A fudgey base. Soft custard center. Topped with fluffy sponge. Made with one simple batter. Magic Three Layer Custard Cake: It’s like, well ….MAGIC!
If you love vanilla sponge cakes and custard, you are going to be as obsessed with this cake as I am. It looks like it’s been carefully layered with three different components. But it’s not! You just pour one simple batter into a cake tin, pop in the oven, and this is how it comes out!!
There is no special ingredient nor any tricky technique. The batter is made pretty much like a traditional vanilla sponge cake, it is just much thinner. It’s the consistency of crepe batter. Almost like a thick pouring cream.
The magic happens in the oven. It is baked at a lower temperature than usual – 325F/160C. And when it comes out, the top layer is a sponge, the middle is custard and the bottom is almost like a fudge.
I was dubious the first time I made it, and even when I turned the cake out because you can’t see the layers on the edges. But then when I cut into it, I gasped with astonishment! I mean, look at how perfect the layers are!!
This recipe is the Magic Cake from Jo Cooks. I’ve been reading Jo Cooks for a long time, but it wasn’t until recently that I got to know Jo herself. Though actually, her real name is Ioana – a Romanian name, a beautiful one at that, and one of the first things I nagged her about was why she doesn’t go by her real name!
Jo and I have very similar tastes. We both love food that is absolutely scrumptious, we never compromise on flavour to follow trends or hacks (or diet versions!), we aren’t into the “cool food” scene and there are less salads on our blogs than there probably should be (though she has a lot more than me!!).
What I didn’t realise is that she is probably the reason the world discovered “Magic Cake“. She was very quick to make the point that it was not an original recipe. Perhaps she wasn’t the pioneer of it, but a search on Pinterest clearly shows that she is the reason that the world discovered it.
So I’m adding myself to the long line of people who have tried and been astonished by the miracle of this cake. 🙂
One simple batter.
A three layered custard cake.
It really is….like magic! 🙂
– Nagi
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Magic Three Layer Custard Cake (From One Batter)
Ingredients
- 4 eggs , yolks and whites separated (at room temperature)
- 3/4 cup (150g) sugar (ordinary or caster sugar)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 stick (4oz / 125g / 1/2 cup) unsalted butter , melted
- 3/4 cup (4oz / 115g) plain all purpose flour
- 2 cups (500 ml / 1 pint) milk (lukewarm) (full fat or low fat but not zero fat)
To Serve (optional)
- Icing sugar (powdered sugar), for dusting
- Fresh strawberries
- Whipped cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F/160C (standard oven / fan forced or convection)
- Butter a 8" x 8" / 20cm x 20cm square cake tin (Note 4).
- Beat egg whites with a mixer until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
- Place the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and beat until it turns pale yellow - about 1 minute.
- Add the vanilla extract and butter and beat until well incorporated - about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Add the flour and beat until just combined.
- Pour the milk in slowly while beating, and beat until well combined (or if using a hand held mixer, add 1/4 milk at a time, beating in between).
- Use a spatula to fold in the egg whites in the batter, one third at a time, until just incorporated. You don't want to knock the air out of the egg whites. Don't worry if there are a few egg white lumps in the batter. The batter should be very thin, almost like a thick pouring cream.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin.
Baking Directions
- Bake until the top is golden brown and the cake does not "jiggle" when you gently shake the tin - around 40 to 50 minutes. Check the cake at 30 minutes - if the top is already golden brown but the cake is not yet set (i.e. it jiggles), cover loosely with foil and return to the oven, 10 minutes at a time, until set.
- Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack.(Note 3) Cool completely before serving.
To Serve
- Cut into squares - I cut it into 12 in the photo, but 9 is more realistic serving size portions.
- Dust with icing sugar just before serving.
- Serve with a side of whipped cream and strawberries, if using.
Recipe Notes:
a) The cake is ready when the top is golden brown and the cake doesn't "jiggle" when you gently shake the pan. If it jiggles, there is still raw batter inside.
b) I found that 4 of the 5 times I made it, the top became golden brown before the cake was set.
c) So to get the bake time right, check it first at 30 minutes. If the top is golden brown, cover loosely with foil and return to the oven until the cake is set. Check every 10 minutes - any longer, and you'll risk the cake overcooking. 3. Tor get the cake out of the tin, just turn it out like a normal cake. The custard is set, it is not like super soft jelly. What I do is place a cutting board on top of the tin, flip it upside down (it slips right out) then place a cooling rack on top then flip it again (so you end up with the right side up on the cooling rack). 4. I myself have not tried this in a glass pan but readers have - if you scroll through the comments, you will find feedback from a reader on 3 February 2017 confirming this! 5. Nutrition assuming 1 cake is cut into 9 pieces. Note that I cut the cake into 16 pieces for the photo but that is far too small!
SaveSaveNutrition Information:
My goodness, the cake looks beautiful! Hard to believe that to make such a beautiful cake, only one type of batter was used. Sadly I don’t have a 8×8 square cake pan. Can I use other round cake pans? Any suggestions on the size? Thanks! 😀
Hi Carmen! This is a miracle cake, that’s for sure! A 8 x 8 cake pan has the same surface area as a 9 inch diameter round cake pan. If you use one as close as possible to this size then it will work fine! 🙂
So excited to make this cake, but was a total failure. Was in oven just over an hour and the top was solid, but was mush inside and solid on the bottom. Had a feeling was not going to turn out right as he batter was almost like soup. Double checked ingredients and had everything weighed to recipe. Will
try again soon.
Hi Nancy! I’m so sorry it didn’t work for you. The batter IS supposed to be watery, but like a crepe batter, not like a watery soup. Also, did you use a metal tin, not a glass one? And the right size? That also makes a difference. Wish I could be in your kitchen to help troubleshoot! N x 🙂
Thanks Nagi. I used a metal square 8inch tin. I also used “butter” butter, maybe I should have used canola spread instead. Anyway will have another try soon and will let you know the result.
made the cake, followed all instructions…. Have new stove, kitchen Aid beat the egg whites stiff. Poured it into greased 8×8 metal pan, 50 minutes later it started to poof up on one corner so I took it out, tried to flip it out to cool on my rack. It was a disaster… Tastes good. Very good, but looks awful?! I am so disappointed. Followed recipe to a T….
Hi Jenny! I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you. If one corner started to poof up it sounds like the heating in your oven is not distributed evenly? Do you have a fan forced oven? Glad it tasted yum though!
Hi,thank you for sharing your experience, your cake looks perfect! 🙂
actually I tried the recipe today and the result wasn’t quite the same 🙁 I don’t know what went wrong, after 50 minutes in the oven, my cake was still very light in color and I had to bake it for about 30! more minutes, though even then it didn’t look as brown as yours. any way the real problem was that when I tried to get it out of the pan, the bottom layer stuck to the pan :(( and the whole thing fell apart, everything tasted quite delicious, separately though 😛 and the middle layer wasn’t firm as it looks like in your photos…so what do you think the problem might be? should I’ve baked it even longer ?
(I baked it on the middle rack of the oven, and in a Pyrex dish that was only buttered )
Sorry for blabbering so much, it’s just I wanna make it right the other time ! 🙂
Oh dear! It sounds like something went terribly wrong. 🙁 I suspect the Pyrex dish affected it because they take longer to heat up than metal pans which is what I used. And the bottom layer sticking would occur because it was in the oven for so much longer than it needed to be.
Don’t apologise about blabbering! 🙂 Do you have a metal cake pan? Pyrex glass dishes aren’t typically used for baking cakes because it affects the baking time. 🙂
Thank you so much for being so kind and responsive, I don’t have a metal square pan,but I’m gonna get one and give this another try… thanks again 🙂 🙂
Yum! Can you freeze it?
Hi Bec! Sorry, I haven’t tried! I am not convinced it would work though because of the custard 🙂
Hi Nagi,
I have a question, I am so excited to make this cake it looks and sounds delish!! Although I am interested in also doing the chocolate version as well, is it possible to put one of these magic cakes on top of another to do the whole chocolate and vanilla theme?
Hi Summer! Do you mean making 2 separate cakes and then stacking them on top of each other? If so, then yes, certainly! The cake is not super fragile so they will stand fine with one on top of the other 🙂 Will you sandwich anything between them?! N x
I loved this receipe, however I live at almost 9000 feet, and it took 90 minutes cooking time to finish cooking. Any suggestions to shorten the time?
OH MY GOSH! I’m floored – I actually had no idea that altitude could affect the baking time so much! I will do some research and get back to you. BUT I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! 🙂
This looks fantastic! However, I am trying to bake it in a 6 inches round cake tin; any idea how much of the reduction on the recipe I should make? Thank you so much!
Hi Angela! I just did the maths (I know, I know, I’m SUCH a nerd!) and it will work best if you reduce it by 1/3 but even around 1/4 will work too.
To make your life easier, I would make the full batch but then just do not pour around 1/3 of it into your cake tin. OR even better, pour the leftovers into a well battered ramekin and make a mini one with the leftover batter! 🙂
Thank you so much for your reply! I actually made a full batch and pour it about 3/4 way into my 6 inch round cake tin and the cake came out with only two layers with the top only just a bit browned and the rest of it were just pudding-ish. But it was indeed delicious and I would definitely try it again. (btw, did I pour too much of the batter into the cake tin? Should I have only poured in about half way so get the three layers)
Hi Angel! Round cake tins are taller than square cake tins so it does sound like you poured too much in. It should only be about 1.5″ / 3cm deep in the cake tin, then the cake part on top rises. It is a bit hard to give exact directions because I haven’t tried it but I will try it next time I make it an update the instructions! 🙂
Hi,
I would like to try out this recipe right after I read it. However I have a few questions, can I use cake flour to replace the all purpose flour? Can I put the cake in the fridge? Would the refrigerator dehydrate the cake? How many days can I keep??
Hi Kiu! Yes, cake flour works, I used it for one of the batches I made. It can be put in the fridge but make sure it is covered so it doesn’t dry out, and bring it to room temperature before serving. It will last around 3 to 4 days in the fridge – after that, the custard is fine but I found the sponge was starting to dry out. 🙂
Nagi I am drooling all over this cake!! I like everything this cake has to offer now all I need is a quick grocery run and I can have this at home!! Yohoo and thanks for such a delicious recipe!
Hi Ami! This really is incredible, and all credit goes to Jo from Jo Cooks for introducing this to me 🙂 I hope you love it! N x
As a lover of anything Vanilla, I’m definitely going to try this tonight! Thank you Nagi, I love your blog!
As a lover of anything Vanilla, I’m definitely trying this recipe tonight! It looks amazing, thanks so much Nagi! I love your blog!
Thank you so much Sonne!! I appreciate your kind words. I hope you enjoy this!! It really is magical!! N x
I am probably the only unlucky one that didn’t get the expected results. Maybe I got impatient, maybe my oven is super wonky but my cake was in the oven for almost 70 minutes and every time I opened the oven I saw smoke so I was afraid it was going to burn! I took it out and flipped it over and the whole thing fell apart completely. It smells incredible and the top was very yummy ( I didn’t eat the raw custard, just picked a bit from the top which was past the golden brown and into the unhealthy salon tan brown) but I’ll have to chalk it up as a complete failure. I am not discouraged however, I will DEFINITELY try it again as soon as I have more eggs (and I’ve cried the disappointment off) Thank you for such a wonderful recipe.
Oh no! I am so sorry to hear that. Something must’ve gone really wrong – smoke?? This definitely should not smoke, there is no fat in it like with meats that can cause smoking. Maybe you had some fat from something else you baked left in the oven? That would explain the smoking and it has happened to me before! Sorry again to hear of your kitchen problems – believe me, I feel your pain, I have my share of disasters!! 🙂
It looks fantastic!
I really appreciate the fact you’ve given amounts for different measurement systems. I was wondering if it would work in a ring mould? what do you think?
Hi Lee! You know, as I was falling asleep last night, my last thought was wondering whether it would work in cupcake form!! I am sorry, I don’t know but I will ask the creator of this recipe. My concern would be that the bundt cake will bake faster and so it might not have enough time in the oven. 🙂 I’ll get back to you when I hear back from Jo!
how did you get the cake out of the pan? I’m gonna try to make this tonight but I would be afraid to turn the pan over like you normally do to remove a cake.
Hi Lindsey! Yep, you just turn it out like a normal cake. The custard is set, it is not like super soft jelly. What I do is place a cutting board on top of the tin, flip it upside down (it slips right out) then place a cooling tray on top then flip it again. 🙂 I should put these tips in the recipe, thanks for the question!
N O W A Y!! That is incredible – and looks delicious
It’s AMAZING!! Seriously The custard is so good, it tastes like the custard you get in egg tarts. Not too sweet. 🙂 Just how I like it!
This is so crazy cool, love it. I think I’ll add cocoa – because, well just because. Ha!
Ooh, pop over to Jo’s site to get the chocolate recipe!! I can’t wait to try it 🙂
OK! I have an experiment in the oven right now…trying to make this with coconut flour and dairy-free so that the whole family can eat it! Will let you know how I get on 😉
Oh my gosh, I am totally curious to hear how that turns out!! 🙂
One of the absolutely favourites on my repertoire! It reminds me so much a Hungarian Kremes, a recipe that my mother used to make.
Oh! I’ve never heard of that cake! I’m off to do some research 🙂
I made a blood orange version – it’s the bomb! So magical and delicious.
A blood orange version? MUST check it out!!
I love custard! Adding this to the list. Knowing me I might man-handle this, my last sponge was very dense. Any tips on how to be more gentle with it?
Hi Curious Charlie! The only thing to be sure about is to FOLD the egg whites into the batter, not stir vigorously 🙂 It takes a couple of minutes, but that’s the tip to a fluffy sponge and light custard!! (PS Trust me, I’m about as heavy handed as you can get, it’s the reason why I don’t share many delicate baked foods on my blog 🙂 )
I’ve seen a version of this on facebook and wondered if it actually works. Clearly it does and it looks magnificent. I LOVE custard.