I was going to a meeting to scope out a non-profit organization as I
was thinking about joining their board of directors. The organization is called Craftworks and
they support people with disabilities by providing craft therapy. I wanted to bring a snack to the meeting, and
although I wanted to bring something yummy and interesting, I didn’t want to
scare people off with weird flavor combinations that seem to only appeal to
some people (e.g., chips in a rice crispy treat anyone?). I thought it was a good opportunity to try
making the Magic Cake that’s so very popular on the baking blogosphere these
days. Have you heard of this? You make one batter and it separates into 3
layers upon baking! Sounds awesome!
Check out the verdict at the end of the post!
Magic (custard) Cake
Adapted slightly from here.
Ingredients
½ cup unsalted butter
2 cups milk
4 eggs separated, brought to room temperature
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
150g icing sugar
1 Tablespoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or good quality vanilla extract)
1/8 teaspoon salt
115g flour
¼ cup toffee bits and finely chopped chocolate (optional)
Directions
1. Line an 8x8 inch baking pan with parchment
paper. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Melt butter in the microwave, and leave to cool.
3. Warm milk in a saucepan to lukewarm. Set aside.
4. Beat egg whites until a bit frothy. Add cream of tartar and beat until
stiff. Set aside.
5. Beat egg yolk and sugar until light. Add vanilla and salt and beat until mixed.
6. Add butter and water and beat for 2 minutes.
7. Add flour and mix until incorporated.
8. Pour in milk and whisk until smooth and
incorporated.
9. Fold in egg whites 1/3 at a time, using a
whisk. It will have some small lumps of
whites.
10.
Pour in prepared baking pan – it will be very
runny. Sprinkle toffee and chocolate on
top.
11.
Bake for 45-60 minutes or until the top is
golden and the middle is still a bit jiggly.
12.
Cool, then refrigerate until cold. Store in the
fridge.
 |
| Stiff egg whites. |
 |
| Yolks and sugar. |
 |
| After adding flour. |
 |
| After adding milk. |
 |
| After folding egg whites. |
 |
| Before and after baking. |
Verdict: The cake was pretty
cool looking with the 3 distinct layers – the top fluffy layer, the custard
middle, and the stiff bottom. But
honestly, this cake was a disappointment for me. Although the vanilla flavor was great and the
custard middle was smooth and creamy, the bottom layer was rubbery and
unappetizing. I thought that the toffee and chocolate would sink to the bottom
and make a nice crust like it did for other people who’ve tried it, but it
never happened and they really didn’t add anything in terms of flavor or
texture. Although I won’t be making this
cake again, most of the folks at the meeting seemed to like it, and so did the
boyfriend taste tester!
