Fluffy-moist-chiffon-cake-topped-with-a-layer-of-creme-caramel

Leche flan cake is a combination of two delicious desserts — it’s literally a cake with leche flan on top, plus caramel dripping down the sides. So good! And it looks stunning and impressive with its two layers but surprisingly easy to make. Let me show you how with lots of tips, FAQs and step-by-step photos.

(Here’s my reader-favorite creamy leche flan recipe if you’re looking to make just the flan and here’s my recipe for leche flan cupcakes if you’d like to mix things up!)

Leche flan is a traditional Filipino dessert made of eggs, evaporated milk and condensed milk.

As if often the case with a lot of Filipino dishes, leche flan can trace its origins to Spain, though the recipe is also very close to French creme caramel.

Leche flan cake, on the other hand, is very similar to custard cake — it has a base of a vanilla chiffon cake or sponge cake and a creamy flan or custard layer on top.

It’s become a favorite among Filipinos and you would often see it served during special occasions like birthdays, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Thanksgiving and more.

Let’s get to it.

Why you’ll love this Filipino flan cake

While there are many variations to the custard cake, you’ll love this Filipino-style recipe because:

• It’s similar to making leche flan. So if you’re already a master leche flan maker, making this cake will be a breeze. If not, it’s still easier to make than you think!
• It’s baked in one pan. And even though it has two distinct layers, the cake is baked in one pan at the same time.
• You can make it ahead. Plus, you can make it up to 2 days ahead of when you’re serving it. Bonus: the longer it’s chilled, the creamier the cake layer gets, giving it texture close to cheesecake!
• It always comes out fabulous. I thought this would be one of the more challenging cakes to make but I was wrong. It’s easy, always comes out pretty, and everybody loves it! It will make you nostalgic for the Goldilocks and Red Ribbon cakes of our childhood.

How to make

Leche flan cake has two layers but they are baked in one pan and at the same time.

Magic happens in the oven, similar to how this magic custard cake separates into 3 layers.

Leche flan cake ingredients

To make this easy leche flan cake recipe, you’ll need pantry staples like sugar, eggs, all-purpose flour, baking powder, vanilla and salt. A few thing to note:

• Condensed milk — use full-fat sweetened condensed milk for best results.
• Evaporated milk — leche flan is traditionally made with evaporated milk because it’s richer and creamier than regular milk. You can substitute with regular milk but you’ll need to make it more concentrated first.
• Milk — this recipe also uses regular milk. I usually use 2% skim.
• Oil — you’ll want to use a bland, flavorless oil. I use canola oil because that’s what we use for cooking. Vegetable oil is a good one to use, too.
• Cream of tartar — we use cream of tartar to help achieve stiff peaks for our cake. Check out these substitutes for cream of tartar if you’ve run out.

Baking tools

Leche flan is usually baked in a llanera but for leche flan cake, you’ll want to use a deep pan to show off the cake’s layers.

I like using 2 6×3 inch round pans. You can also use 2 8×2 inch round pans but note that the layers will be thinner.

I’ve never used a 9×13 inch rectangular pan because I think the layers will be too thin, but mostly because we don’t own a cake platter big enough to invert the cake onto.

I also use an electric mixer for the cake batter and the meringue mixture.

Step-by-step photos

To make the caramel syrup, place sugar and water in a sauce pan and cook on medium heat. Swirl — don’t stir — the mixture around a few times so the sugar doesn’t burn.

Cook until the mixture turns a nice golden brown.

Transfer to your preferred pans (see FAQs) and swirl to ensure the caramel evenly coats the bottom. Set aside. Note that you need to move fast — but carefully — because the caramel will harden quickly.

Preheat your oven to 350F. In a large mixing bowl, combine all flan ingredients – eggs, condensed milk, evaporated milk, vanilla extract and salt.

Whisk until well blended and set aside.

In another large bowl, cream egg yolks and sugar.

Mix until light and fluffy.

Add oil, milk and vanilla extract.

Whisk until combined.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt directly into your egg yolk mixture.

Stir just until combined. Set aside.

In a medium bowl using a handheld electric mixer or using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk egg whites and cream of tartar…

…until foamy.

Add sugar gradually.

And continue whisking until you reach stiff peaks.

Add a dollop of meringue into your egg yolk mixture.

Gently fold to lighten the batter.

Add the rest of the meringue…

…and fold until well blended.

Strain the leche flan mixture to your prepared pans.

Then pour the sponge cake batter over the flan. Do not over-fill pan.

Place a roasting pan or baking pan in the oven and pour hot water to fill it halfway.

Place your cake pans in the water bath and bake for 30-35 minutes (depending on your pan) or until a tester comes out clean and the edges of your cake start to pull away from the pan.

What is the difference between a chiffon cake and a sponge cake?

Chiffon cake is a type of sponge cake that is characterized by its light and soft texture. Unlike traditional sponge cakes, which are made with or without butter, chiffon cakes are always made with oil. This gives them a tender, moist crumb and makes them lighter and more delicate than other types of cake.

Why is my chiffon cake not fluffy?

However, if the egg whites are not whipped up enough, let's say you stopped whipping at the soft-peak stage, there isn't enough air trapped in the egg whites, your chiffon cake won't rise tall enough to be airy and fluffy.

How do you keep a chiffon cake from deflating?

Second, the cake can shrink and deflate if not completely cooled immediately after baking. Chiffon cake needs to be cooled quickly while upside down to keep its volume.

What are chiffon cakes always baked in _____?

Angel food and chiffon cakes should always be baked in greased pans.