Custard Cake

They say they want custard cake but complain because the custard part is not thick enough. Duh, why not just eat plain leche flan? Custard or leche flan are one and the same in the Philippines and I’m talking about my blood related guinea pigs when they beg me to make the cake. It seems the custard is always not enough but wouldn’t eat leche flan and they want the cake part too so it should be custard cake- sponge cake with leche flan on top. So today, I made sure the custard part is just as thick as the sponge cake. It was pure joy just watching them enjoy it in silence. No complaints this time. I think this wraps up my kitchen activity for the day. We're going out for dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant- I should be rewarded for all my hard work today ha ha ha...

CUSTARD CAKE

For the custard:

6 whole eggs

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup whole milk

3 tbsp white sugar

¼ tsp. of finely grated lemon rind

For the cake :

3 extra large eggs, separated

6 tbsp white sugar, divided

1 cup cake flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup whole milk

1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions:

For the custard

Dump all custard ingredients in a bowl. Mix thoroughly but gently to avoid creating air bubbles in the mixture.  Make sure sugar is dissolved fully. Set aside.

For the caramel topping

Sprinkle two tablespoons white sugar on the cooking pan. Over very low heat, melt the sugar, occasionally tilting the pan. You can add a tablespoon water to help melt the sugar quicker. Remove from heat when it becomes bubbly to stop the cooking. Set aside.

For the cake

Sift together the cake flour and baking powder.

In a bowl and using a hand mixer, beat egg yolks, oil and half of your sugar until smooth and lemon colored.

Stir in vanilla extract.  Add the flour mixture and milk alternately, mixing after each addition. Mix until batter is smooth.

In another bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the remaining 3 tbsp sugar and beat until stiff.

Scoop 1/3 of the egg whites into the cake batter and using a rubber spatula, begin folding gently. Add the remaining egg whites and continue folding till well blended and the color is even. Be sure to scrape all the way to the bottom and all sides to make sure the batter is well mixed. Set aside.

Now, stir your custard mixture and with a wire strainer, pour into the prepared pan. Spoon the cake batter on top and smooth with your spatula. It should seem like it is floating on your custard mix. Cover with aluminum foil.

Place the cake pan in a larger pan half-filled with hot water. (I used our roasting pan)

Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 50 minutes to an hour. Test if done using a toothpick inserted in the middle. If still undone, cook for an additional ten minutes. Cool completely before transferring/inverting in a serving platter. Chill some more before serving.