A few weeks ago, my good friend Liz Posmyk posted this Magic Custard Cake that she’d seen on White on Rice Couple’s blog. When she saw their photos, she was reminded of the krémes sütemény her Hungarian mother had made for her when she was young.
I’ve seen quite a few blogs with magic custard cake and decided that I should try Lizzy’s recipe. She talks about her mother with such love and affection and every recipe of hers that I’ve made turned out so well.
When you make a recipe from another blogger, it’s not always straightforward. Some leave out an ingredient because they made the recipe up in their heads and then tried to remember what they’d done without remaking the recipe. Not so with this magic custard cake recipe. I arranged all the ingredients and then 1-2-3 it was in the pan and in the oven. Lizzy’s mother’s Hungarian custard cake was a real hit today.
The magic happens in the oven where the top layer is cake, the middle is custard and the bottom is umm… crusty-ish. This recipe gave me a chance to try out my new vanilla beans from Sunshine Vanilla – a local company which imports vanilla mainly from Madagascar and Tahiti and they ship worldwide. I’ve got beans, vanilla powder and vanilla bean seeds to practice with so I needed to choose which vanilla to use. I thought about using the wonderful pure vanilla powder but I didn’t want the custard to become discoloured so went with the beans.
I met Sonne from Sunshine Vanilla for coffee one morning recently and she gave me some samples to play with. The aroma of the Tahitian vanilla beans is out of this world and the pods are soft and full of seeds. They were perfect for this cake.
I urge you to try this custard cake and you’ll see that I wasn’t kidding about the magic.
- 120 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 480 mls low fat milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean, scraped
- 4 eggs, room temperature, separated
- 130 grams icing (confectioners') sugar, sifted
- a few drops of lemon juice or vinegar
- 115 grams plain (all purpose) flour
- extra icing sugar, for dusting
- Preheat oven to 165 C. Grease a 20cm (8-inch) square cake tin and line it with baking parchment.
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan, then remove it from the heat and allow it to cool.
- Add the milk and vanilla in a small in a small saucepan and place on medium heat until the milk is lukewarm. Remove from the heat and set aside (the milk needs to be warm but not hot).
- Place the egg yolks with the icing sugar in a glass bowl and beat them with a hand mixer or rotary whisk, until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Add the melted butter and stir until well combined.
- Fold the flour into the batter and slowly add the warm milk. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the egg whites and lemon juice or vinegar and beat until stiff peaks form.
- Fold the egg whites, a little at a time, into the batter. The mixture will be runny and that's how you want it.
- Pour the batter into your prepared cake tin and bake for around 50 minutes until the top of the cake is golden brown. Cover the top of the cake with a sheet of baking parchment if it is browning too quickly. You need to allow the baking time for the cake to 'set'. You will know the cake is ready to remove from the oven when there is a slight 'jiggle' when you gently shake the tin. If it's still quite runny, leave it for another ten minutes.
- Remove the tin from the oven and allow the cake to cool, then place the pan into the refrigerator for an hour or two. This is important as the chilling time will give it the distinct layers the opportunity to 'set'.
- Cut the cake into squares and dust it with icing sugar before serving. Store in an airtight container.
Know what would be magical? If you made some of that cake and managed to deliver it to my bedside.
That type of cake has been on my files to try soon FOREVER!!!!
I am really making this once I get back home!
Spectacular!
Sounds like a great recipe. Now I just have to translate that into non-weighed/cup amounts. 🙂
Found your site last Sunday and made your biscuits last night and let me tell you, I didn’t stop eating until I had consumed four. I’m from Mississippi and have used my biscuit recipe for years and really tried yours because I thought with the honey it would be a little sweet, like a Sister Shubert brand. But you have changed the way I make biscuits. I too have been looking at the magic cake on another web site, I think now I’ll try your recipe. Thanks
This is dessert magic, Maureen! I seriously must try it…I wonder if it would work as cupcakes?
Your magic custard cake looks wonderful – Maureen – yes, I have seen on several blogs as well and have it on my list to try sometime.
Looks like magic to me! Bet it tastes like it, too. Really nice — my thanks to you, and Liz.
I’ve always wanted to try one of these magic cakes! This one turned out so beautiful and the fresh vanilla bean sounds great too. Happy weekend Maureen!
Oh Maureen, it looks magic too!
It will be perfect for the next Art Journaling workshop I am providing morning tea for.
Plus I’ve been saving the vanilla beans I got from the plantation in Vanuatu too, so they will be perfect.
Thanks for the idea :))
Wow, what an amazing co-incidence, I just shared this exact cake just last week! Looks amazing 🙂
You make this custard cake sound divine, I’m definitely going to make it for Mr Glam who’se a massive custard fan. GG
Oh, nice layers, Maureen! Thanks so much for the very kind words, my friend. So very sweet of you. Now tell me, did you take to the pan with a dessert spoon, or did you take some to Rob and Joan!? 🙂 xoxox
It’s a delicious recipe for sure Maureen. i made a chocolate one for skater a couple of weeks ago and even he liked it. Love the photos xx
Now that is my cup of tea!
It’s so true that Liz really does talk about her mother with a lot of affection. I love the look of this cake. I’m a big fan of custard and this looks really light and fluffy. The best vanilla pods I’ve ever had are the ones I bought when in Tahiti xx
I need a little magic in my life. I’m pinning this to make soon.
Hmmmmm. My maternal grandmother immigrated to USA from Hungry. She never made this cake. Despite eating many, many, many Hungarian dishes and pastries I never had this one. My loss. I must try.
However, had many others from creme horns to donuts and nut and poppyseed rolls, Kifli, crescents, and so much more.
I’m urged … but unfortunately I don’t have an oven until the kitchen renovations are completed. So Lizzy’s recipe – and I agree with you, they’re always reliably lovely – has joined the “to cook” list, which is growing by the day. Thanks for your lovely write-up x
It’s always such a thrill when a new recipe turns out. 🙂 This cake looks lovely.
This looks magically delicious Maureen and wish I could try this right now with my coffee!
Bookmarking!! I have so much to learn when it comes to the world of baking and this magic custard cake looks like a must try! 🙂
Looks really delicious and a fun one to make with kids. Fun result.
That cake looks absolutely amazing. I believe you that it’s magical. 😉
I’m going to check out Lizzy’s blog now, Maureen, thanks! This looks lovely. I just made an 8-inch square cake last week, one of my grandmother’s, and will probably post it this week. I love recipes with a family connection. AND I love custard, so I really need to make this one!
I’ve never heard of Magic Custard Cake, but must make it soon. Such a custard fan!!!!! Pinned.
I have heard of this recipe too but I have never tried it. Your Magic Custard Cake looks so good – I’m pinning it to try soon 🙂
It certainly looks magic, I could fair go a slice right now with my coffee!
Wow Maureen – this sounds SO good. You know I’m not much of a sweet person but I think I’ll try this next Sunday when the kids come to dinner. And of course, I LOVE magical things…!!
A reader sent me a chocolate version months ago and I’ve been meaning to try it! Perhaps I should this weekend! Your version looks great 😀
You remind me that I’ve been wanting to try this. I saw a chocolate version that I think I stowed somewhere. Must find the reason to bake it. Well. who needs a reason?
Maureen all that vanilla talk and I swear I can smell vanilla just looking at your photos. I can’t believe it separates out like that! I will definitely have to give this one a go.
So good! So easy! I must give this recipe a try. I love when recipes come together just as planned. I see you say 8 servings. Would that be 8 petite servings or 4 regular? Okay lets get down to the real question, should I double the recipe because I have teenage boys? LOL I know if I have to ask… then I better.. wishing you a super Monday. BAM
Wow! This is gorgeous! I first saw the magic custard cake on The White on Rice Couple’s blog and have had this on my to-make list since then. Your post makes it irresistible and I wish I could just grab one of those neat slices from the screen.
Oh gotta love the magic custard cake, it looks great. I’ve made it countless times but never managed to capture it in a good photo – it just disappears. And I’ve seen so many variations – with chocolate, coffee, hazelnuts – just have to love the versatility of this cake!
Do you home deliver? I’m not feeling great today, but reckon this magic fueled custard cake would brighten my life right up. 🙂
I just live the layers, I’m dying to try this cake!
My mind is blown – all three layers are baked at once???? Wow!!!
Honestly can I have some of those, my coffee right now is sad without a partner 🙂
look absolutely beautiful!
I’ve been meaning to make this for ages but I always default to my Impossible Pie because I don’t have an electric mixer and my one is just stir and bake 😛
This sounds so wonderful. Anything with vanilla is fine by me! I like to buy north qld beans; so nice to use something fairly local:)
Ooh my comment disappeared. This sounds so Delish. Must try!
right – third try at a a comment! i don’t know where they are going.:) delish cake. can’t wait to try making it.
I want to make this to see the magic happen! It looks beautiful (I love a simple cake with no icing).
I saw the title of your blog post in Bloglovin and just had to check out this cake. That is fascinating how it separates into the 3 parts. I love custard with anything – almost more than cream.
Looks awesome Maureen! I’ve wanted to try this recipe for a while now 🙂 Will definitely do 🙂 Pinned!
I’ve always wanted to try making a magic custard cake as I love the perfect gradient layers. This looks so delicious Maureen and I love the bright photography & styling!
Thank you for sharing the magic, Maureen! Happy to have this recipe in my arsenal for my June reunion with my presently Brazil, formerly Hungarian resident relatives. Lucky you to be the recipient of vanilla beans…they always amp up the elegance factor, don’t you think?
Oh.. it turned wonderful for you. I know this cake so well, my mom used to make us all the time. We called it a “a smart kremes” back then. I should do it again… it tastes lovely.