Carefully, feel the outside of the saucepan with the chocolate mixture. If it’s not so hot that it will cook the eggs, slowly, add the chocolate mixture to the egg mixture. Whisk or beat until everything is well incorporated.

Pour the resulting mixture into your prepared casserole.

Set your casserole inside the larger baking pan.

Run water as hot as you can get from your tap, and fill a large measuring cup with a spout.

Pour hot water from the measuring cup inside the larger pan. Keep pouring until the water level reaches halfway up the sides of the casserole holding your flan.

Loosely cover your flan with foil and poke a few holes in the foil to let steam escape as it’s baking.

Carry both pans to the oven and put them inside to bake.

Bake your flan at 350 degrees F. for 50 to 70 minutes, or until the blade of a table knife inserted one inch from the center of the flan comes out clean.

Hannah’s 3rd Note: If your knife has liquid residue sticking to it when you remove it, your flan is not fully baked. Give it another 5 minutes in the oven, wash and dry your table knife in the meantime, and test it again.

When your table knife comes out clean, use oven potholders to take both pans out of the oven together and set them on a cold stovetop burner.

Use potholders or oven mitts to lift out the inner casserole with your flan and place it on a second cold burner or on a wire rack. Use potholders or oven mitts to dump out the water in the outer pan and set it aside to cool.

Set your timer for 20 minutes.

When your Chocolate Caramel Flan has cooled for 20 minutes, cover the top of the flan casserole with plastic wrap. Refrigerate your flan in the casserole for at least 4 hours, or until it’s time to serve dessert. Overnight is fine too, if you want to make it the day before you plan to serve it.

To serve, run a table knife around the inside rim of your flan to loosen it slightly. Turn it out in a flat bowl or onto a plate with a deep lip. Then make the Caramel Whipped Cream.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix the cup of whipping cream and the 5 Tablespoons of caramel ice cream topping together.

Gradually, increase the speed of the mixer to MEDIUM-HIGH and beat until the resulting mixture will hold a soft peak. (Test for soft peaks by shutting off the mixer and dipping the flat blade of a rubber spatula into the whipped cream and pulling it up quickly. If it forms a peak, but the tip droops slightly, you have achieved soft peaks.)

“Frost” your flan with the Caramel Whipped Cream. People will ooh and ahh when you cut slices, place them in dessert dishes and serve it.