Purple & Gold Surprise Cake

It is actually called Chocolate Flan cake – a combination of chocolate cake and flan but as a tribute to my favorite NBA team, the LA Lakers, I renamed it Purple N Gold Surprise Cake. And it is called surprise cake because somehow you’ll be surprised at how it looks once you flip the cake on a serving plate. I had to do something of course to the chocolate color and turn it to purple while making the flan color much deeper to turn it to gold. If you’re not a Lakers fan, you need not do anything but follow the recipe and if you are, but don’t have time for those extra steps, then just proceed. Anybody can just give a shout if you want the “food color” step. Other people buy the boxed chocolate mix to save time but I always want my cakes from scratch so I can control the sugar content.

Here's my recipe. (you can use the bundt cake pan for a nicer mold but i used the rectangular pan, again-because it serves more people:-)

For the caramel topping 
Ingredients:

1 ½ cup sugar

½ cup water

1 tbsp lemon juice (optional)

Directions:

In a heavy metal saucepot combine the sugar, water, and lemon juice. Over high heat cook the sugar to a deep caramel color and pour out into your baking pan which should be pre-sprayed with a flour-added cooking spray, turning around the perimeter so as to cover the sides and bottom of the pan. Set aside to cool completely while you make the cake.

For the chocolate cake

Ingredients:

2 eggs

½ cup warm water

1 ½ cups sugar

2 cups sifted cake flour

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

½ tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

2/3 cup shortening

1 teaspoon vanilla

2/3 cup milk

¼ teaspoon salt

Directions:

Mix flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda . Add eggs, shortening, vanilla, water and milk; beat on low speed for 3 minutes. Pour on the pan with the cooled caramel topping

   

For the flan

Ingredients:

14 ounces sweetened condensed milk

12 ounces evaporated milk

½ cup milk

8 ounces cream cheese — softened

1 tsp vanilla

5 eggs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Pour the cake batter into the cake pan over the caramel topping.

 Here's my recipe. (you can use the bundt cake pan for a nicer mold but i used the rectangular pan, again-because it serves more people:-)

For the caramel topping 
Ingredients:

1 ½ cup sugar

½ cup water

1 tbsp lemon juice (optional)

Directions:

In a heavy metal saucepot combine the sugar, water, and lemon juice. Over high heat cook the sugar to a deep caramel color and pour out into your baking pan which should be pre-sprayed with a flour-added cooking spray, turning around the perimeter so as to cover the sides and bottom of the pan. Set aside to cool completely while you make the cake.

For the chocolate cake

Ingredients:

2 eggs

½ cup warm water

1 ½ cups sugar

2 cups sifted cake flour

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

½ tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

2/3 cup shortening

1 teaspoon vanilla

2/3 cup milk

¼ teaspoon salt

Directions:

Mix flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda . Add eggs, shortening, vanilla, water and milk; beat on low speed for 3 minutes. Pour on the pan with the cooled caramel topping

 For the flan

Ingredients:

14 ounces sweetened condensed milk

12 ounces evaporated milk

½ cup milk

8 ounces cream cheese — softened

1 tsp vanilla

5 eggs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Pour the cake batter into the cake pan over the caramel topping.

Directions:

Pour condensed, evaporated and fresh milks into a blender.

Add softened cream cheese, vanilla and eggs and blend or process until smooth.

Pour the flan mixture very slowly over the cake batter.

Spray a sheet of aluminum foil with cooking spray and cover the pan TIGHTLY with the foil. Covering tightly is very important.

Set the pan into a large pan and set on the oven rack and slide in.

Carefully pour hot water into the larger pan to a depth of 2 inches. The pan should be sitting on 2 inches of water.

After two hours, remove cake from water and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

Peel off the aluminum foil. Invert cake onto a large plate with rim.

The caramel topping should flow down the sides.

Cool completely then refrigerate.