Magic Milo Custard Cake

I've been scratching my head over what birthday cake to make for a family friend's son, Timothy. I recalled he loves Milo whenever we go over to fetch our girl and decided to make him a Magic Milo Custard Cake.

Milo is a chocolate and malt powder which is mixed with hot or cold water or milk to produce a malted chocolate beverage popular in many parts of the world. I personally find milo to be akin to hot chocolate when I mix it into hot milk.

I've adapted the original Magic Custard Cake slightly to make a Milo version. The outcome...thumbs up!

There are 3 distinct layers to this cake. The bottom layer is denser and kueh-like probably due to the flour batter, the middle is a custard layer from the egg yolks while the top and fluffy layer is from the egg meringue floating to the top. 

I'm so glad that everyone enjoyed this delectable cake!

Magic Milo Custard Cake

makes a 8" square pan 

Ingredients:

113g unsalted butter

485g milk
3 satchets of 3-1 milo

1 tbspn water

4 eggs, separated

115g plain flour

70g sugar

2 tbspn sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract
some chocolate bits/shavings for decoration



Two of the star ingredients : Milk and Milo satchets

Method:

1. Lightly grease and line a 8"x8" square pan.

2. Preheat the oven to 160ºC.

3. Melt the butter and set aside to cool slightly. Warm the milk to lukewarm and stir in the 3 satchets of milo. Stir till dissolved and set aside.

4. In a separate bowl, sift flour.

5. Whisk egg whites till foamy. Add 2 tablespoon sugar and whisk to stiff peaks.

6. Beat the egg yolks and sugar until light.

7. Beat in the melted butter and the tablespoon of water for about 2 minutes or until evenly incorporated.

8. Mix in flour until evenly incorporated.

9. Gently stir in the milo-milk mixture and vanilla extract until everything is well mixed. I used a handwhisk to do this as it is a very liquid batter to avoid splattering.

10. Fold in the egg whites, 1/3 at a time. Repeat until all of the egg whites are folded in.

11. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50-55 minutes or until the top is golden.

12. Allow cake to completely cool on a wire rack.

13. Cover the top of the cake pan with cling wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours before removing the cake from the pan.

14. Trim the sides of the cakes, decorate as desired and serve.

Some important pointers: 

- Temperature of the ingredients are important. The milk should only be lukewarm so that it does not cook the eggs.

- As the batter is very liquid, it is better to use a hand whisk rather than an electric whisk. Otherwise, you'll end up having to clean up all the splatters.

- When folding in the meringue to the egg yolk mixture, I prefer to use a hand whisk. The mixture is very liquid and curdly. Have no fear, this is normal. Just fold in the whites gently till there's not big chunks of whites left.

- For ease of removal from the cake pan, line with parchment paper. Have about 1 1/2 - 2 inches of parchment paper hanging outside the pan so that the cake can be easily lifted up the cake pan.

- As the cake from the oven will be wobbly and jiggery, I will chill it in the fridge (with a cling wrap covering the pan) after it is completely cooled on wire rack. I find it easier to remove from the cake pan and cut the cake after it has been chilled in the fridge.

- The cake will shrink after it is cooled, so do not be too alarmed.

- Trim the sides of the cake so that you can present the 3 magical layers. 

I'm linking this post to the Best Recipes for Everyone, September Event : Chocolate Wonderland, hosted by XuanHom's Mom Kitchen Diary.

Do link back to LY's Kitchen Ventures if you have used any information published in this blog.