Chocolate Orange Magic Cake
One cake batter = 3 layered cake, as if by magic!
Servings: 9
Equipment
- 20cm (8in) syqare cake tin
- baking parchment
- 2 large mixing bowls
- 2 small saucepans
- hand held electric whisk or balloon whisk
Ingredients
For the Sponge Batter
- 125 g butter (4oz) plus a little extra for greasing
- 475 ml milk (16½floz) )full fat, or semi-skimmed, not skimmed
- 4 medium eggs
- 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar optional
- 150 g golden caster sugar (5oz)
- 2 capful orange extract
- 100 g plain flour (3½ oz)
- 30 g cocoa powder (1¼oz)
To finish
- 1 - 2 teaspoon icing Sugar for dusting before serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160℃ (150℃ fan)/320°F/gas mark 3. Grease and line a 20cm (8in) square cake tin with baking parchment. Ensure the parchments extends beyond the sides of the tin to aid the removal of the magic cake once baked.
- Gently melt 125g butter in a small pan and heat 475ml milk in another pan until lukewarm.
- Separate 4 eggs and place the whites in one large mixing bowl and the egg yolks in the other.
- Whisk the egg whites until standing in stiff peaks, then whisk in the vinegar.
- Next, whisk the egg yolks with 150g caster sugar until pale and thick. Whisk in 2 capfuls of orange extract. Then stir in the melted butter with a spatula and mix well.
- Sieve 100g flour and 30g cocoa powder into the batter and mix together until combined. Pour a third of the lukewarm milk into the batter and mixed to combine, then gradually add the remaining milk until all of the milk is incorporated into the batter.
- Carefully fold the whisked egg whites, a third at a time, into the batter, until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared brownie tin and bake in the centre of the oven for about 50 minutes (check after 40 minutes). The cake is ready when just the tiniest of wobbles still remain when you shake the pan.
- Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool in the tin for at least 15 minutes. Use the parchment to carefully lift the magic cake from the tin. Place onto the cooling rack to cool completely
- Serve cut into squares and lightly dust with icing sugar just before serving if desired.
Notes
Cook's Notes
- If you prefer a richer chocolate flavour, substitute some of the plain flour for more cocoa.
- Avoid overheating the milk and butter. If they feel hotter than lukewarm before they're added to the batter, dip the base of the pan into cold water to cool quickly. Avoid getting water inside the pan.
- Use a spatula or balloon whisk to incorporate the flour and milk to the batter. Electric beaters or stand mixers will create a cloud of flour and splatter the milk everywhere!
- The uncooked batter will be very thin, similar to single cream.
- The baked magic cake is likely to have a few cracks on the surface once removed from the oven. As the cake cools the cake will drop very slightly and the cracks will be largely unnoticeable.