was a huge mistake in my books
since it was a nightmare trying to mix in the cranberries so 
late in the recipe. I decided to include them with the dry
ingredients and it was much better and easier to combine. 

• In a large mixing bowl, add the remaining 1/2 cup of warm milk, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup melted butter, 1/2 tsp salt, cinnamon, orange zest and eggs.  Whisk until combined.  Stir in the yeast mixture.

• Using a wooden spoon or danish dough whisk,  add 1/2 cup flour and cranberries. Continue adding flour in 1/2 cup portions, stirring each time. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes. Form the dough in a ball and let rise for 90 minutes. 

After 90 minutes, the dough should have doubled in size. 

Note: You can use your Kitchen Aid mixer with the dough hook attachment to do the kneading for you. Just cover your dough right there in your bowl and let rise. 

Dough cut in half

• After the dough has risen, cut into 12 equal parts and form into balls. I do this by first cutting into halves, then cutting each half into 6 equal pieces using my bench-scrape.  Place the formed balls in a buttered 9 x 13 inch baking pan.  Cover and let rise for another 30 minutes.

Above shows one half of the dough that has been cut into 6 pieces. That's my bench scrape at the back- I just love using this. It is also handy for picking up chopped ingredients and adding to a pot. 

Instead of buttering my pan, I use my silicone baking mats which allow clean up to be a breeze! Nothing sticks to my pan and doesn't require any buttering or spraying with oil. 

Rolled buns on my Silicone baking mat.

• Preheat the oven to 350˚F.  Make the maple glaze by mixing the milk and the maple syrup together. This is a very unusual glaze but if you don't want to use eggs and still get that brown colour, it will work! Here's a secret-I actually didn't have any more  eggs and that's why I ended up using this 😅! Brush each bun and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan.

My very cheap squeeze bottle
which you can get in any
variety store.

• Once the buns are warm, whisk together all ingredients for the frosting. You can add more milk if you want it thinner, or more powdered sugar if you want it thicker or sweeter. Transfer frosting to a squeeze bottle and pipe a cross shape over each of the bun. You can do this with a ziploc bag; just cut off the corner tip when ready to pipe.

 Eating these warm is just divine! 

That cream cheese frosting is heavenly!!