The Most Popular Dessert of 2024 Is Pure Magic

It’s like three desserts in one.

Blame it on my sweet tooth, but I find just about all desserts delightful. Of course, I have my favorites—cool and creamy Italian panna cotta or a slice of dense chocolate cake are just a couple of treats I can’t say no to—however, I am always seeking out new recipes to add to my after-dinner repertoire. 

Magic cake is something I’ve heard murmurs about but I’d never actually tasted it or tried to make it myself. It turns out that it was far and away the most popular dessert recipe on Simply Recipes this year. Now that I’ve finally baked it, I can completely understand why. As the name implies, it’s pure magic.

What Is Magic Cake?

Magic cake, or gâteau magique, is a traditional dessert from Southwestern France that has recently gained popularity worldwide. Why exactly? Because one simple batter createsthree distinct layers: a fudgy crust, creamy custard, and fluffy cake top. And it’s all thanks to kitchen science. 

Here’s how it happens. A low oven temperature slows the baking of the cake so that the starch sinks to the bottom to form a crust, air bubbles from egg whites rise to the top to make a fluffy cake, and a thick custard sits in between the two. Slicing into this cake is simply magical because it’s almost like getting multiple desserts in one—which for someone as indecisive as myself, is a tiny victory.

Tips for Making Magic Cake

To be honest, one of the reasons I never tried to make magic cake in the past was because I assumed it was difficult. I was very wrong. The ingredient list is short and simple, calling for pantry items I almost always have on hand, and achieving the three layers is actually quite easy. There are lots of useful tips in the recipe itself, but after baking the cake myself, I learned a few more smart tricks:

• The recipe calls for using a hand mixer to both beat the egg whites and make the batter. I only have a stand mixer, and I didn’t want to have to fuss with washing the bowl of the stand mixer twice, so I used it to whip the egg whites but beat the batter by hand. I used a sturdy whisk to ensure the egg yolk mixture was pale and creamy, then switched to a rubber spatula to stir in the flour.
• Bake the cake in the center of the oven. You want even heat from all sides of the oven to help the layers form and set without the top or bottom burning.
• While you’ll get cleaner layers from a fridge-cold cake, I preferred the flavor of this cake at room temperature. As the recipe states, you won’t get ultra-clean slices, but rather more of a spoon cake, which I didn’t mind one bit as we finally hit chilly mid-autumn. 
• There’s so much room to play around here flavor-wise. Instead of ground nutmeg, I added a big pinch each of ground cinnamon and ground cardamom. As the holidays draw near, I am eager to try a recommended variation featuring both cocoa powder and orange zest to make a treat that’s reminiscent of the Terry's Chocolate Oranges I grew up with in my Christmas stocking. After that, I am thinking of swapping the suggested Nutella for peanut butter.

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