Magic Custard Cake 魔术卡士垯蛋糕

This Magic Custard Cake has been very popular in the blogosphere recently and many bloggers have successfully made this 'wonder' cake. Why is it called magic cake, many people will ask? The answer is that with only one batter you can get to enjoy three different layers of cake. It has a soft sponge top, the middle layer is custard while the bottom is a dense layer of cake. This is my second attempt. The first attempt, I only managed to get two layers and not to be put off, I persevered and tried again.

I stumbled upon a video by Yellowsaffron which you can watch at the end of this post and I followed Anncoo's version of adding in some orange zest. I was so happy when, after trimming the sides of the cake, I saw three layers and I was on cloud nine!

Recipe for Magic Custard Cake

Ingredients

125 gm butter
500 ml milk
4 large eggs
1 Tbsp caster sugar
140 gm icing sugar
1 Tbsp water
120 gm plain flour
1 tsp vanilla
Zest from an orange
a pinch of salt
Snow powder or icing sugar for dusting

Method

Line an 8 inch square cake pan with parchment paper
Melt the butter, set aside.
Lightly warm the milk till lukewarm, set aside.
Sift flour with the salt.
Whisk egg yolks with the icing sugar till light. Mix in the melted butter and tablespoon of water until evenly incorporated.
Whisk in the flour, orange zest till well combined. Slowly add in the warm milk and vanilla, mix well. Stir with a ball whisk.
Whisk egg whites till foamy, add in the tablespoon of sugar, whisk till soft peaks form.
With a spatula, fold in the egg whites to the egg yolk mixture, a third at a time. Repeat till all the egg whites are incorporated. Do not deflate the egg whites.
Stir as you pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake in a preheated oven @ 160 deg.C for 60 mins. Test with a skewer till it comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool completely. Cover the cake and chill in the fridge, preferably overnight.
Dust the cake with snow powder or icing sugar before serving.