Its Valentine’s Day, and therefore pretty mandatory to overeat in the chocolate department. If you’re still not sure what you want to make, change things up by combining two delicious desserts to make the perfect couple! I recently saw a recipe for a brownie flan combo on Sabores‘ Facebook page, and decided I had to make it immediately. I made some changes to it (adding a touch of orange and vanilla flavor), and it was husband-approved! Well… husband, friends, co-workers, and sister- approved to be exact. It is very easy to make and looks, smells, and tastes amazing!

Also, check out my feed on instagram @paosaysopenwide . I post pictures almost daily of what I’m cooking up in the kitchen or getting to eat around DC!

Brownie Flan

Ingredients:

1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate (chop a good bar of bittersweet chocolate, or use bittersweet chocolate chips)

11 tbsp butter

7 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup flour

1/4 cup cocoa

1 tsp baking powder

1 3/4 cup milk

1 can condensed milk (about 1 cup)

1 bar cream cheese (8 oz) room temp

zest of 1 orange

pinch of salt

1.5 tbsp orange liqueur (ie. Grand Marnier)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking powder

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 deg F.

For the brownie layer, melt the butter and chocolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, so as not to burn the chocolate. In a separate bowl, beat 3 eggs with the sugar and 1/2 tsp of vanilla until the mixture begins to pale and get frothy- 3 minutes or so. After the chocolate and butter mixture has cooled a bit, add it in by tempering. This means mixing it in little by little so that the heat from the butter and chocolate doesn’t scramble your eggs! Add in the Orange liqueur.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, and salt. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in 2-3 parts (so you don’t get flour all over you and you are able to mix the batter uniformly). Pour the batter into a greased bundt/flan pan. Mine is from Williams Sonoma- a good pan can really elevate this dessert to the next level!

For the flan, mix together the milk, 4 eggs, cream cheese, condensed milk, and orange zest. Pour the batter into the pan, over the brownie mix, and cover with aluminum foil.

Place the bundt pan in a large cake or roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the pan to come up about an inch on the bundt pan. Bake for 90 minutes. Let the brownie flan cool to room temp, then careful flip the dessert onto a serving dish. I topped mine with a bit of chocolate ganache (semi seeet chocolate melted with a touch of heavy cream). Cool in the refrigerator and serve cold. I take mine with a tall glass of milk 😉

Happy Valentine’s Day!