MAGIC CAKE

Mix egg whites until stiff. You can add 4 drops of lemon juice or white vinegar to stabilize the egg whites.

In another bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar, water and vanilla until light. Add melted butter and continue beating for another minute. Then add the flour and mix it in.

Add the milk (it has to be lukewarm, otherwise the butter will harden) and beat until well incorporated.

Gently fold in beaten egg whites using a spatula or a spoon. Do not use mixer for this step because it will ruin the air bubbles trapped in beaten egg whites. Do not fully incorporate batter and egg whites. There should still be some little "clouds" of egg whites floating on top of the batter.

Pour batter into a greased and floured 8 inch x 8 inch (20 x 20 cm) square or 8 inch (20 cm) round baking dish (do not use spring form because batter is too liquid and the pan could leak) and bake in preheated 325 F (160 C) oven for about 60 minutes or until the top is golden and cake is still soft, but not jiggly any more. If the top starts browning too quickly (after about 30 minutes of baking), cover the cake with aluminum foil.

Cool in the pan for at least 3 hours. Serve sprinkled with powdered sugar.

The magic of this cake is in the fact that you make only one batter and, after baking, you get a cake with 3 distinct layers: dense one on the bottom, custard-like layer in the middle, and a fluffy sponge cake layer on top. It has wonderful vanilla flavor and simply melts in your mouth.

If you wonder how does this magic happen, let’s look at the science behind Magic Cake: A quite liquid batter and a low baking temperature are main reasons why this cake magically separates into three different layers during baking.

Flour is the heaviest ingredient in this recipe and it sinks to the very bottom making fudgy bottom layer. Egg yolks are lighter and float above it, creating custard layer in the middle. Egg whites are the lightest and float on top of everything, creating sponge cake textured top layer.

If you like custard, you will love this cake. Just be sure not to forget to use vanilla, because it is probably the most important ingredient and without it the cake might taste “eggy”. If for some reason you don’t want to use vanilla, you can substitute it with a tablespoon of rum or rum flavoring.

TIP No 1: Be sure that all ingredients are at room temperature. If eggs, water or milk are cold, they will harden the butter. If you forgot to take eggs out of the fridge earlier, put them in a bowl of warm (not hot) water for about 5 minutes.

TIP No 2: Baking time may vary from oven to oven. I baked this cake many times in both gas and electric ovens. After about 50 minutes the cake is still slightly jiggly in the middle. After 60 minutes it is soft, but not jiggly any more. In the electric oven I had to cover it with aluminum foil after about 30 minutes of baking as it was browning too quickly. Adjust the recipe according to your oven.

TIP No 3: Do not mix batter and beaten egg whites not to ruin air bubbles that were trapped in. You should still see some little “clouds” of egg whites floating on top of the batter.

After cooling, the cake will fall a bit, but that is perfectly normal.