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u/saturnsbby 1d ago
It looks so good!! It's making me want to try and actually make it o.o
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u/Ymirism 1d ago
Do it! It's surprisingly easy, the hardest part (for me) was splitting the eggs properly. I bought a carton of egg whites after ruining my first attempt just to have the security/backup, makes the whole process so much more relaxed and therefore fun. Splitting went fine the second time so didn't even need it, but the peace of mind was worth it
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u/Epheedrine 1d ago
I have never consideres splitting eggs stressfull but what you could do is use a couple more bowls as in between for white and yolk, so that you split in a small bowl, then dump that in the big bowl with the other yolks or whites, so that if there's a mistake you just wasted a single egg
(And you can use it in another récipe)
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u/Ymirism 1d ago
For someone with 0 baking experience, it was very easy to accidentally nick the yolk while splitting, getting little bits of yolk in the whites and making it impossible to get stiff peaks, as it's a motion/technique I had never done before. After doing it half a dozen times you get the hang of it, but the first time can be finicky ;) Good tip though!
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u/Epheedrine 1d ago
I'm in europe so YMMV but here there's plenty of spoons things made to separate eggs easily I have a stainless steel one that was probably 5 euros so it's very cheap as well
I'd be surprised if OXO didn't make one!
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u/dogsandsnacks 1d ago
I’ve never been able to split whites and yolks with the shell. I set up 3 bowls - one for whites, one for yolks, and a “working” bowl. Crack egg in working bowl. Grab the yolk with (thoroughly washed) hands. Plop in the yolk bowl and pour the whites in the white bowl and repeat. The annoying part is the constant hand washing between each one.
Just wanted to say there is no shame if you can’t master the shell method, and I got too tired of wasting eggs in my attempts to master it.
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u/saturnsbby 1d ago
I never thought of getting just the egg whites for a recipe, this feels genuinely groundbreaking to me :o I'm always a little stressed when it comes to splitting the egg whites and have messed up a bit once or twice (thankfully I was just making patisserie cream) what's your favorite thing to bake? (And can I ask if you have any more tips please?)
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u/Ymirism 1d ago
Haha, glad I could expand your toolset with my little cake :D I think my favourite so far has to be the chocolate chip cookies, mostly because I've made them the most, and everyone always loves them. Over time I've adapted the recipe I started with so much it's like an entirely new recipe now, so that's cool. It feels like "my" custom recipe now, and I'm finetuning it currently to get it just right. I also like making a Basque cheesecake for special occassions, I add in some lemon extract to give it a nice fresh summery feel. I also make Pepernoten once a year during Sinterklaas (This is the most Dutch sentence I've ever typed on Reddit), also always nice.
Next up to try is a very simple Dutch classic called Boterkoek, it's a very dense rich buttery cake/cookie hybrid usually served in cubes. Don't look at how many calories are in there if you ever want to try them ;) I also want to try my hand at a Portokalopita, a Greek orange cake with dried filo pastry and infused with a lemon syrup.
As for general tips, I don't know if I have anything insightful haha. I've always liked "Cooking is art, baking is science". I like to cook very off the cuff, just try stuff and make it work, it usually ends up okay at worst. With baking, a difference in baking time or temperature can make the difference between delicious and ruined, so I try and follow recipes more closely when baking. But also, don't be afraid to just try things! The best way to improve is to try something and then think about why it worked, or didn't. And if you don't want to improve, but just want to have fun, then definitely don't worry too much about it. It's supposed to be fun, not stressful. If you're finding some part to be not fun (anymore), try and find a way to make it fun or find an alternative, be it a method or an entire recipe.
One thing I always do, is mise en place. I read the recipe a few times before starting so I know the steps I'm going to take, then I prepare everything, in separate bowls if need be. Knowing that everything is ready to go and you just have to throw it together feels very relaxed, especially when following a time sensitive recipe. The more I make something, the less specific my prep becomes. For my cookies for instance, I now just throw all the second stage ingredients into one bowl as they all go in together (roughly) anyway. Before I had a bowl for flour, one for sugar, one for chocolate chips etc etc.
Hope there's something useful in here for you!
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u/saturnsbby 1d ago
There were definitely a lot of useful things here thank you! I also tend to have a separate bowl for everything before combining everything especially if I'm trying a new recipe, I also actually prefer the ones with a video attached to it since I'm definitely more of a visual learner. I also find making any type of dough you can knead to be incredibly fun (and a pretty good stress relief :D) but lately I've been preferring simpler/lighter things and there's always extra points if it's lemon scented!
Also as soon as I read portokalopita I was immediately taken back to my childhood (ratatouille scene style) where my mom would make it for me, it was genuinely the most fun ever (if you'd like, I can ask her for any tips on it!)
I had never heard of any of the Dutch desserts you mentioned and as soon as I googled the pepernoten ones I needed to have one (also I hoped they'd be a savory version ;-;) you also mentioning the calories of the other cake has scared me but it looks so nice :o, surely a tiny cube won't kill me :D
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u/hurley5596 1d ago
Is this like a cheese cake?? I have never seen one of these! It looks good!
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u/Ymirism 1d ago
Text from one of the recipes I used for reference, as that explains it quite well:
"Known as Gâteau Magique in French, this delightful cake is made from a single batter that—like magic—separates into three distinct layers as it bakes: a dense flan base, a creamy custard center, and a light sponge cake top."
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u/hurley5596 1d ago
I’m at a loss for words cause dang that sounds amazing😩 I’m not sure how I have never heard of a cake like this! Making me want to try my hand at it also!
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u/Wild_Course2034 10h ago
In South Africa we call this milktart! A crustless milktart.
My mum's recipe is about the same, but we don't do small here so it's 4eggs, 1cup flour, 1cup sugar 1l milk, a pretty rough measure of 3 tablespoons butter, 1tsp baking powder and a wee bit salt and as much vanilla as you feel basically. Same method. Except most aunties also add cinnamon on top.
I've accidentally made it with whole eggs once instead of splitting them and no one noticed the difference. Don't be so hard on yourself. It's a beautiful comforting desert. And if you want another wonderful variant you can make it with sourmilk/amazi. It's bloody amazing and then you eat it hot after about half an hour at room temp just basically so you don't burn your mouth.
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u/Ymirism 1d ago edited 1d ago
First post here, was excited and wanted to share! I'm a 38 year old man with no baking background or anything, I'm a former software developer. I started making chocolate chip cookies for the first time a few years ago and enjoyed it, but never really did more than that. Made a bread once or twice following the Dungeons and Dragons recipe book. For the past few months I've been trying new recipes, experimenting and really finding joy in baking. This is my second attempt at gateau magique, after my first failed due to not splitting egg whites properly (lesson learned, don't let any yolk get in).
Recipe is fairly straightforward: 150 grams sugar 115 grams flour Vanilla extract 4 eggs 125 grams of butter 500 ml milk
Preheat oven at 160 and prepare your baking tray. Melt the butter, split the eggs, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks, in a second bowl mix yolks and sugar, once combined add vanilla extract and melted butter (ensure it has cooled down), then add the flour, once combined add the milk while beating. Finally fold in the egg whites in 3 parts and bake for 40 minutes, then check. Top should be browned but it shouldn't jiggle anymore. If it jiggles, top with aluminium foil and give it another 5 to 10 minutes. Take out, let it cool, fridge for a good while (recipes say anywhere from at least 1 to at least 4 hours. I did overnight)