Ube Flan Cake

I first tried an Ube Flan Cake at Kamayan, a Filipino restaurant in Atlanta. It was delicious so I wanted to try to make it myself. When I had it at the restaurant, it was made in a bundt pan. For this recipe, it uses a 9 inch pan. I might try making this cake next time with a different chiffon cake flavor such as coffee. 

Here is what I did:

1. Made the caramel by directing heating 3 tbsn sugar in the 9 inch pan. Recipe called for doing this at low heat but this was taking a long time. My husband helped me do this on high hear and it quickly carmelized. Make sure to quickly swirl the sugar so it’s spread across the pan. Let it cool completely.

2. Made flan layer by combining 6 egg yolks, can evaporated milk, can condensed milk and gently mixed. Poured on top caramel in 9 inch pan.

3. Made ube chiffon. Beat 3 egg yolks + ¼ cup sugar. Then added oil, milk, and ube extract. Made flour mixture and combined with yolks. Will be thick. Whipped up egg whites with cream tartar and 1/4 c sugar. Gently folded in with the ube/flour mixture.  

4. Placed 9 inch pan in slightly larger 10 inch tart pan. Then poured ube batter very gently in 9 inch pan on top of flan layer. It seemed like the flan layer was shaking a little so I wasn’t sure that the flan and ube chiffon layers would remain separated, but they did.

5. Filled the tart pan with water, up to half way up the 9 inch pan.  

6. Baked 55 min. Next time want to bake 50 min. Let it cool and then stored in fridge.

7. Loosened next day with a knife around the edges and flipped onto plate

 

Ube Flan Cake (~from womanscribbles.com)

 

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CARAMEL LAYER

3 tbsp sugar

FOR THE CUSTARD/ FLAN LAYER

354 ml can evaporated milk

300 ml can condensed milk

6 egg yolks

FOR THE UBE CHIFFON CAKE LAYER

3 egg yolks, from large eggs

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup canola oil

2 tsp liquid ube flavoring

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

3 egg whites, from large eggs

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 cup sugar

 

INSTRUCTIONS

MAKE THE CARAMEL LAYER

Sprinkle the sugar on a 9-inch round baking pan. Set the baking pan over low heat on the stove and allow the sugar to melt. Use tongs to swirl the pan around to distribute the melting sugar. The melted sugar will slowly turn from a clear color to a golden one. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the pan to cool.

 

MAKE THE FLAN LAYER

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a mixing bowl, add the egg yolks, evaporated milk, and condensed milk. Gently stir the mixture until the yolks are dispersed and the mixture is uniform in color. Strain the custard over a strainer. Pour it over the cooled caramel mixture in the pan.

 

MAKE THE UBE CHIFFON CAKE LAYER

In a large mixing bowl, beat together yolks and sugar, until the color is lighter and the mixture is bubbly. Add the milk, oil, and the ube flavoring. Stir well.

Combine flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl. Gradually sift the dry mixture over the yolk batter. Use a hand whisk to beat the mixture after each addition until it is lump-free and smooth. This is a thick batter. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or use an electric hand mixer), beat the egg whites until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1/4 cup of sugar and continue to beat until the egg whites form stiff peaks.

Using a rubber spatula, fold about 1/4 cup of the beaten egg whites to the yolk batter to slightly thin it down. Fold the remaining egg whites gradually in three additions, until the mixture is streak-free and uniform in color.

The water bath set up: Set the prepared round pan inside a bigger, rimmed pan.

Pour and scrape the cake batter over the flan layer in the round pan. The pan will be almost full. Gently pour some water in the larger pan so that the round pan is submerged about half way in.

Bake the assembled ube flan at 350 F for 60-70 minutes (baked 55 min. Might try 50 min next time), or until the cake is set and springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean.

Allow the cake to cool. To unmold, gently run a knife along the edges of the pan. Turn the cake over gently on a rimmed serving plate and gently tap the bottom of the pan to release the cake.

 

NOTES

·        The cake is done when the chiffon is springy to the touch. Insert a toothpick at the center, and if comes clean, the cakes is ready.

·        If in case the flan is still a bit jiggly after turning over, do not worry, the residual heat will cook and set the flan. So, it is important to allow the dessert to cool completely and even chill it in the fridge for about an hour or two. The flan will set completely as it cools.