This 'Magic Cake' Creates 3 Delicious Layers From One Simple Batter. Here's How

Ever have days when you want to make a luxurious dessert with different layers and textures, but just don't have the time? This impressive dessert from southwestern France, magic cake, does the work for you. The recipe uses some simple tricks in the mixing process to create a batter that magically separates into layers while it's in the oven baking. The result is a cake with a dense, buttery crust, a silky center, and a light layer of sponge cake on top. Sprinkle it with confectioners sugar and strawberries and you have a dessert worthy of display in a chic French bakery. This cake is so good, we guarantee you will be inspired to explore more French sweets — like these 20 French cakes you need to try at least once.

The best thing about magic cake is that you likely already have the ingredients to make it in your kitchen. All you need are eggs, butter, sugar, all-purpose flour, and milk. The key difference between cake flour and all purpose flour is protein content, but for magic cake the most important difference is that all purpose flour is a little heavier. The reason this cakes works is because of the different densities of the ingredients in the batter and the low baking temperature, giving them the time to separate. The secret is to follow the mixing steps correctly, so that heavier components like the flour sink to the bottom creating the crust, and lighter ones like eggs whites rise to the top to create that airy sponge cake top layer.

The most critical part of making this cake is properly separating egg whites and yolks. The first step should be mixing the egg yolks with the flour, sugar, milk, and butter to create a thin batter. Once that's done, you can mix your egg whites into stiff peaks. The egg whites should not have any egg yolk touching them at all, as this will compromise the integrity of the cake layers. A touch of cream of tartar mixed in with your egg whites will help them form into those beautiful peaks that can then be slowly folded in to the batter. 

Be careful not to mix the egg white mixture in too thoroughly or the batter will not separate optimally when baking. It's okay — and some even prefer — for the batter to have more of a chunky texture when pouring it into the cake pan. These lumps will rise to the top creating a more rustic looking cake. If you are going the more rustic route, you might consider browning your butter and swapping white sugar for brown for flavor with a bit more depth. If you are wondering what exactly brown butter is, it's not that difficult to master with a little practice. 

It's important to use a 8x8 inch square cake pan so that the batter has enough structure to separate into layers. The centre of the cake should be jiggly when you take it out of the oven, but if you are in doubt with magic cake, it's usually better to leave it in the oven a little longer. The longer it's in there, the more time the layers have to set.