Hey Vanilla Cake lovers! Here’s a wonderful dessert that will make you swoon with each lovely, vanilla bite! The cake I’m raving about is Very Vanilla Magic Custard Cake. It is creamy, yet cake-like and it literally makes your taste-buds do the happy dance and sing.
I think some kind of supernatural forces come together while this dessert bakes to transform it to separate into three layers of heaven. Or as some say, Baking Science.
The top layer is a soft cake like an eclair or angel cake texture, followed by a creamy custard layer that sits on a firm gelatin-like layer. Ta-daaa!! Now that’s some heavenly MAGIC!
It’s incredible! If you’ve never tried a magic cake, don’t wait any longer. Really!
This dessert is flavored with a heaping tablespoon of Singing Dog Vanilla Extract because I wanted to bring out the essence of vanilla flavor even more. It’s amazing!
Affiliate links are used when I love a product that I want to share, see my non-disclosure for more.
A quick, rundown on this vanilla! I received a sample of it to try and I love it, because I’ve already used the bottle up quite quickly, using it in everything I could. Singing Dog Vanilla Extract, is a smooth, mellow Pure Vanilla Extract made from certified organic vanilla beans.
This Pure Vanilla Extract contains no added sugar or fructose, it’s all natural and non-GMO. Singing Dog Vanilla is very, very serious about vanilla and you can taste the difference!
It gets it’s name from The New Guinea Singing Dog, which is a dog native to Papua New Guinea that does not bark. It prefers to “sing” somewhat like a whale, or “sing” somewhat like me, when I did the happy dance and sang with each luscious bite of this cake! Find out more about these fascinating animals and hear them sing at the New Guinea Singing Dog Conservation Society website by clicking here.
Singing Dog Vanilla products include pure vanilla extract, vanilla coffee, vanilla bean paste, vanilla lip balm, vanilla tea, and they have many new vanilla products in the works and if you would like to give it try, you can get it on Amazon or go to their website.
Here are some tips for Perfect Magic Cake Every Time from The Kitchn and there is a complete tutorial how the stages should look and where I got this amazing cake recipe from.
Make sure you use the right size pan: A pan that is too big will be too shallow for the custard to form, so an 8 inch round or square, 2 inches deep.
Whipped Egg Yolks: The egg yolk/water/sugar mixture needs to be very fluffy, frothy, and a very pale yellow-whitish color and will take about five minutes, so the cake’s top layers work.
Stir the whipped egg whites lightly, do not fold: The egg whites (whipped to stiff peaks) are stirred gently into the batter with plenty of small, fluffy, clumps left behind. You don’t want the whipped egg white to dissolve completely or give the whole batter any sort of traditional leavening or even a lightening up. Even though you are always told to fold egg whites, this would be the exception, so just stir them in lightly.
Bake at 325°F: Custard needs slow baking to cook for creamy consistency throughout the cake.
Testing for doneness: Since this cake has pudding, you can’t use a cake tester, because it will be wet. Magic cake is done baking when the sides are set, the center wobbles a little, and the top is a warm, golden brown.
Magic cake magic time: Magic cake needs time to come to room temperature and time to sit in the refrigerator (covered lightly) to really turn out best. Refrigerate for at least four hours and up to 12 before serving. (It can be served at room temperature or slightly chilled.) It can even be stored in the refrigerator for a few days (again, covered lightly). Unlike most cakes, it will not get stale in the refrigerator.
If you like custard, you’ll love this Amish Country Pumpkin Custard Pie, perfect for fall and winter, and this Creamy Lemon Coconut Custard Pie, perfect for spring and summer!
Now let’s do some Very Vanilla Magic Custard Cake any time of the year!
Very Vanilla Magic Custard Cake
Ingredients
- Cooking spray
- 4 large egg yolks
- 4 large egg whites , at room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons ice cold water
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/8 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 cups whole milk , half-and-half, or heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon Singing Dog Vanilla Extract or Singing Dog Vanilla Bean Paste
- Optional: Powdered sugar , fruit
Instructions
- Coat an 8-inch square pan that is 2 inches deep with cooking spray.
- Cut 2 (8- by 12- to 16-inch) sheets of parchment paper. Lay one sheet in the pan, leaving an overhang of at least 2 inches on each side.
- Lay the second piece on top, across the first, leaving an overhang on the other sides. These will be your "handles" when you take the cake out of the pan; set aside.
- Heat the oven: Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 325°F.
- Mix the yolk, sugar, and water until pale and fluffy using a mixer and until the sugar is dissolved, very fluffy, light in texture, and the mixture is a very pale whitish-yellow, 5 to 6 minutes. Do not undermix.
- Drizzle in the melted butter into the egg yolk mixture, while still mixing and mix until it is well-incorporated.
- Add in the flour and salt and mix until fully combined, scraping down the bottom and side of the bowl as needed.
- Add the milk or cream and vanilla and mix them in gently and on a slow to medium speed until fully incorporated.
- Using a mixer, beat egg whites on high speed until the egg whites hold stiff peaks, about 2 minutes.
- Add the whipped egg whites to the egg yolk and flour mixture and mix gently with a large spoon or a whisk only, about a dozen stirs, making sure to leave a distinct layer of fluffy lumps and clumps remaining at the top. Do not overstir or overmix.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake until the edges are set, the top is a warm to deep brown, and the center still wiggles when the pan is jiggled, 50 to 55 minutes.
- Let the cake sit in the pan at room temperature until completely cooled.
- Loosely cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 12 hours before serving.
- Add powered sugar or fruit
Notes
This is not a sponsored post, I received the Singing Dog Vanilla Extract to try and wanted to share my own opinion my own experiences.

Can you double this recipe for a shallow rectangular pan, or would mixing in higher quantities affect the “fluff” and separation somehow?
I don’t know Jenny, I’ve only ever done this size, but I think it would depend on how shallow of a pan we are talking. This cake is approx 2 inches high so consider that and a 9×13 pan. 🙂 Happy baking!!
I really wish I had seen this post earlier. I just made a magic cake earlier this week and the author of that recipe failed to mention the tips you have mentioned…
Didn’t turn out the way it was supposed to, but still tasted pretty good I suppose.
Can you use almond milk or soy milk instead . Thanks, the recipe looks great.
Vicki, I don’t know, I haven’t tried it. If you decide to try it and it works out, please come back and let us know your results! I love using almond milk but haven’t with this.
A perfect confection. Love it. Thank you.
You are very welcome Geri! 🙂 Thank you so much for your kindness!
You say to be sure to use the right sized pan, but there is a difference of 14 square inches between an 8-inch round pan and an 8-inch square pan, so it doesn’t seem to be so important. I guess, though, you just have to be sure not to use anything larger than an 8-inch square pan.
What a nice vanilla cake with custard. It’s really looking awesome. Really I love it.
Thank you so much Cakedeliveryin! This is a wonderful cake to serve up for any occasion! 🙂