If you think that’s too much custard and too little cake, you’re wrong. That is the perfect custard cake according to my husband. In fact he made me promise that that would be the name of this recipe. There is custard cake and there is custard cake but there is only one perfect custard cake — the kind that has more custard than cake. If you want a little history to go with this recipe, read Speedy’s cooking instructions on how to make cassava cake with custard topping. That’s the reason why this custard cake is the way it is.
Surprisingly, Speedy was right. It is possible to have all that custard without the cake falling sideways when sliced. If the custard is firm enough, it won’t crack and separate from the bread.
The basis for this recipe is one I found in All Favorite Recipes. But because I wanted less bread and more custard, I had to reduce the amounts of sugar considerably. Otherwise, the baked cake would have been too sweet.
Note that only a sponge-type batter will work when making a custard cake. DO NOT be tempted to short cut the procedure by using commercial yellow cake mix or a recipe for butter-type yellow cake. Butter-type cake batter is too dense and it will sink into the custard. The result is that you won’t have separate custard and bread layers but a very dense cake with no real character.
First you have to make the caramel with which to coat the bottom of the baking pan. Read the how to caramelize sugar entry for a step-by-step guide.
Ingredients :
For best results, all the ingredients, the eggs and milk in particular, must be at room temperature.
For the custard :
6 eggs (yolks and whites)
1 c. of sweetened condensed milk
1 c. of skim milk (the ready-to-drink kind)
1/4 c. of white sugar
1/4 tsp. of finely grated lemon rind
For the cake :
3 egg yolks
1/4 c. minus 1 tbsp. of white sugar
3/4 c. of cake flour
1/2 tsp. of baking powder
1/4 c. of skim milk
3 egg whites
1/4 c. minus 1 tbsp. of white sugar (no, this is not a typo — you need two measures of the same amount of sugar)
Place all the ingredients for the custard in a bowl.
Mix until the sugar is completely dissolved. Do not beat as you do not want air bubbles in the mixture.
Place a strainer (you can use a piece of muslin) over the baking pan and pour in the custard mixture.
Sift together the cake flour and baking powder.
Place the 1/4 c. minus 1 tbsp. of sugar and egg yolks in a bowl.
Beat until smooth and lemon colored.
Add the flour mixture and milk alternately, mixing after each addition.
After all the flour and milk have been added, mix until the batter is smooth.
In another bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the second 1/4 c. minus 1 tbsp. of sugar little by little while beating continuously. Continue beating until the egg white mixture is stiff (see step-by-step guide on stages of beating egg whites).
Now you mix the egg yolk and egg white mixtures together. Remember that the reason you beat the egg white to stiff peaks is to create all those tiny air bubbles. It is these bubbles that will give volume and the light texture to your cake. Work carefully so as not to break them.
Add half of the egg white mixture to the egg yolk mixture and, using a rubber scraper and the cut and fold technique, blend the two mixtures together. Remember to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Then, add this blended mixture to the remaining half of the egg white mixture, and continue cutting and folding until the mixture is well blended and the color is even. Again, remember to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. No streaks of white nor yellow should be visible.
Pour the cake batter over the custard. Unless you overworked the mixtures and the tiny bubble burst, the cake batter should float on the custard.
Using a spatula, smoothen the top of the batter carefully. It doesn’t have to be perfectly smooth. This is an upside-down cake and so the top becomes the bottom, and out of view, when you serve the cake. Just make sure that all the sides are sealed with the cake batter so that the custard does not boil over it during baking.
Place the cake pan in a larger pan half-filled with hot (not boiling) water. Bake in a preheated 350oF oven for 50 minutes to an hour. After 50 minutes, insert a toothpick at the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is done. If not, bake a few minutes longer, testing every five minutes or so.
That’s how the cake looks when it comes out of the oven. The top is nicely browned. It’s tempting to invert and serve the cake at this point — BUT DON’T! The custard is still soft and you’ll ruin the cake if you try and serve it at this stage. Cool the cake — COMPLETELY. Place it on the counter with a screen cover. After an hour or two, you can continue cooling it in the fridge if you’re really in a hurry to serve it.
When the cake has cooled, take a plate that can hold the cake and place it upside down on top of the baking pan. With one hand under the baking pan and the other hand on top of the plate, invert the cake onto the plate. I advise you to do this over the sink because there is always a chance that the caramel will spill.
So, there you have your custard cake. All you have to do is to slice it and serve. In case the layers of cake and custard aren’t too distinct in the photo above, see the one below.
In my husband’s definition — that’s the perfect custard cake.
P.S. The hands in the photos — mine in some, my daughter Alex’s in others. She and I baked the custard cake. 
Wow Ms Connie, nakakagutom naman
I’d like to try it though wala pa akong oven. Pede kaya isteam yan? =)
It won’t brown on top. Without the dry crusty top when you invert it the cake will get squished.
What was the size of the baking pan that you used?
9 inch square pan.
That is indeed the perfect custard to cake ratio.
Is is possible to make it layer by layer (custard-cake-custard-cake)? I’m thinking that would be the one step above perfect custard cake. You’d get custard every bit of bite.
Interesting idea but I don’t know if the uncooked batter can stand the weight of the uncooked liquid custard.
wow!!! another to-die-for recipe na naman from ms. connie! galing mo talaga
i’ll definitely do this TONIGHT —- as in!:D
yummy,yummy recipe na naman!!!
connie,what if i opt not to make d cake and replace it with a store-bought chiffon cake?
will i get d same result?? i have not been successful in d “beating d eggwhites stiff”process kaya i’m not that confident to make d cake portion of this recipe.
i have not yet invested in an electric mixer kaya everything i bake are done manually.
thanks,connie,for another hit recipe!!!
You mean put a baked cake on top of the liquid custard? It’ll get soaked and sink. Custard and cake have to cook at the same time to stick together.
That’s so interesting. I’ll give it a try. I reminds me of something else I had tried in childhood. A tocino de cielo cake…
Ah that’s made with meringue and custard. I’d like to make that someday too.
tocino de cielo… meringue and custard… parang pavlova ba ito?
ang ganda ganda ng custard cake mo.i’d like to try this. thanks connie.
Pavlova has cream. Tocino del cielo is made with eggs and sugar. In some versions, it is very similar to leche flan. In other versions, it is the egg white that is steamed as a mold and the thin custard (made with the egg yolks) is poured over it.
wow! nice recipe… i used to eat this when i was a kid… from the local bakery near my grandparent’s house since nobody baked among my relatives back then.
the tocino del cielo i know is like mini leche flans but has richer mouthfeel… i think the steamed meringue with custard sauce is canonigo.
@Misao: Ah yes! You are right! It is canonigo. Thanks for the correction.
hello…
i’d just like to ask if i can use all-purpose flour instead of cake flour?
i planned to make this cake this coming thursday for our small gathering on friday evening. can i put it on the fridge before inverting it on a plate then invert it the next day nalang?
tnx…
ingat
To make cake flour: place 1 tbsp. of cornstarch in a measuring cup. Fill with flour to get 1 cup of cake flour.
Yes, chilling in the fridge is a good idea.
i think I’ll be forced to buy an electric mixer in order for me to perfect this cake by myself…can’t let my arms hurt again.
Thanks for this recipe ms. connie. It looks super sarap!
holy mackerel!!! i agree with speedy that
that’s a perfect custard cake…and what a way
to bond with alex…
would you blame me if i bake it now even
if my husband is diabetic?
the picture tutorial is very helpful..
THANKS
Alex has been spending a lot of time with me in the kitchen these days. We even made siopao together recently.
That sure looks like a perfect Custard Cake. Looks sooooo yummy! I also want to learn how to make Siopao. Did you already post it?
Hi Miss Connie,
Is it strictly skim milk or can I just use regular milk (Anchor Milk)? Im not good at baking but this looks easy.. Thanks
Yes, but not powdered milk.
hi ms. connie! kamusta po? your perfect custard cake looks great, it looks so yummy hehe..i wanna try that sometime. so whole eggs po ginamit nyo sa custard?hindi ko pa po kasi nasubukan yun for the leche flan,wow, interesting.naalala ko po tuloy yung nabasa ko sa isang asian recipe for leche flan,whole eggs ang ginamit,gusto ko po sanang subukan pero nagdadalawang isip ako pero now i wanna try it w/ your recipe. it looks so good hehe..
its like having two desserts in one, leche flan and cake. i can’t wait to try this ms. connie. thank u so much for sharing your recipes to us, your an inspiration. keep up the good work and pls. keep your blog hehe..it help us a looot. thank u so much.
babalitaan ko po kayo kapag nasubukan ko na at ano magiging resulta,sna magawa ko ng maayos hehe..cge po ingat.regards to ur family.
ooopppps!!! need to obey my mentor.will bake both cake n custard na,mentor connie v.i really need to buy a mixer.
thanks uli for d tip, connie!!!!!
Even without a mixer you can do it. Wire whisk. It’ll make your arm ache but it can be done.
mentor connie,found d solution to my “beating d eggwhites stiff” dilemma!!!
I USED D BLENDER!!! (LOL) d eggwhites came out with stiff peaks.tried it also with d all purpose cream–whipped cream galore!!!
there is still life sans an electric mixer…:)
okay din ang wire whisk,sabi nga ni mentor connie.just have a muscle relaxant on hand,my friends,kc you’ll really end up with a sore arm….ngalay to d max talaga!!
sarap magbake talaga…..
yun pong gagamitin na skim milk sa cake di po ba pede na evap na milk na lang?
Pwede but half evap, half water
parusa! hindi ko pa nga nagagawa yong blueberry cheesecake me panibago na uli.
gusto kong unahin to, haylabyu tita cons.
Hi, Connie! This is so good. I like that you also included making the caramelize sugar. I’m not good at making this. Everytime I make leche flan, I always fail on the caramelized sugar. Sometimes they end up like candy once the leche flan hardens..hahah!
Can I make a request..wink..wink! I know there is Estrel’s Caramel cake there..which I terribly miss..can you deconstruct the icing for this? Caramel cakes in the US is not as good as that of Estrel’s. The icing is not to my panlasa, well, hindi pasa sa Pinoy na dila
Please upon my pleading, can you find it in your heart to experiment on this and duplicate or at least match Estrel’s cake and especially the icing. I’ve tried so many times, but I’ve never been good at handling caramel! A lot of readers outside of Manila will surely love and appreciate this..pasasalamatan ka namin talaga!!! Magiging champion ka talaga sa amin!! hahah!!..wink..wink 
That’s a very tempting suggestion, Maite. With so much baking going on in the house these days, I just might attempt that.
I’ll definitely try this one. YUM!!!!
this is my weakness, i have been trying for a week now to bake a
mango cake. now instead icing i’ll make the custard, my mango
has been yelling at me “i’m ripeeeee. gladly i bought this green bag
that makes fruit and veggies stay fresh longer.i don’t know what toxins
it has but they work. the mango cake is chiffon like yours but twice as much cake ….i’ll probably need twice as much custard. i’ll let you know
how it is ,the problem is who will eat this?
Mareza, you can even make mango custard to go with the mango chiffon cake.
hi Ms. Connie,
I’ve been a loyal follower of your blog even back when I was living in Pinas.:) Now that I am here in New York, I still read and follow your easy to do and yet great recipes.
Question po, pwede ba na instead of Skim or Evap milk eh regular milk ang gamitin ko?
And I noticed na silicone baking pan ang ginamit nyo, pareho parin kaya ang results kung regular metal baking pan ang gagamitin ko? Kailangan po b i follow yung size9 inch na square baking pan, And same temperature ba?
Thank you for the wonderful recipes that you’ve been sharing us.
God Bless you po.:))
Same pan size = same temperature. If you change the pan size, I can’t tell what temperature you’ll need. Too small pan and too high temp can mean burnt outside and an uncooked center.
You can use any milk. If it’s evap, dilute it with water using a 1:1 ratio.
Silicone pan is non-stick and makes it ideal for baking. You can use metal, glass or ceramic pan but you MAY have to line or grease the sides.
Thank you Ms.Connie,
and God Bless you and your family always…more blog posts to come!
)
CHEERS!
Ms. Connie, I remember Speedy’s comments on your cassava cake. Perhaps this time, the custard is enough for him?
He’s very happy. hehehehe
Hi miss connie,
hi,since i was a kid, i really love custard cake, so when i saw your recipe, i try to bake for my family. actually, naka trice na po akong gumawa, its really masarap, but im not successful sa caramel, hindi nag kulay amber ang upper portion ng custard ko… what kind of sugar ba gagamitin ko.?
Hi, Connie! How are you? It’s been a while.
Anyway, I love how you did the step-by-step procedure. I might try this one of these days. Thanks so much for sharing.
Regards,
Salen
Hi Salen, I’m great thanks.
I hope you’re not on a diet — this custard cake is absolutely sinful. LOL!
Hello Connie,
This is my first time to leave a comment on your blog, but I have been a lurker for a few good years. Thank you very much for sharing this good recipe of yours. This has been my favorite since when I was a small girl. I never found a recipe for this until today.My children will surely enjoy this just as I had many years ago.
i think by far this is the best custard cake ive seen. nice job.
Wow! Ang sarap naman Ate Connie. Nakakagutom. Yan ang custard cake! I will try this one day.
this is absolutely divine! great work. i hope someday i can make something like this.
I just had to look at the picture again. Your custard cake was in my dreams last night! Hubby’s cholesterol levels must come back normal before I can bake this cake.
Pwede bang order nalang ako ng isa piraso
.
Naku, eh wala parating extra — simot dito yang custard cake na yan. hehehehe
What an interesting idea- I’ve never seen anything like that. Looks fantastic!
hi miss connie,
i try baking it again, i go back to your instruction how to caramelized d sugar, and guess what? I DID IT! im very happy, hindi mapigilan ang anak ko, every other day na ako gumagawa. LOL, this week lang yata ako nakapag rest.
Thanks for sharing….
hi ms connie,
i cant seem to find any baking powder in groceries. ive already checked several big ones. is der a substitute or can i just not put some? or do u know were i can buy?
most thankful!
faye
There is no substitute for baking powder. You can’t omit it because your cake won’t rise. Check the baking section. Baking powder is usually next to flour and cornstarch. Look for a red and white can (or packets) with the brand Calumet.
I stumbled upon your site and I’m glad I did. This cake looks so good! I’m going to try it next time I have a party! After the cake is cooled in the refrigerator does the caramel stick to the bottom of the pan? Does it need to be dipped in hot water to release or does it just come out easily?
No need. Half of the caramelized sugar remains in liquid form and even drips down the sides of the cake when it is inverted.
For the custard is it one cup of condensed milk and one cup of skim milk?
Yes.
hi again ms connie,
ive tried the recipe. its my 1st time to bake so i have many things to learn. 1st, the egg whites with batter did not completely floated. it subsided on 1 side. i think i underdone the mixing of the egg whites. and a funny thing, i overlooked the part that i have to place it in a larger pan with hot water. i dont have anything that can have my prepared cake so i just baked it and placed in inside the oven as it is. wish me luck. my cake just came out of the oven and cooling. hopefully it will be edible tomorrow and just enough not to throw it. thanks
Hi Connie,
I’ve tried to bake custard cake so many times. Okey naman ang taste and appearance BUT this recipe of yours is close to PERFECT. I will keep and cook this recipe FOREVER. Thanks to you.
ms.connie, i baked it last night. oh, the taste was heavenly. however, when i inverted it, the custard cracked in some parts. bakit kaya?
Probably needs a bit more cooling?
hi ms connie,just come across ur site & i’m so glad i did!.. this custard cake is really tempting & i really want to try it out..but my problem is i’m using a microwave convectional oven 41L..do i still need to preheat the oven? how many hrs will be the baking time then?
please advise..thanks!:)
Dang, I don’t understand what you mean by a microwave convectional oven. As far as I know, a microwave oven and a convection oven are two different things.
hi miss connie, i like this recipe and i want to try this sometime, but can i ask if i can substitute cake flour into all purpose flour?thanks…
Yes, but not vice versa.
ms.connie, i’ve got a problem! hope you can help me with this.
i’ve been trying so hard to bake. but most of the time, sunog yung bottom and sides. ano kayang problem?
thanks a lot!
The oven is too hot or the pan is the wrong size or both. You should check if the thermostat control of your oven is working.
hi ms. connie,
may i ask if pyrex baking dish can stand the heat of the oven. as what i know microwave lang pwede. i’m afraid baka mabasag sa sobrang init. this will be my first time to bake if ever. thanks po….
Pyrex has been making ovenware before the microwave was invented. Pyrex ovenware was created for conventional ovens unless otherwise specified.
hi ms. connie,
i did bake yesterday,sad to say the cake was too hard. i think i didn’t do well in beating the egg white.the custard is fine.
thanks!
ms connie. thanks for sharing this recipe with each step photographed. it really helped the whole prep and baking process. this one’s a definite winner!
omg… I made this today in my glass Pyrex dish and it turned out so well! I could only wait 20 minutes before flipping it over… But it flipped over beautifully with the caramel sauce pouring over the top and sides!! I had a problem with my egg whites not becoming stiff peaks but I still folded it into the egg yolks. The cake was still spongey but a bit flatter than I am used to. My friends really enjoyed it so thanks for the recipe.
I took a picture of it and credited you with the recipe:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36216586@N03/3469755702/
Thank you!!
That is lovely! Thanks for sharing the photo.
hi ms.connie! thank you so much for sharing this mouth watering perfect custard cake recipe…
i tried it and fortunately succeeded!
my family love it up to the last bite of the custard…=)
i posted it at my facebook account..just to make yabang out of my effort… and again thanks to you…
God Bless…..
Hello – I accidentally found your website and this cake and I love it. I am not a baker but wanted to try this. I have done it twice already and although everyone loved it, I found that the cake becomes too dense. I wonder what I am doing wrong. The batter does floats perfectly on top of the caramel so it should be perfect. Am I overbeating the egg whites. Please help
I am writing from Toronto,Canada. I also enjoy reading all the receipes that you have posted. thanks
You might be underbeating the egg whites. Or perhaps your eggs were too small.
Sorry – I am using large eggs, should I be using extra large eggs? to get more egg whites ? I thought I have beaten the egg whites to the stiffness that you suggested, I probably have not. Is the consistency of the cake to be like a sponge cake ,even lighter?
thanks again
I use large eggs too. If the egg size is not the issue, it’s probably the egg whites. Either they weren’t beaten enough or the bubbles deflated during mixing with the egg yolk mixture.
I appreciate your quick replies. I will try it again this weekend as my family did like it – even though the cake was not perfect .Thank you
dear ms. connie,
hi! upon browsing your website, i happened to see your recipe for a custard cake. you know waht ms. cons, i made it that same day! i baked in the wee hours of the night so i could concentrate on the procedure (i have 2 daughters kasi ages 3 & 1 kaya magulo pag gising pa sila =)
i baked at around 10pm and to my delight, i made the perfect custard cake! it’s super yummy!!! though my brother doesn’t like the taste of lemon in the custard, maybe the next time i’ll be making it again, i’ll omit the lemon rind in his honor hehehe. thank you for the wonderful recipes. God bless you & your family.
nakakagutom!
Great recipe! I was wondering if this recipe would work if I made the cake into 3 layers (cake, custard and cake again)? If I put one layer of cake and then the carmalized sugar and then the custard, would the carmalized sugar soak into the cake instead of the custard?
“would the carmalized sugar soak into the cake…”
Yes, I do think it will.
Hi! Thanks for this recipe. I used to buy them at our local bakery store and now I can make one for myself. Thanks to you.
This is actually my third try making this. The first and second were not so successful since I believe I failed to beat the eggwhites properly thus they didn’t float well over the custard. My husband liked the custard even the cake itself was not properly baked. When my second attempt still turned futile he offered to buy me a mixer/beater this time. Finally, for the third try I did it! Love it. And he loves it, too. He couldn’t stop eating. Thank you!
hi ms. connie, thanks for all the delicious recipes. halos lahat na-try ko na at lahat patok sa family and friends ko. i even told them about your website dahil laking tulong talaga especially sa ‘ming mga misis na walang alam sa pagluluto. anyway, i just want to ask about the custard cake recipe. i tried it 2x na. my problem is the custard dahil palaging malambot sa gitna unlike yours na firm. pano ko ba magagawang firm ang custard? is it the eggs or the way of mixing it? thanks and God Bless!
HI Ms. Connie,
Can I use vanilla instead of the lemon rind? Would 1 tsp of vanilla be too much?
Thanks
1 tsp. would be normal; I just don’t know if vanilla will go well with mangoes.
Oh my, my mouth is just watering looking at this! I have to make this soon! I really love your site!
hi miss connie.can i use plain flour instead of cake flour?thanx!
When you measure your flour, place 1 tbsp. of cornstarch in the measuring cup then add the all-purpose flour and you have cake flour.
thank u miss connie! ill try this recipe 2nyt.
miss connie,
can i do the custard with all egg yolks? if so, around how many do you think should i use to get the equivalent of the 6 whole eggs?
thanks,
nikki
12.
thanks, miss connie!
Ms. Connie,
what kind of pan did you use for putting a hot water for the cake pan? You think po okay lang if I use a pyrex pan (medyo hinde po kasi kakapalan yun and i’ll just check the water baka it’ll dry-out?
Thanks you for sharing this recipe, one of my favorite that I really miss in the Philippines! yahoo!!!! bahala na madadagan ng calories, matikman ko lang to! wipee!!! God bless po! matutuwa rin ang baby ko at hubby ko nito.=)
I used a large rectangular Anchor (glass) baking pan.
i made this on my husband( he is british) birthday last aug.9 and its great, his friend really loved it and naubos nila..next week i will do it again, dahil nagrequest uli husband ko.
thanks ate connie, more power po.
i have tasted a similar cake here in texas. its called chocoflan, u can use a store bought ready to use cake mix instead of made from scratch cake batter. would love to try this perfect custard cake! thanks Connie.
Hi Connie,
Thank you for all your recipes. I did your special puto cheese recently and it was a success.
Anyway, my question to this is, do i have to use skim milk, or can I substitute this with the regular milk, or evap kaya? Pls. advise.
Thanks.
Any milk. Even coconut milk is good. Evap will have to be diluted, I think.
hi ms. connie! naging successful na rin sa wakas ang custard cake ko. ask ko lang kung pwede kong i-half ang ingredients for the custard cake? if yes, how many egg yolks and whites ang pwede kong gamitin sa cake?
I can’t guess because I’ve never tried using only half the recipe. Maraming affected dyan, di lang amount ng ingredients — length of baking time, size of pan…
I really love this kind of custard cake recipe that u made here.Im planning to bake for my husband soon.I just wonder how to make the eggwhite stiff and foamy if theres no C.O.T. I noticed that you didnt put C.O.T in one of your ingredients here.
Cream of tartar isn’t necessary at all. Just jeep beating.
Luckily, all the ingredients are available in my kitchen now. I’m going to try this one out. Looks yummy!Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Hi Connie. is it okay if I skip the caramel on the pan?
No. The custard will stick to the pan.
This is now cooling in the fridge. Can’t wait for dessert tonight! Just wondering tho, are all sponge cake recipes without oil/butter? Also, my cake top browned too soon (20 min into the oven) tented it the rest of the time so the top was not too crusty. Hope this doesn’t cause the cake to collapse (gasp!) Thanks for your wonderful recipes
Chiffon cake is a sponge cake but it contains oil.
Thanks for this recipe, I love it! Had it for dessert, I’m sure it will taste even better well chilled (couldnt wait) Need to work on my cake tho, not as spongy as I would like it to be. Think its my folding of the batter, I’m pretty sure I got the eggwhites right. Same problem as my chiffon cakes, the “holes” in the cake are not as fine as the ones in store bought cakes. Any tips?
The uneven holes means your cake is natural. Anything that is too even and uniform… something artificial is usually added.
Ahh! Thanks! Natural is good
Will make this again for thanksgiving potluck 
Thinking of a mocha cake / coffee lecheflan/custard combo.
Hi Connie! I used your recipe for my first attempt at making Custard Cake. It’s out of the oven now, cooling for the next hour.
I hesitated with one ingredient, though — grated lemon rind — so I skipped it. Is it really for the custard or the cake? I checked the recipe you mentioned from All Favorite Recipes and it was for the cake. In your version, it’s for the custard.
Also, I used evaporated milk because it’s what I have in hand. I also read that its greater fat content will enrich the custard and moisten the cake. But I’ll get to judge later… when my Custard Cake is completely cooled.
Lemon rind (or even strips of lemongrass) is a common ingredient for leche flan.
I thought I was so weird that I baked a custard cake with more custard than cake. But when I saw the pic that you did the same thing, then now I know I am not so weird after all. thanks for making me feel better.
Btw, my Lola used dayap (lime) instead of lemon when making leche flan but I don’t coz my son doesn’t like the taste. and also, use evap instead of milk. I used 3.25% milk once and the custard taste more like creme brulee.
Hi Mam Connie! i just baked this recipe using 2 round alum baking dish.. sakto ang sukat para sa aking round alum dish..it’s in the cooling stage kaya di ko pa matikman kahit natatakam na ako..i’ll take some pics & post it here pero bukas pa yon..
anyway, thanks sa mga recipe mo.. it’s a great help for me na nagsisimulang maging hobby ang cooking..nag baked din ako kanina ng Baked Macaroni & it’s a success!
Hi Mam Connie!
i have the photos of my custard cake pero d ko alam kung pwede ako dito mag upload…
it looks very yummy..halos maubos ng hubby ko ang dalawang llanera..
gawa uli ako this weekend para sa friend ko.. salamat uli for sharing your recipe..
i can’t believe i found a custard cake recipe this great! i saw a custard cake dito sa LA @ a mexican bakery. the custard was thick like this but it looks like it was made separately and placed on top of a cake. i didn’t buy kasi mexican style custard…yung flan nila is more jello [taste & consistency] not rich and custard-y. i’m going to try to make it this week. will let you know how this turns out!
Hi Ms. Connie,
Can i use my turbo oven in baking this custard cake? I’ve been using it in baking pine-chiffon cake. So far, it produces good results. Will i be using the same temperature and time?
I’ve never tried that but if you can do a water bath in the turbo, it might work. Can’t say about the temp and baking time though.
wow! I was actually looking for a recipe to use for my graham pie crust which i bought because it was on clearance sale.
i’m new to cooking so I didn’t really have any idea what to do with the pie crust. and then i found this recipe. wow! tapos pinoy pa pala ang gumawa! ang galing! so now i have an idea… i think I’ll just use your custard recipe as a pie filling. hmm i wonder kung anong resulta but I hope ok lang yun – custard graham pie? umandar na naman ang pagka-inventor ko. 
hello connie!
i made this recipe last week ,used a 9 inch square pan,(had to buy one just for this)pero when the cake was done after an hour ,i could see the custard surface didn’t harden.Me mga portions yung custard sa side na just right but the middle,hindi set katulad ng sayo.we were eating it inverted kasi definitely yung gitna will just soak the cake.sa oven po kaya yun?gas convection po gamit ko,sa ilalim lang ang source ng heat nya.would that be the problem?pati po nung ginawa ko yung egg pie naman,lumobo yung gitna.plese help.thank you po mam!
It might be the size of the eggs. If they’re small, the proportion would get screwed.
Or, the egg whites weren’t sufficiently beaten and the batter sank into the custard.
hi mam!
ako po ulit,nangungulit.ok nman po yung batter,thank goodness,di po sya nagsink,and i used large eggs(having read along the thread)how much caramel po ginamit nyo sa topping?yung whole sample ng caramelized sugar po ginamit ko kasi,tama po ba yun o sobra.ok lang po ba i-grill ko na lang sya?sa taas ang heat source?salamat po sa pagreply.gusto ko po kasing gawin ulit sya,ang sarap pa nman nya kahit hindi tumigas yung custard,naubos parin .
“…i-grill ko na lang sya?sa taas ang heat source?”
You mean broil. No, it won’t do. Why can’t you make it on the stovetop? The link to the instructions is provided. So is the amount.
thank you for your step by step proces gudluck!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi Connie! Its been awhile that I havent visited ur website but went back again when I wanted to do something special for a good friend’s birthday. My cake and custard turned out well. Someone mentioned about not using lemon rind. The alternative I did was orange rind. Nagiging parang malansa ung egg/custard pag wala. With the orange rind kakaiba sya pero masarap! I hope this helps.
hi ms. connie…i like your baking dish saan mo binili?
I forgot already. But it’s Anchor Hocking.
Hi Miss Connie, I tried this cake recipe and it was nice. I’m thinking of making the cake recipe into a variation where the custard and cake would be in chocolate flavor. Any suggestions for me?
Find a good devil’s food cake recipe. As for the custard, just add melted dark chocolate.
Hi, Ms Connie. Im your avid fan. I love trying all the recipes that you share like this Custard Cake. This is really perfect! I’ve tried this once, but my friend really liked it thats why i was inspired to do it all over and over again. Thank you for sharing this!
Hi Connie:
I noticed that you do not have the cream of tartar added to the egg white mixture. I always add cream of tartar on on my egg white mix on my chiffon cake.
Thanks
What for if you can beat the egg white stiff by itself?
hi I tried your recipe and guess what, everybody here in the island (caribbean) super duper love it. They are all asking for the recipe and requesting for me to bake one or bring it all the time. In all handaan (bdays, in school, or in any gathering), ma-pinoy or ibang lagi, pag may potluck… Yun agad ang request, maski paulit-ulit. Ang take note, from the first one i did to the latest custard that I baked.. same pa din ang result. But I have to admit, I changed some of the procedures, like inside of 6 whole eggs in the custard, I used only 4 eggyolks & 2 whole eggs..
Thanks for the recipe Connie!
Made this for my dad’s birthday–egg custard is about his favorite thing in the world-and it was a hit. Thanks for posting this very unique recipe.
i’ve been looking for this recipe..my aunt used to to baked this when i was a kid and it was superlicious. Thank you Thank you mwahhhhhhhhhhhhh Love love all ur recipe
hi ms connie..:) just want to ask, can i use the custard ingredients here as filling for an egg pie? would i still need to place a pan filled with hot water under the pie pan? thanks in advance…:)
What do you mean by “custard ingredients here”?
yung “for the custard:” na ingredients, can i use the same measurements for an egg pie? basically same 6 eggs, 1 can condensed milk etc..for a 12″ egg pie? do i still need to place the pie pan under a pan with hot water? i want to make an egg pie sana but for the filling, i will use the custard ingredients in this recipe of yours..same effect kaya ang pagkaluto ng custard kahit walang baine marie/water bath?
This is a custard cake entry. Can you repost your question under the egg pie entry?
Hi Connie
I baked a similar cake called Leche Flan cake from a Food magazine issue. I have baked this thrice. Although the cake and custard turns out okay, I find that the cake itself seems dry. Does the cake in your recipe turn out the same way?
Nope.
i got this tip from another cake recipe (sorry i totally forgot the source). anyways, if you’re staying in a less humid country, then you should increase the amount of milk in the cake batter. for this recipe i maybe added up to 2tbsp more milk.
hi ms connie. my caramel and flan turned out well even tho i had to modify the recipe because we were many and i had just a can of condensed milk available. for the cake i was not so successful tho i followed the recipe to a T. After about 25 minutes or so, the cake was already rising high. This continued for about 10 minutes. At 45 minutes, the cake had started to shrink down (: The resulting cake was compact. Does this mean I over baked the cake? I was afraid the flan was not yet done so I still waited for the 50 minutes to finish before getting the cake out of the oven. Nevertheless, the taste was yummmmmy! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
1. The cake should be well risen after 25 minutes. If it shrunk, either the pan size was wrong or the temperature was too low (ovens need calibration so don’t rely too much on the dial — use a separate oven thermometer to be safe).
2. If the cake wasn’t light and soft, the egg whites were not sufficiently beaten. It does take a lot of practice to distinguish the different stages, especially from soft peaks to stiff and dry peaks.
When I googled custard cake, this was not at all what I was expecting what with never actually seeing a custard cake before. But having purely chosen this particular recipe on the basis that it LOOKED like heaven I can say I have now made it.
My home smells like the heaven the picture promised and I eagerly and rather impatiently sit staring at the now cooling finished product resting upon my kitchen bench.
God Bless You Connie….now how do I get it past my family so I dont have to share?
HAHAHAHA My husband says that all the time.
Hi! My question is about the cake flour. We don’t have cake flour in our pantry right now but we do have cornstarch and all-purpose flour. You mentioned in an early post that we need to to add 1 tbsp of cornstarc and fill the measuring cup with flour to get a CUP of cake flour. The recipe above says that we only need 3/4 c of cake flour. Do I have to mix the 1-tbsp-and-flour mixture and than later on take off 1/4c from it to arrive at 3/4 c of cake flour? Thank you.
That would work if the two ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Or you can just use 3/4 tbsp. of cornstarch.
ms. connie
ask ko lang po ilang cup po yung pag nag carmelize?
Alin?
What is the measurement of the baking pan you used for this recipe?
8″ x 8″
im so happy!! kkagawa ko lng nitong custard cake and naging successful nman, un lng mjo nsunog ata ung caramel.. pero sarap p rn.. kala ko imposible kong magawa kasi wala kong electric mixer, pero na achieve nman using a wire whisk,. gagawa ulit ako nito next time pero mas mkapal na yung cake kesa custard.. yung nagawa q kasi ngaun mas mkapal ung custard eh..
nway, thank you so much ms. connie.. dami kong natututunan sa site mo.. godbless!
used to get the same result: more custard than cake (nothing wrong with that though
)… anyways, i adjusted it and used only 2/3 of the original custard recipe and it turned out great still 
hi po ms connie..mahilig po sa mga cake at ibang desserts..isa po kau sa dalawang site n binibisita ko if gusto ko mgluto…this custard i made it for the first time eh perfect n agad…usually pg first lagi may mali..pero ito ang da best…thanks po…for sharing ur talent in cooking n baking
Hi Connie,
You are truly a blessing to everyone. Thank you for sharing your creations.
God bless you and your family.
Merry Christmas!
Faj
Ms. Connie,
I just tried making it today and it was a mega success hahahah..my brother even called it the ultimate custard cake. 
Thanks for sharing this
I am not sure but I didn’t seem to find any instruction about mixing the milk and flour mixture with the egg yoke and egg white mixture. Is there any specific instruction when doing it? Or are they separate??
Read again.
I have a question since this would be my first time baking (and it is going to be a presentation for school), can I use all-purpose flour instead?
Since it’s your first time baking, I suggest:
1. You read up on the difference between all-purpose flour and cake flour in baking; and
2. Choose a simpler baking project.
I made this tonight–huge success. I followed the recipe to the T, except that I halved the custard. My cake came out of the oven looking perfect, allowed it to cool in the counter whereupon it shrank off from the sides of my dish! Which is perfect so I can turn it over without any drama! I didn’t even have to cool it in the fridge, it was still a little warm when I flipped it onto a plate but oh. my. G. It was perfect. May I send you a photo? (I’m gloating here, allow me!)
Yes, please!
hi miss connie,
wish me luck, i will try this perfect custard cake on saturday… this is my first time of baking : ) i find your recipe as simple but tasteful…….. hirap lng talaga ako sa mga measurement. Sana you can post “caramel cake’, i’ll be waiting for that…. PLEASE
Hi Ms. Connie,
Will a 2-inch deep baking dish enough for this recipe?
No.
Hi Ms Connie,
Fabulous looking cake!
A quick question: I have a friend who is lactose intolerant and so I was hoping to make this without any dairy. The milk is easy to substitute for soy milk, but can you recommend a substitute for the condensed milk?
No idea, sorry.
Hi again,
Just in case you (or anyone else) are interested, I thought I’d let you know that I managed to make this cake completely dairy free, and it turned out perfectly. I used soy milk instead of normal milk, and simmered down 3 cups of soy milk with 1/2 cup of sugar to get 1 cup of condensed soy milk. My friend was completely amazed by the resulting deliciousness!
Thanks for the awesome recipes!
Wow! That is very helpful.
i showed your custard pic to my husband and he told me, “you have to make that!” so, i have to psyche myself for this
i love your baking pan. what’s the brand please?
thanks!
Anchor hocking.
hi ms connie!
i am married to a slovak and living here in slovakia for over 4 years now. you’re website is really a blessing. this helps me cook my favorite filipino food.
anyways, i so looooooove this cake! have done it several times already and my hubby and kids love it. so when i went to my first asian women’s club lunch here, i decided to bake this. naturally everyone loved it. they were all asking for the recipe. i hope you won’t mind if i share it with them.
additional note: i made a couple of modifications to your recipe:
* i tried cutting the custard to 2/3 of the original recipe. original recipe turned out too thick for my cake. but i still loved those
* i added more milk to the cake mixture to keep it moist. humidity here is much lower than in philippines. i got this technique from other cake recipes.
Sure, share it. Hope they enjoy baking it too.
thanks! thanks!
hi miss connie,
I will try to bake the perfect custard cake this saturday, wish me luck : )
i find your site as simple but yet interesting and so tasteful, i hope you can post also a simpla recipe for chocolate cake and caramel cake…. tnx
YOu can do it! You can do it!
Hello Miss Connie. I stumbled upon your blog last week. I loved the idea of a custard cake which has more custard than cake! So I tried making it. The 1st time, the custard collapsed. I made the mistake of flipping the cake before it completely cooled. 2nd time, I let the cake cool down and it was great
I am having some trouble with the caramel. I can’t seem to get it all when I flip the cake. Most of the caramel gets stuck in the silicone pan. I made the caramel the way you described (melting sugar with water and immediately pouring it in the pan) but I just can’t seem to get it all out. Any tips? I thought I could line the pan with a piece of baking sheet before pouring the caramel. You think that will work?
Anyway, thanks for sharing this recipe. I will continue making it and will try out some of your other recipes.
Some of the caramel always sticks to the pan so don’t worry about it. If you want more caramel, you can pour in more before adding the custard mixture.
Okay Miss Connie
oooohhhh…. I want to try this one. I miss buying it from a nearest bakery back home. I’ll try it this week and I’ll let you know how it goes.
Thanks for posting this recipe!
I am very grateful for this recipe of which I did 2 batches followed recipe to the “T” here’s the bombshell: 1st batch done in a BUNDT pan the suggestion I have is NOT TO OVERWHIP THE EGG WHITE which I did with this batch it disappeared into the custard when pouring it is HOWEVER it still came out wonderfully. 2nd batch done in a regular pan I did put my own pan grease to prevent sticking (equal parts 8oz of each of these “shortning,oil,flour” mix it up lasts looong in fridge) makes any cake recipe slide out of the pan…back to the second batch…it did rise much higher than the first batch and this time I whipped the egg whites for about 5-8 minutes…ALSO with the 2nd batch when I spread the cake batter on the custard I could actually level it with a spatula perfectly. I RECOMMEND FOLLOWING THE DIRECTIONS TO THE “T” and please please please read the EGG WHITE POST. Thank you for this recipe I made it for my employee and he is already asking for another. Bless you for sharing this wonderful and flavorful recipe and to all continue to be encouraged and loving your kitchen.
p.s. i added raisins umm umm good mon
hi ms. connie. instead of lemon rind can i use vanilla extract? thanks.
Whoa, those are two very different things with very different flavors and aromas.
i want to try this recipe but i don’t understand “1/4 c.minus 1 tbsp white sugar” can you simplify for me please…and can i use all purpose flour in place of the cake flour?thanks!
i’ve been wanting to bake custard cake and now i found the recipe..your recipe..but im not quite sure what exactly is 1/4 c. minus 1tbsp white sugar?how do i make the measurements?and regarding the cake flour,can i use all purpose flour?pls help!thanks!im so excited to try this one!
Take a measuring cup with 1/4 c. capacity. Fill with sugar. Take a measuring spoon with 1 tbsp. capacity, scoop into the sugar and that’s it.
Re flour: I suggest you read up on the difference between cake and all-purpose flour and how each affects cake texture. Then, you can decide whether substitution is alright.
hi connie!
it’s me again!thanks for the reply..i have more queries..are we not going to put sugar while beating the eggwhite?and can we make the caramel by puting the pan(with the sugar) in direct heat? and allow it to caramelize there? without the water?thanks again!!
If you want to use your own procedure, you are always free to do so. I cannot, however, guarantee the results.
hi connie!
i made it! it was perfect!!thanks a lot!!i wish i could show you the pictures>>i took pictures and posted on may fb account..thanks again..it looks like your custard cake!!really!!ewan ko lang sa lasa..hehe,,i still have to taste it!!wow im so happy!!
hi ms. connie. ano po pwede ko ipalit sa grated lemon rind? thanks.
Grated lime rind.
This is definitely “a must” to do!! I’ll do it this weekend and post results. But wanted to ask, i tried this with cassava on bottom and not cake. have you tried that?
http://homecookingrocks.com/cassava-bibingka-with-custard-topping/
Thanks Connie! I feel my life is complet now…. well with food at least! lol
hi miss connie!! i just saw ur blog today and your custard cake looks so tempting.. i think im going to try it but i have some question regasrding the caramel thing.. first of all, we have to put the caramel into the pan right? but at the time when i finish doing the custard and the cake, is the caramel going to harden at that time? so do we bake the cake with the hard caramel or the liquid caramel on the bottom of the pan? thanks a lot..
Read the entire post. The answers to all your questions are there.
Hey Connie, tried out you above recipee and it was awesome… Got alot of wonderful comments thank you
Hi connie,
I would like to you for the your custard recipe. I haven’t tried but by reading it I can already taste it is delicious.
It is indeed a perfect recipe. I always wanted to make one but no clue. I’ve read other recipe but yours is perfect. You provided a step by step procedure along with pictures. Thank you soooo much. Hope I can bake perfect custard cake with your recipe.Is custard pie the same recipe for custard cake and how to make the crust?
marilou
Custard pie is egg pie. Totally different.
Hello there,
Great looking cake! Looks yummy.
I am making a happy feet cake for my nieces first birthday and decided to do a custard filling. My step dad went out and purchased Bird’s custard powder for me to use. I read the directions, but was wondering what do you do after its all cooked. Do you refrigerate it for a certain number of hours before putting it in the cake? Or do you put it in the cake when its cooled enough down and then refrigerate it? (I want to use it as a filling between the two cakes) Hopefully you can answer this before Friday. I need the cake done before Saturday
Please help!
I’ve never used custard powder so I really have no idea.
Connie,
First ever, i posted a comment even before I try out your recipe of this sweet lovely custard cake. I had scroll over a lot of recipes and simply skip most of the time. Somehow, somewhere, something’s missing with the preparation that I, and I alone felt it wont turn out as deemed much perfect. However, I have so much faith and confident in your ways of showing your skill with those prudent little tips and generosity of sharing your genuine experience in the long years of cooking. I’m going to make this cake and i know that it will be a success and most assured that my hubby’s response will be no less different than yours! i will definitely stay on your page Homecooking Rocks for a very long time. Thank you so much.
oops.. and I like your format, clear, precise and at ease!
Connie,
Sorry to bother you. I note that your ingredients for ‘basic sponge cake’ and sponge cake for ‘the prefect custard cake’ are slightly different. You used baking soda for basic sponge cake and baking powder for the latter. Why? and what are the differences? Please advise.
BTW.. can i just use one of either one of the two sponge recipe and apply to both the cakes if I make extra batter for baking the two cakes at one time, then of course I am using two ovens. Call me lazy if you insist, haha, when I am in for my baking day, I like to bake varieties and in quantities so I try to minimize washing of utensils.
I discovered the basic sponge cake recipe long, long after I posted the custard cake recipe. Check the dates. You call which sponge cake recipe you want to follow.
Thanks Connie,
Thought specific sponge is called for when combine with creamy mixture such as custard. If its irrevelant, then guess I’ll have to try out both to see which one is nicer… the texture is usually individual liking.
Yes, you may like the other recipe to go with your custard.
Hi Ms. Connie -
Your custard cake looks amazingly great and I can hardly wait to try it this weekend so that I can bring it to the office on Monday for my birthday treat. Colleagues are already looking forward to it.
mam, what is the exact appearance of custard cake?
Are you saying you’re not able to view the photos on this page?
Hi Ms. Connie -
Thanks a lot for this recipe. I baked 2 last Sunday and both turned out perfectly well. The first cake I shared with family and friends and the second one with colleagues at work who are still talking about this wonderful cake days after the event.
Now you’re confident enough to try other baking projects. I hope you have fun baking. The dishwashing afterward can be horrible but a successful baking project is always worth it.
Hi Ms. Connie! I’ve been browsing a lot of website regarding cooking and baking, and your website is simply awesome! I super love all the recipes, plus the fact that you took time to take pictures of it, which was really helpful, I’m not really a good cook or baker, but I won’t give up. I’m planning to do your custard cake recipe this coming weekend, and I’m really excited. Again, thank you Ms. Connie for sharing your recipes and insights! God bless!
Love to try this one so much!
I did tried two times from other’s recipe and the custard dropped from the cake. Not sure if I turn it too fast (they said I must turn it while the caramel is still warm so it won’t stick to the pan. They use aluminium one without teflon coating.) I tried one time with Teflon (problem on how to make caramel) and aluminium (so easy to make caramel) but both time the custard came down to the ground
Do you have any opinion???? Should I wait it completely till cool? Put in the fridge??
Thanks thanks,
Just like leche flan, the caramel in this custard cake does not harden after cooking. Cool the cake to room temp before inverting.
Hello Connie,
This recipe was awesome!!! I looove how much custard there is with the cake. I have a question though, if I only wanted to just make the custard without the cake layer, how should I go about it? Thanks in advance.
Cook it as a leche flan.
Thank you!
oh i was looking around… meron pala talagang custard pie – egg pie. i remember this was one of my favorite pies na binebenta ng bakery sa harap ng bahay namin sa pinas. pero egg pie na graham ang crust? hm that’s what I’ll have to see pagkabake ko.
success!!! it came out really nice and yummy!
thanks for this recipe connie!
Two thumbs up!