VANILLA CUSTARD CAKE

Ingredients :

For the custard :

6 eggs
1 cup of sweetened condensed milk
1 cup of skim milk
¼ cup of white sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla essence

For the cake :

3 eggs (separate the yolks and whites in different bowls
½ cup of white sugar
¾ cup of cake flour
½ teaspoon of baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla essence
¼ cup of skim milk

In a bowl beat ¼ cup of sugar, vanilla essence and egg yolks until smooth.  In another bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the remaining ¼ cup of sugar little by little while beating continuously. Continue beating until the egg white mixture is stiff. Now you mix the egg yolk and egg white mixtures together.

Sift together the cake flour and baking powder. Now add the flour mixture and milk alternately, to the beaten eggs and sugar, mixing after each addition. After all the flour and milk have been added, mix until the batter is smooth by cutting and folding until the mixture is well blended and the color is even.

Pour the half the cake batter in a baking pan. Using a spatula, smoothen the top of the batter carefully.

Place all the ingredients for the custard in a bowl. Mix until the sugar is completely dissolved. The custard mixture should be of a little thick consistency. Do not beat as you do not want air bubbles in the mixture. Now pour the custard mixture over the layer of cake batter in the baking pan.

Pour the remaining cake batter over the custard.  Smoothen the top carefully. Make sure that all the sides are sealed with the cake batter so that the custard does not boil over during baking. Sprinkle lots of granulated sugar on top.

Bake in a preheated 350^oF 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 till the top is nicely browned.

Serve only when cold.