Chocolate Magic Custard Cake will blow your mind with its look and taste. One cake batter results in 3-layered cake. Don’t worry about the runny batter, it will bake up perfectly!
This recipe is on the top among all our cake recipes for a reason. Easy to make and wonderfully chocolat-y!
Is there anything more delicious than a chocolate custard cake? Not only is it a favourite among the kids but anyone who loves something sweet and chocolaty will instantly fall in love with this custard cake. Don’t worry if you or your guests go for seconds or thirds, because this recipe will be the talk of the town.
This is a bad-ass chocolate cake! Once you have the first slice, you must know that you are ready for the second or even third! Are you obsessed with chocolate but don’t want one of those dense desserts since you don’t want to gain the pounds you’ve just got rid of? This fool-proof chocolate magic cake is what you need!
What Is Magic Cake?
We wish we could say that a magic cake is just one of Houdini’s amazing culinary tricks, but in reality it is a scrumptious three layered baked custard cake: Fudgy layer at the bottom, chocolate custard in the middle and a sper airy cake layer on the top.
The magic happens when all three layers bake in the same dish without having to layer it yourself. You can make it in different flavors.
It is pretty simple as it contains the basic ingredients for any cake: eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, milk, butter, flour and cocoa powder.
It may not seem like rocket science but baking is a science, and this custard cake will blow your mind with the result you end up with.
What is the magic?
Like we said above, baking is a science; the reason why you get all three layers of the baked custard cake in one pan is the batter is more “liquidy” than most cakes and we bake it at a lower temperature for a longer period of time. This way the custard cake has more time to settle into a custard and sponge layer.
The top layer of the magic custard cake is usually white eggs that are added last to the batter for a fluffy sponge.
Ingredients
If you want to make a custard cake – to be specific, a chocolate custard cake you will need to keep one important thing in mind: the temperature of your ingredients. Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature, especially the eggs. You don’t want the eggs to be too cold or too hot. The bake time for your cake will also differ if your ingredients are not at room temperature when you start making the batter.
Moreover, whether you use confectioner’s sugar or regular sugar, make sure you measure the amount accordingly and add that to the batter. You’ll find that adding milk makes the batter quite thin and liquidy. This is what you should be aiming for, but remember to gently whisk the batter instead of using a stand mixer.
If you think your batter is too lumpy, don’t be discouraged. Usually, if you’ve added all the right amount of ingredients and followed the recipe closely, a little continued mixing can easily bring out that signature liquidy texture that custard cakes are famous for.
Now onto the custard cake recipe.
How To Make
As mentioned earlier, start out by making sure your ingredients are at room temperature. Follow the usual routine of preheating your oven before you go ahead and start making the batter. Be sure to heat up your oven to 320F (160C).
Now that your oven is ready, you can proceed with the batter. Start out by separating the egg whites into a bowl. Ideally, the four eggs you use should be at room temperature. Once separated, go ahead and whisk the egg whites. Generally, a good rule of thumb is to keep whisking the egg whites until you start seeing white peeks forming.
Bring out the bowl with the egg yolks that you previously separated. Add the vanilla extract and sugar into the bowl. Begin mixing these three ingredients gently until you see a creamy texture start to form. Next, add melted butter and keep mixing. Once the butter is mixed, add flour and unsweetened cocoa powder into the mixture. Gradually begin adding milk to this while simultaneously whisking the batter.
Now, fold in the egg whites (one third at a time) and continue mixing gently. Be careful with it though, you don’t want to mix the batter too much. Just stir it enough so that all the ingredients are combined and the mixture is runny in texture. Transfer this runny batter into your baking pan and bake for 60 minutes in the oven.
Don’t be alarmed if the centre of the cake is jiggly. In fact, a jiggly centre is precisely what you should be aiming for. This jiggly centre is pretty common for custard desserts so give yourself a pat on the back for coming this far. After the cake is baked, let it rest for about half an hour. Let the cake cool down and reach room temperature. Only then transfer it to your fridge to chill. Now you can slice it up and enjoy it.
A magic cake recipe can go wrong if you don’t let it cool to room temperature, and then let it chill for at least an hour. Otherwise, it will be so runny that you won't be able to slice it.
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📖 Recipe
Chocolate Magic Custard Cake
One cake batter turns into a 3-layered cake. It will be your ultimate chocolate cake for special occasions.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 4 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 and ¼ cup sugar
- 110g butter (½ cup), melted and cooled
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- ⅓ cup and 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups milk, lukewarm
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 320F (160C).
- Grease a 8x8 inch baking pan and line it with parchment paper.
- Separate egg whites and yolks.
- Beat egg whites in a bowl until stiff and put aside.
- Whisk egg yolks, vanilla extract and sugar until creamy.
- Add melted butter and mix for half a minute.
- Add the flour and unsweetened cocoa powder. Mix with a whisk until incorporated well.
- Pour the milk gradually and continue whisking.
- Add in the egg whites, one third at a time and gently stir with a whisk. Don't overmix, just stir until combined.
- Pour this runny batter into the baking pan and bake for 60 minutes.
- The centre of the cake will still be jiggly when removed from oven.
- Let it cool for about half an hour and then remove from the pan. When it reaches room temperature, chill it at least for an hour.
- Slice it in the size you like and dust with powdered sugar right before serving. You can garnish it with fresh fruit too.
- Keep it in refrigerator until you finish it all.
Notes
I used a 24x17x6cm rectangular pan for this cake. You can see it in the video. If you have a similar pan, use it. This cake doesn't rise, so keeping this in mind, you can choose another type of pan. A square pan works fine too.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 318
- Sugar: 35.5 g
- Sodium: 64 mg
- Fat: 14.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 43.5 g
- Protein: 6.8 g
- Cholesterol: 123.8 mg
Bellamia11 says
I saw this recipe, browsing around for a chocolate cake. I never heard of this cake, and decided to give it a try. One of the best decision of my life! I am obsessed with this recipe. It came out perfectly. And my son thinks I'm the coolest mum in the world. He loves it! Lol. Thank you for this gem. This is now, a once-a-week necessity for us.
Lary Smith says
Turned out excellent except the bottom layer was stiff and rubbery.
Jess says
This turned out fantastic! It was fascinating to see how the layers separated after baking, and it was deliciously decadent. We thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you for a great recipe.
Zerrin & Yusuf says
Hi Jess,
So happy to hear that you liked it. It is magical, right? Thank you for letting us know what you think.
Sarah says
I adapted this recipe to make the cake vegan and it came out amazingly. Love this recipe!
Zerrin & Yusuf says
Hi Sarah,
Glad to hear that it worked. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Cheers!
Nicole says
Maybe specify whether to use granulated sugar or confectioners sugar? Could that be what makes some people successful and some not?
I have not yet tried the recipe, but it sounds delicious!
Maria says
I am going to try but with my chocolate lover husband it is not going to the refrigerator!!!!
Zerrin & Yusuf says
Hi Maria,
Waiting is the hardest part we know!
Wendolyn Turkatte says
I loved this recipe! I improvised quite a bit and still ended up with something I absolutely loved. I put it in a ring mold pan and did oil and flour instead of parchment paper to keep cake from sticking. I chopped up hazelnuts and chocolate covered candied orange peel and put those in first before the batter. The cake came out with a very festive look, right in time for Christmas. Also I used 1/2 cream and 1/2 coconut milk in place of regular milk as I had those to use up after some other baking. Plus I substituted a grain-based gluten free flour, and beat it into the milk to get lumps out, so I did the assembly somewhat differently, but still folded the whites in last. I added cinnamon and instant coffee to the cocoa as well to enrich the flavor. I was stunned at how nicely this custard-y cake came out. I happen to adore custard so this was perfect. Folks that aren't into pudding cakes or custard or sponge cakes might not be into this kind of recipe, but I found it crazy-yummy, the way I made it!!! Thank you! It's such an easy and flexible recipe - I'm thrilled!
Zerrin & Yusuf says
Hi Wendolyn,
Wow, you've recreated the recipe in a wonderful way! Love the addition of hazelnuts and chocolate covered candied orange peel. That's much more festive for sure. Perfect for Christmas time! Thank you for sharing your twist on this classic custard-y cake.
Wish you a merry Christmas!
Jasi L says
Espresso powder. If your chocolate is not rich enough you can fix that with coffee. As for magic cakes, either you like them or you don't. They get varied results with varied ingredients- most often with chocolate because it's such a different product. A lot of the reviews are pretty harsh and ignorant.
It's not a win for me, I can't replicate the picture despite following the directions to a T. My cocoa powder could be to blame. I love magic cakes but I won't make this for guests. It's my preference, though, and no fault of the blogger.