Custard cake or Leche flan cake

P.s. This photo is not mine but this is how the cake would look like, I'll change the photo once I make this cake again. 

This cake is probably one of my all time Christmas/New Year cake recipe. My grandmother taught me how to bake this cake back when she visited New Zealand in 2013. Ever since then, this cake has been a holiday staple on our dinner table. There are three parts in making this cake: sugar syrup, chiffon cake batter, and the custard or the leche flan. You also need to bake this cake using a "water bath" method, which is where you put your filled pan (smaller pan) in a larger pan with boiling-hot water that reaches halfway up the side of the smaller pan. I hope you guys enjoy!

1. Sugar syrup recipe:

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp water

Place the sugar and the water in a small non-stick saucepan. Dissolve the sugar in a medium heat and constantly stir. Once it boils, test the consistency of the syrup making sure that it's not too sticky. You are making a thin syrup, so the consistency should be thin. To test the consistency, place a cold water in a small bowl and then place a few drops of the syrup into the cold water. If the syrup mixes in with the water, the consistency is not yet correct. Keep doing this test until the drop of syrup no longer mixes in with the water (when you drop the syrup into the water, it retains it's "droplet" shape).  This part is crucial because if the syrup is wrong the layering of the recipe will not work. The syrup will mix with the custard/ leche flan mixture. 

By this time, you should also preheat your oven to 200°C or 400°F

2. Custard or leche flan recipe:

• 6 egg yolks
• 1 can evaporated milk
• 1 can condensed milk

Separate the egg yolk from the egg whites; do NOT throw away the egg whites because we will use it for the meringue mixture for the cake later on. Mix all the ingredients together and make sure that there are no clumps from the eggs.

3. Chiffon cake batter recipe:

There are two procedures for making the chiffon cake. You will have to make a cake batter and the meringue separate. Here are the ingredients for the cake batter:

• 1 and 1/4 cup cake flour (if you don't have a cake flour, just take away 2 Tbsp + 1 tbsp flour for every one cup of flour and replace it with cornstarch or cornflour)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup oil (I used canola oil)
• 1/2 cup + 3 Tbsp orange juice or any orange soda (Fanta, Sunkist etc.)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix all the dry ingredients first. Then make a well in the centre to put in the wet ingredients. Mix well using an electric mixer or a hand mixer. Make sure all the ingredients are mixed well and that there are no clumps from the flour.

Moving on, here are the ingredients for the meringue:

• 6 egg whites
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/2 cup white sugar

Make sure that there are no egg yolks accidentally mixed in with the egg whites, otherwise, the meringue will not become stiff. Put the egg whites and the cream of tartar together and beat on high power. Gradually add in the sugar and mix it for about 2-3 minutes. 

Combine half of the cake batter into the meringue using the folding method. Add the rest of the batter and make sure to slowly combine the two to prevent the mixture from losing too much air. 

The layering:

First, pour your syrup in a 25 x 38 cm Pyrex bakeware or any rectangular or oblong bakeware you have that will fit all the ingredients.

Pour the custard or leche flan next. 

Lastly, pour the cake batter evenly.

Cook for about 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the cake is fully cooked. To test if the cake is cooked, insert a toothpick in the middle of the cake and if it comes out clean, then it is cooked!

Enjoy!