Perfect for birthdays, celebrations and festivals such as Diwali or Eid! Plenty of options and variations, such as Ras Malai Tres Leches Cake, are included in the post. This fabulous Ras Malai cake is inspired by the the classic Indian milk sweet, Ras Malai. Ras Malai is prepared by soaking paneer (cheese) patties (malai) in a fragrant sweet milk cream (ras). The patties absorb the milk to become soft and spongy. Ras malai is typically served cold and garnished with chopped nuts like almonds, pistachios. It is a delightful dessert enjoyed throughout the year, but it’s particularly popular during celebrations and festive occasions in the Indian subcontinent. This Ras Malai Cake incorporates the best of both worlds – the sponge cake is flavoured with cardamom and pistachio and is topped with real pieces of ras malai! It is a wonderful fusion dessert that looks fabulous at parties and get-togethers! Check out this list of other Indian Fusion Desserts This collection of Indian desserts or sweets with milk is perfect for the festive season.
Eggless Ras Malai Cake Ingredients
Full ingredients with measurements are available in the recipe card below at the end of this post
Eggless Sponge Cake Ingredients
plain flour or all purpose flour powdered sugar also known as caster sugar full-fat plain yogurt sunflower oil or vegetable oil – basically any flavourless oil full-fat milk (whole milk) cardamom powder and ground pistachio – I basically ground down cardamom pods and pistachio in a spice grinder bicarbonate of soda – use a new batch of baking soda and baking powder for the best results baking powder vanilla extract
Decoration Ingredients
ras malai – you can use homemade or shop-bought. Any brand will do, you can even use frozen ras malai but ensure to thaw thoroughly. You will be using both the malai and the milk part double cream (heavy whipping cream) pistachio slivers – you may want to use other nuts such as almonds saffron threads – optional rose petals edible silver leaf or varq
Equipment
7 inch cake pan – this recipe is based on a 7 inch cake pan Parchment paper – to line the cake tin Hand mixer or whisk – to whip the cream
How to make Ras Malai Cake
Eggless Sponge
You have two options when making the sponge. Either double the recipe and prepare one large sponge cake and cut in half or prepare two separate sponge cakes. Alternatively, if you do not want a layered cake then you can prepare a single layer and decorate as below. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4, 180C or 360F. In a bowl, whisk the yogurt and bicarbonate of soda until bubbly. To the milk, add ground pistachio and cardamom and allow to infuse. You can add saffron if you wish. In a bowl, whisk together the oil and caster sugar until well combined. Add in the frothy yogurt and the milk. Add in the vanilla essence. Optionally use rose or kewra essence Sieve in the plain flour and baking powder and fold in gently to create a smooth batter. Add in spoons of milk at a time if the batter appears thick. Pour the batter into the lined cake tin then tap lightly to even out the mixture Place in the centre of the preheated oven and bake for around 45 minutes. You can test “doneness” by poking the centre with a tooth pick. If the tooth pick comes out clean, Allow the cakes to cool down completely then cut off the top of the cake so the top is flat. Set aside whilst you prepare the whipped cream.
Decorate
Whip double cream until you reach soft peaks. Pour in a few spoons of the ras or milk from the ras malai packet and fold in gently. Place a layer of the sponge on a plate or cake stand. Brush or spoon over some of the ras from the ras malai and allow to soak into the sponge. Spread over a layer of cream. Alternatively, crumble the malai and create a ras malai layer. Now place the second sponge directly on top and spoon over some milk. Now you want to cover the top and the sides of the cake with the whipped cream. Top the cake with pieces of ras malai and decorate with rose petals, pistachios and edible silver or gold leaf as you wish.
Rasmalai Tres Leches Cake
You can easily make this recipe into a ras malai tres leches cake as well! Tres Leche Cake is a Latin American recipe. Tres leches cake is typically made from a light, sponge cake that is soaked in a mixture of three different types of milk – condensed milk, evaporated milk and cream. It is also known as pastel de tres leches in Spanish. So, in a ras malai tres leches cake, the sponge is served with extra milk from the ras malai making it extra sweet, creamy and decadent!
Pro Tips and Variations
You can make two individual sponge cakes by making the recipe twice and layer or double the recipe and cake a single large cake and half it. The other option is to make a single layered cake that is smaller. Either add a cream layer between the sponges or pieces or crumbled ras malai. Note that the second option will be quite heavy. Prepare Rasmalai Tres Leches Cake by pouring over extra ras malai milk.
Storage
This is a fresh cream cake so it must be stored in the fridge. I recommend keeping the cake covered to prevent any harsh smells from the fridge settling on the cake.
Other Eggless Cake Recipes
Gulab Jamun Cake Baked Cheesecake Instant Pot Revani (semolina cake) Chocolate Orange Cake As always if you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram @jcookingodyssey or #jcookingodyssey. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations! Don’t forget to follow me on social media using the buttons below – I can’t wait to see you all there!
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