Looks like a regular old cake, think again.

Tada!  It’s hard to tell from my pic, but there are 3 distinct layers there.

Do you believe in magic?

Magic Cake

***NOTE:  The quantities listed below are double the original recipe.  I doubled the original recipe and baked it in a deep ceramic 9″x 11″ casserole dish, because I wanted there to be enough left over for dessert the next night.  Feel free to halve the recipe and bake in an 8″x 8″ glass dish for a smaller cake, but really, why would you want a smaller cake?

8 eggs, room temperature (separate yolks from the whites)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups sugar
2 sticks butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 cups milk, lukewarm
powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 325º and grease a 9″ x 11″ deep glass or ceramic baking dish.

Separate the eggs and beat the whites with a mixer until stiff.  Set aside.

Beat the yolks with the sugar until light.  Add the butter and vanilla and beat for an additional minute or two.  Sift in the flour and beat until fully incorporated.

Move yolk mixture to a large bowl and slowly add the milk, mixing thoroughly with a wire whisk.  Fold in the egg whites one third at a time using the wire whisk.  Repeat until all egg whites are fully incorporated.

Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake at 325º for 40 – 70 minutes.  (The original recipe link states that baking times can vary greatly depending on your oven.  Mine took approximately 50 minutes to bake.)

The cake will be slightly jiggly in the middle, but a toothpick test should yield a clean toothpick if the cake is done.  It will firm up during the cooling process which will take roughly 2 hours.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar once the cake is cooled.  We enjoyed this cake warm the first night, but it proved to be just as delicious the next night after it had been refrigerated.  Warm…cold…it’s all good!

This ethereal confection has a lovely, delicate custard texture topped with a crown of spongy cake.  Truly delectable.  There’s even a chocolate version that is calling out for some attention, but that will have to wait for a future post.  Remember, a meal is a meal, but a luscious, decadent dessert is a sweet momentary escape in an unruly world.