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by Todd + Diane
When I saw a magic custard cake recipe on Pinterest two weeks ago, I was floored. I mean, it left me in a state of delicious shock that something so simple could create an incredible piece of dessert.
What is Magic Custard Cake?
Magic custard cake it truly a magical piece of cake. This dessert is to not too sweet (which I love the most) and is loaded with a wonderful middle layer that’s soft and custard-like. This cake is soft, pillow-y and melt-in-your-mouth wonderful. The delicate top layer of cake and bottom crust is what holds the custard layer together. It looked so easy and like magic, it separated into three layers. It’s cake layer on top, an egg-flavored custard layer in the middle and another dense custardlayer on the bottom.
For two weeks, my obsession grew for this cake and I stalked the internet for what ever info I could find, which wasn’t much. I wanted to call this a Magic Custard Cake Recipe. After a search on Google, I realized that there were many variations of this classic “Magic Custard Pie” already being shared from kitchen to kitchen.I inhaled my first two slices in one sitting. And this is coming from someone who is usually one and done with sweets. (Salty stuff is a whole ‘nother story.)
Watch Video: How to Make Magic Custard Cake:
Be still my heart, I love this magic custard cake so much. Please make it and tell me what you think and let’s discuss in the comments below.
love,
diane
Magic Custard Cake Recipe
Yield: 9 Servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes mins
Cook Time: 1 hour hr
Total Time: 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins
Temperatures for the ingredients are important here. Not too warm to cook the eggs before baking, and not cold either. You can use either confectioner's sugar or regular sugar, use the same amount by weight but the volume will be different. If you use regular sugar, 150g will equal 3/4 cup.
A few more notes on making the cake: When adding the milk, we found it easier and less messy to gently hand whip them in instead of using the stand mixer. It is a very liquidy batter, and for us it splattered everywhere even at the slowest speed. For folding in the whites, it is done with more of a gentle whisk/folding motion with the whisk since the batter is so runny. The whites will look a little curd like after mixing them in, just try to mix/fold them to the point where there is no big chunks. Because of the custard-like center, when fully baked, there will be a bit of a jiggle, but not a sloppy jiggle to the cake when gently shook. Same after it has cooled. That's about it. Have fun and every time we've made the magic custard cakes, going into the oven we don't think they will work correctly, and after baking they are magically perfect. Makesone 8"x8" Cake.
4.71 from 117 votes
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Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted Butter
- 2 cups (480ml) Milk
- 4 Eggs , separated
- 4 drops White Vinegar
- 1 1/4 cups (150g) Confectioner's Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) Water
- 1 cup (125g) Flour
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) Vanilla Extract
- extra confectioner's sugar for dusting
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly butter or grease a 8"x8" baking dish.
Melt the butter and set aside to slightly cool. Warm the milk to lukewarm and set aside.
Whip the egg whites and vinegar to stiff peaks. Set aside.
Beat the egg yolks and sugar until light. Mix in the melted butter and the tablespoon of water for about 2 minutes or until evenly incorporated.
Mix in the flour until evenly incorporated. Slowly beat in the milk and vanilla extract until everything is well mixed.
Fold in the egg whites, 1/3 at a time. Repeat until all of the egg whites are folded in.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-60 minutes or until the cake is barely jiggly in the center. If the top browns too quick before the minimum of 45 minutes, then cover the cake with aluminum foil and cook for remainder of time needed.
Allow cake to completely cool before cutting and then dust with confectioner's sugar. For faster cooling you can place the cake in the fridge. Even after fully cooled, it will still be slightly jiggly because it's a custard layer cake.
Nutrition Information per Serving
Calories: 268kcal, Carbohydrates: 30g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 105mg, Sodium: 53mg, Potassium: 117mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 19g, Vitamin A: 509IU, Calcium: 78mg, Iron: 1mg
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Oven
Calories: 268
Here’s more of our popular recipes:
- Meyer lemon version of this custard cake
- chocolate cake with butterscotch
- Heirloom tomato tart
And if you’re craving more cake, this moist banana cake should be on your next to-do list!. This recipe was originally published in 2013.
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Breads | Pastries Breakfast | Brunch Cakes | Frostings Desserts Eggs Food Recipes Vegetarian
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338 comments on “Magic Custard Cake”
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Thomas — March 1, 2024 @ 7:12 pm Reply
double the recipe for a 9×13 and the cake layer is thicker and fluffier
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Von — December 23, 2022 @ 3:44 am Reply
very easy instructions, thank you. Unfortunately, this cake was not a hit with my family. They all found the flavour to be too eggy. Custard like consistency worked well it just seemed to lack flavour for us.
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Janet Moore — September 18, 2022 @ 3:35 pm Reply
Hi, was just looking at your recipe. Sounds great. Have a potluck in a few weeks and would like to have something with a fall flare, but I’m on a low-carb diet. Do you think it would work with almond flour?
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Todd + Diane — September 24, 2022 @ 10:43 am Reply
See AlsoBlack Forest Cake RecipeHi Janet, we’ve not yet made it with almond flour. This recipe can be rather tricky, so not sure if almond flour is going to give a smooth texture like regular all purpose flour would. But if any of our readers have tried it with almond flour, hopefully they’ll share their results and suggestions. Thank you!
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Heather Birmingham — July 13, 2022 @ 1:44 pm Reply
Addicted to the cake now!
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Dale Washington — July 13, 2022 @ 5:48 am Reply
I made this but think I cooked it too long cause it was mostly the bottom layer, it was amazing though, thank you so much.
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Hisayo G — November 9, 2021 @ 5:17 pm Reply
“It’s so darn good!” was my husband’s first comment.
I didn’t have enough milk, so I substituted milk with 1/2 and 1/2. Still came out fluffy, giggly, soft, custardy 3-layer cake.
I will make this again!!! -
Christina — September 22, 2021 @ 12:16 am Reply
Hi! I’ve made this years ago and loved it! Going to make it again but wondering if I could use granulated sugar verses confectioners. Have you tried it with that substitute?
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Todd + Diane — October 6, 2021 @ 10:29 am Reply
Hi Christina! Glad you enjoy the recipe. We have tried it with granular sugar and wouldn’t use it. The texture will be very different and probably not give the same custard taste. But if you were to try it, let us know. We’d be curious how the results are. Thank you!
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Alina — December 1, 2021 @ 3:25 am
I can’t wait to make this! However I’m a bit confused — the recipe calls for confectioners sugar, but your latest comment says you wouldn’t use confectioners sugar. So do you recommend confectioners sugar or granulated sugar? Thanks! 😀
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Todd + Diane — December 15, 2021 @ 5:35 pm
Hi Alina. Thanks for the question. We mis-typed the other reply and it was supposed to say we wouldn’t recommend using granular sugar. Confectioners sugar is the correct one for the recipe.
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Judy Renneberg — May 24, 2021 @ 6:39 pm Reply
Excellent! Very impressive, three layer, not-too-sweet dessert. Would be even better with some fresh berries on top. Will definitely make this again.
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Joycelyn — March 28, 2021 @ 9:51 am Reply
Hi guys
Could you explain what you mean by 4 drops of white vinegar? Would that be using a medicine dropper one would get from a pharmacy or one of the 3 set measuring spoons that has, Pinch, Smidgen and Dash or something else? Also, how much should be in each drop of vinegar as too much or too little of vinegar especially could mess up the outcome of the baked good.
Thank you
Stay safe
Stay well-
Todd + Diane — March 30, 2021 @ 10:14 am Reply
Hi Joyceln. It isn’t to fussy, but just needs a little bit of vinegar. We use a dropper like from the pharmacy. But 4 drops should equate to about 1 “Smidge” if the measuring spoon is around 1/32 of a teaspoon (they usually are). Happy cooking!
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Joycelyn — March 31, 2021 @ 9:00 am
Thanks so much.
Stay safe -
Alison Touami — April 15, 2021 @ 8:43 am
Hi there
Could you please tell me what kind of flour you use? Anytime I make these they are have the height of yours,
T/A
Alison -
Todd + Diane — April 15, 2021 @ 5:13 pm
Hi Alison! We use all purpose flour. Thanks for asking!
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Debi — February 7, 2021 @ 5:44 am Reply
Just stumbled upon your delectable recipe and site! Do you think this recipe would work using Lactaid milk?
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— February 8, 2021 @ 9:00 am Reply
Hi Debi! That’s a great questions and we’re not sure. But maybe someone in our community might have feedback if they tried it. Thanks for asking!
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Sophia James — December 22, 2020 @ 10:21 pm Reply
hahahaah Feel hunger after reading this…
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Beth — May 5, 2020 @ 3:43 pm Reply
The most satisfying custard i’ve made. It puffed up around the 45 min. check which led the top to crack. Didn’t take away from the deliciousness while staying home for prevention!
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— May 6, 2020 @ 2:02 pm Reply
Thank you Beth! Glad you enjoyed the custard cake and stay safe. xo
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Linda Hall — December 8, 2019 @ 1:58 pm Reply
LOVE, LOVE, this cake. I’ve made it three times and the 3rd time was the charm. Came out perfect. Don’t change a thing, it’s excellent just the way it is.
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T — May 19, 2019 @ 1:06 pm Reply
This is what South Africans term a crustless milk tart.
