A few weeks ago, I came across an article in a newspaper about a new cake recipe that was fast becoming the next big thing, after cupcakes, macaroons and pop cakes.

Magic cakes apparently are cakes that have three different layers of textures, a crumbly cake layer beneath which sits a custard textured layer which sits on top of another layer of cake.

It is the chemistry or is it alchemy, that creates the layers out of a single mix.

The article and recipe idea described was so tempting, that I had to give it a try, aside from the fact that I love anything with Chocolate.

Before making the cake, it’s helpful to check out this feature on YouTube, as I had no idea what kind of consistency the final batter should be, my first attempt at this cake didn’t quite achieve the three layers.

I got a very thin layer the first time I tried, it was still a very tasty cake and filled my house with the beautiful scent of vanilla and chocolate. I don’t think there is a more heavenly scent than a hot oven with chocolate cake baking inside.

So for ingredients, as the recipe called for a lot of milk, I’ve substituted this for Almond Milk, as my hubby reacts badly to cow’s milk.

He gets what I can only describe as a man headache, like man flu and has to lie down in a darkened room until it goes away.

So, to avoid a headache, it’s Almond milk that I’m using in this recipe, but you can, of course, use cows milk as normal.

The second time, I tried this bake, I added a small amount of white vinegar to the egg whites. I omitted this the first time, as I wasn’t sure about the idea of using vinegar, in case it wouldn’t taste very good. You can’t taste anything but sweetness and chocolate in the final cake.

You will also need a whisk and 3 mixing bowls. One for the egg whites, one for sifting flour and cocoa and one to mix it all together.

Now for the ingredients:

113g Butter

600ml Warm Milk (I used Almond milk)

115g Plain Flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

43g Cocoa powder

30ml Dark Espresso (I used powdered decaff)

4 eggs

4 drops white vinegar

210g soft brown sugar

1-2 drops Vanilla essence

8″x8″ dish

 

To make:

Preheat the oven at 165c

Soften/melt the butter

Whisk the flour and cocoa powder together

Separate and whip the egg whites until it becomes stiff as if making a meringue.

Beat egg yolks and sugar, beat in melted butter and the espresso mixture and the vanilla essence, then mix the flour and cocoa with the baking powder into the batter. Gently mix in the warm milk and gently fold in the stiff egg whites a third at a time.

It will look like a lumpy thick batter, not like a cake mix but a very thick milkshake kind of consistency.

Pour this into the prepared pan (I lined my square cake tin with greaseproof paper.

Bake at 325f/165c for 50-60 minutes.

When you get it out of the oven, the mixture may wobble a little, this is normal for this type of cake. The first time I made this cake, I wasn’t convinced and put it back in several times, but after about three times in the oven I was convinced that the wobble was expected and the cake was in fact cooked.

The second time around, it looked perfect.

Leave to cool completely.

Dust with Icing Sugar and add some fresh fruit to serve.

Hmmm, I think I’ll go and have another slice!