I remember hearing in management meetings at one job that men generally need to hear the same thing three times from other men and an amazing seven times from women. While I do not know if this is strictly true, I came across the recipe in this post three times before making it finally; however, the sources were both women and men – for whatever that is worth in this equation.
First, I watched Rick Bayless prepare ChocoFlan a couple of years ago on Mexico One Plate at a Time. I always enjoyed going to his restaurants, the first few years they were open in Chicago, when I still lived there. I never met him or even recall seeing him at Frontera Grill or Topolobambo, but I made sure to watch his television program whenever I can, as he is intelligent, funny, and unsurpassed by any chef specializing in the many diverse regional cuisines of Mexico. (When I wrote that, I was wondering if people might think, “Tostados, burritos, tacos, enchiladas, salsa, and guacamole – are those the diverse regional cuisines?” Or, “Is chimichanga a region?” Of course, I quickly realized that you, my dear sophisticated readers, would never think that!!).
I saw the episode in July, 2008, when I looked up the recipe and saved it electronically for the day I would need a magical-preso-reverso-chocolate-cake-and-flan for a party. So then I noticed the mini version on Krissy and Daniel’s fun site, The Food Addicts, and then I thought, the time is nearing when I will now make a smallish version of the cake. I checked out their original source from The Food Network, Marcela Valladolid.
After my recent foray into the Bundt-baking world, I remembered my mini-Bundt pans I had bought for a Dorie Greenspan recipe I have yet to make. So I looked up the recipe source Krissy and Daniel featured a week later (the third step) and decided to use most of Rick’s instead, given they were virtually identical and Rick’s descriptions were more detailed. However, I did use Marcela’s flan ingredients (one less egg but four ounces of cream cheese, in order to use up the latter, sitting around in the fridge!).
I adapted it by adding cinnamon and cayenne to make it into a “Mexican Hot Chocolate” version. This adaptation I decided to do for a Moroccan-Indian dinner party, as the cayenne and cinnamon complemented spices in the dishes the hostess was preparing. I suggest trying my version, if you like a more lively cake – remember my “2 x C3” Cocoa-Cayenne Cupcakes with Citrus Cream Cheese frosting?
More on the fun of the Flan-Cake – and the Recipe
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