4 Ingredient Magic Cake (No Dairy, Butter or Oil)
This magic cake magically turns into a three-layer cake as it bakes. The cake needs just 4 ingredients and doesn’t require any dairy, butter or oil. It is such a fun and unique cake to make.
This cake starts with one batter, but as it bakes, it transforms into a three-layer cake. The top layer is a very light and soft cake layer. The middle layer is a creamy custard. The bottom layer is sometimes referred to as the crust layer but it is more like a firm and dense flan. The cake traditionally is made with milk as one of the key ingredients but this version I’m sharing is dairy-free.
Ingredients
- Flour
- Eggs
- Sugar
- Vanilla unsweetened coconut milk
Flour: The cake is made with all purpose flour.
Eggs: The egg whites and yolks are divided for this recipe and the egg whites need to be whipped into a meringue.
Sugar: Regular granular white sugar is used to sweeten the cake.
Vanilla unsweetened coconut milk: Instead of regular dairy milk, this cake is made with unsweetened coconut milk. This cake does not work with other milk substitutes like almond milk. I don’t recommend using sweetened coconut milk because your cake will turn out too sweet. I also recommend that you make it with vanilla flavored coconut milk. Without the vanilla flavoring, the custard flavor is not as pleasant. Also you must use the coconut milk that comes in cartons and is designed for drinking. The canned coconut milk that is meant for cooking contains too much fat and will not work for this cake.
Magic Cake
Magic cake is a French dessert known as gâteau magique. It gets its name because the cake batter magically separates into three distinct layers as it bakes. The key ingredients are usually flour, sugar, eggs, butter and milk. This version I’m sharing does not contain butter or milk.
How to Make Dairy-Free Magic Cake
- Add the egg whites to a large mixing bowl and beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. Set aside the egg whites.
- In a separate large mixing bowl, add the flour, eggs, sugar and 1/2 cup of coconut milk. Beat with a mixer until you have a lump-free batter.
- Add the remaining milk and mix in on low speed until evenly combined.
- Fold in the egg whites in three batches. You do not need to completely incorporate the egg whites and it is okay to have small lumps of egg whites in the batter. You just need to fold in until the egg whites are evenly mixed into the batter.
- Pour the batter into your prepared baking pan and bake for about 40-50 minutes or until done.
Texture
The cake has a very light, soft cake layer. This is followed by a creamy custard layer. The bottom is a firmer flan layer. If you’ve had magic cake before, this dairy-free version does shrink more along the edges compared to ones made with regular milk, so be prepared for a little bit more of a rustic appearance for the edge pieces.
Expert Tips
- Make sure to use the drinking kind of coconut milk. If you can’t find vanilla flavored, you can add 2 teaspoons of vanilla to your cake batter.
- This dairy-free version of magic cake does shrink more than the dairy version. However, the cake is still delicious and tastes just like the dairy version.
- You can make this cake with low fat milk if you don’t need it to be dairy-free.
More Magic Cake Recipes
4 Ingredient Magic Cake (Dairy-Free)
Ingredients
- 4 large large eggs, whites and yolks separated
- 3/4 cup (96g) all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup (148g) granulated white sugar
- 2 cups (16 fl oz/473ml) vanilla flavored unsweetened coconut milk, see note
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Line an 8 x 8 inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving some overhang for easy removal later.
- In a large mixing bowl, add egg whites. Beat egg whites on high speed with the wire whisk attachment until stiff peaks form. Your mixing bowl and mixer must be completely clean before adding and beating the egg whites, otherwise the egg whites will not turn into stiff peaks. Set aside. If your kitchen is very warm, place the beaten egg whites into the fridge.
- In a separate mixing bowl, add egg yolks, flour, sugar and 1/2 cup (4 fl oz) of milk. (Make sure to only add 1/2 cup right now. If you add all of the milk you will not be able to mix your batter.) Beat on high speed until batter is smooth and no flour lumps remain. Once batter is smooth, add in remaining milk (1 1/2 cups). Reduce speed on mixer to low and mix until milk is incorporated into the batter. Your batter will be very thin.
- Gently stir and fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the cake batter with a silicone spatula. Because the cake batter is so thin, you do need to scoop from the bottom of the batter and fold to make sure the egg whites are evenly incorporated. Fold until only small egg white lumps remain and the batter is evenly light (i.e., if you lift some of the batter from the bottom it should also be the same color as the top batter and have the same amount of egg whites). Repeat with the next 1/3 and then final 1/3 of egg whites. Your batter should look very light and airy and should have some small lumps of egg whites.
- Pour batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake for about 40-50 minutes, or until cake is done (mine took 45 minutes). When the cake is done, a cake tester should come out clean and the surface should be light brown. Let cake cool before removing and cutting. As the cake cools it will deflate around the sides. That is normal. This cake will deflate more than magic cake made with dairy milk.
- If serving the cake at room temperature, allow the cake to fully cool about 2-3 hours before cutting. This allows the cake flavors to develop better and allows the cake to firm up enough to cut. You can also put the cake into the fridge for a few hours before serving. Placing the cake in the fridge will create a firmer custard that is less eggy in flavor. I personally like the softer egg custard at room temperature but some of my family members prefer the flavor and taste after it has been refrigerated. You can also dust the cake with powdered sugar before serving. As noted in the last step, the cake does deflate along the edges. You can trim off those edge pieces if you want all the slices to look nicer.
- Store uneaten cake pieces in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.
Notes
- Coconut milk note: This recipe works best with unsweetened vanilla coconut milk. You want to make sure you are using the drinking type of coconut milk and not canned coconut used for cooking because the latter has too much fat and the recipe won't work. You also want it to be unsweetened because sweetened will make the cake too sweet. Also, make sure it has vanilla flavoring added, or add your own vanilla (2 teaspoons) if you can't find vanilla flavored coconut milk. Without the vanilla flavor, the milk and egg flavors are too strong. I used So Delicious Unsweetened Vanilla Coconut Milk.*
- *This product link is an affiliate link. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
- Flour note: This cake was tested with regular all purpose flour. All purpose flour usually has 3 grams of protein per 1/4 cup serving. There are some brands of all purpose flour that are a high protein all purpose flour (4 grams of protein per 1/4 cup) such as King Arthur and Bob's Red Mill. Avoid using high protein all purpose flour.
Looks very appertizing, thanks for sharing!
Thank you!
Can this cake be made with substitute sugars for diabetics ?
We haven’t tested this recipe with a sugar substitute yet!
Can I use cow milk?
We haven’t tested this recipe with cows milk so we are not sure if you would get the same result!