Magic Custard Cake
When I saw a magic custard cake recipe on Pinterest, 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 custard layer 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,
Magic Custard Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted Butter (1 stick)
- 2 cups (480 ml) Milk
- 4 Eggs , separated
- 4 drops White Vinegar
- 1 1/4 cups (150 g) Powdered Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) Water
- 1 cup (125 g) Flour
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) Vanilla Extract
- extra confectioner's sugar for dusting
Equipment
- 8”x8” baking dish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F/160°C. Lightly butter or grease a 8"x8" (20x20cm) baking dish.

- Melt the 1/2 cup (113g) butter and set aside to slightly cool slightly.

- Warm the 2 cups (480ml) milk to lukewarm and set aside.

- Whip the 4 egg whites and 4 drops vinegar to stiff peaks. Set aside.

- Beat the 4 egg yolks and 1 1/4 cups (150g) powdered sugar until light.

- Mix in the melted butter and the 1 Tablespoon (15ml) water for about 2 minutes or until evenly incorporated.

- Mix in the 1 cup (125g) flour until evenly incorporated.

- Slowly beat in the warmed milk and 1 teaspoon (5ml) 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.

- Bake at 325°F/160°C 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 powdered 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
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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.












Oh yum, these look so good! I love the sound of custard cake!
We make this with mochiko rice flour for a chewy crust, — like mochi!
It looks totally amazing and sounds really scrummy! Do you think it would work with some white chocolate or would it ruin the texture?
It may work with white chocolate powder, but I’m not completely sure. That is a totally different ingredient than cocoa powder.
I am very excited to have found this recipe on your site… and the chocolate version looks equally amazing! I cannot wait to try both!
This looks SO amazing!! My dad is crazy for custard tart, I think this would be right up his alley.
I just made this, baked it for 45 minutes and it was nice and brown on top and looked like a soufflé, it wasn’t jiggly either. Cooled for a while and since I was impatient to try it I stuck it in the fridge. I think that may actually help set the custard. Being Persian, I added some cardamom to the sprinkled powdered sugar on top and I must say it is delicious and VERY easy to eat multiple pieces with tea or coffee.
This looks and sounds amazing – I’m definitely going to have to try this tomorrow for Sunday dinner. Can you tell me – is it plain or self raising flour that you use?
Hi Lindsay- it’s regular all purpose flour.
How thick are the layers supposed to be? I made this today, and the bottom layer seemed too think as it was a 1-1.5 cm thick. This may be because I use White Whole Wheat Flour, which tends to make things a little more dense. The middle actual custard layer was tiny (and the best part) with the top bready layer about .5 cm to 1cm in places. It was good, but I want more of that middle layer. Definitely a less sweet dessert.
I think I love you! I’m going to have to try this receipe this weekend! Thanks for sharing. BTW, love your website!
My children and I put a pan in the oven, adapted a bit for our families issues with dairy and gluten. We will see how it turns out using gluten free flour and coconut milk. We’re hopeful as I have successfully made custard with coconut milk.
I saw this recipe over on Pinterest a couple weeks ago as well. It reminds me of a Portuguese dessert that Lenny’s cousin’s mother in-law makes. It is really insane and I cannot stop myself from one or two slices at a time! Anything with custard is magic ….. in my opinion!
Thank u so much for posting this! My custard cake is cooling as I type! It went lovely and golden at the top. But I was wondering how you lift it out of the baking dish whole? Do you slice it into pieces in the dish and remove so individually?
The cake has been cooling for over 4 hours and it is still very jiggly. Is that normal, should I put it in the refrigerator to set? I had it in the oven for 55 minutes and the top looks as brown as yours in the picture. Thanks for any suggestions!
Michelle- yes, it will be jiggly because of the custard. It helps to put it in the fridge for a bit to make it more firm before cutting!
What is on top and bottom. From the looks of the recipe it seems like only the recipe for the custard and not the outer pastry. This looks beyond delicious, am I missing something?
Jillian,
That is why the recipe is called magic. There is only one recipe but it comes out of the oven in three layers.
Ohh you can tell just from the pictures how thick and smooth that middle layer is! Looks divine.
I am cooking this right now but I’m using a little electric oven. It is already pretty brown on top so I turned down the temperature hoping that it doesn’t burn but that Im still able to cook it enough on the inside!! eeks hope it comes out ok! :/
oops forgot to mention its only been cooking about 25 min lol