TARTA MAGICA / MAGIC CAKE

By now,most of you all might know that I love cakes with a twist and I like the twist to be revealed when the cake is cut into. It could be a simple twist like my Checkerboard cake or a slightly crafty twist like my Hearts & Roses Cake. I cannot tell you the fun I have in crafting such cakes and the anticipation I have when I cut into it.My search for such cakes never ends. I need some fun in the kitchen when I play with flour, sugar, eggs and butter!

This time the search time ended at Mabel's blog. Language can never be a barrier for me when it comes to food,baking in particular.Everything can be translated with a click of a button,so why worry?

So what's special with this cake? Did you look closely enough to see the 3 layers? Those 3 layers came from one batter. Yes, the cake is made using a single batter but when baked, it separates itself to create 3 layers. The first layer resembles a good sponge cake, the middle layer is like my favourite firm custard and the bottom layer is a much more firmer custard which lets us slice into the cake beautifully and lift the slices off the serving plate.

Isn't that a smart idea to wow your guests ? Isn't that a smart idea to impress yourself? Isn't that a smart idea to get 3 textures from one cake batter? Isn't this cake MAGICAL? :-) Yes! It clearly justifies it's name. This is a Magic Cake.

TARTA MAGICA
Ingredients:
4 eggs,separated at room temperature
150grams sugar
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 stick unsalted butter,melted
115 g flour
500 milliliters / 2 cups warm milk
Method:Preheat the oven to 325 F and lightly grease an 8 X 8 inch square or an 8inch round tin.
In a large bowl, beat  together the yolks,sugar,water and vanilla.Add the melted butter to it and beat to mix. Add the flour in 3 batches and beat till incorporated. Add the warm milk and stir well.
In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until firm but not dry. Fold it into the batter in 3 batches. The batter will be very very runny and it will be impossible to fold in the whites without having some lumps floating around. But that's OK. Go ahead and pour the very runny batter into the tin and bake for 60 minutes (My oven took only 45 minutes) or until the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for 3 hours.Dust with confectioners sugar before serving.
The key here is to look out for the golden brown colour for the cake. It will be soft and lightly giggly in the centre when pressed. That's how it should be. That's what becomes the custard centre.

So now, what are you waiting for? Take a note of the recipe and go bake one! This cake is delicious. I like things with custard in it so I really loved it.Ian Vaava as usual was my kitchen assistant and I really think he pays good attention to what's happening around him. So once the cake was left in the oven to bake, we sat in front of the telly catching up with some shows. The timer was set for 45 minutes just to be sure we don't over bake the cake. When the timer ticked off,Ian Vaava turned around to see what's happening and he looked at me as if to tell me,'Amma, I think it's done!'

So he was promptly rewarded with a small share of this cake. Not to mention how he drooled over it. I gave him only the soft set custard from the centre and he was bending over the cake tin to have more!