Rasmalai cake| Tres Leche Cake| Malai Cake

Diwali is here and you are looking for some Indian dessert recipes? Try this rasmalai cake for this Diwali. It’s eggless and is an Indian version of tres leches cake. We can also call it malai cake. This cake has rich malai flavor and is stunning to look at. Garnished with rose petals and malai soaked nuts, this cake will make your Diwali brighter.

I decided to make this while my baba (dad) was having rasmalai. The color looked so good. I learned how to make tres leches cake in my workplace. At my workplace, I learned the classic one and it tasted heavenly.

Also saw a few bloggers making rasmalai cake and that was all the motivation I needed to get up and make this beauty. Hope you love this cake as much as I do. I avoided the use of any cream to decorate it. No fancy piping tips or whipping cream. How to make this rasmalai cake? This cake can be made even if you are a beginner. So go ahead and make it already!

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What equipment do I need to make a rasmalai cake recipe?

Set of teaspoons and tablespoons

What is rasmalai cake?

Imagine rasmalai and now just remove the chenna or cottage cheese balls and replace it with a cake! This rasmalai cake is eggless and has the perfect amount of nuts and malai.

What is tres leches cake?

Tres leche cake is a cake that is soaked in three kinds of milk- evaporated milk, condensed milk and heavy cream. Tres means three and leche means milk. This cake is an Indian version of the very popular tres leches cake.

What ingredients do I need to make rasmalai cake?

If you don’t have caster sugar, grind up regular sugar a little bit to make the granules smaller and use it to make your sponge. You are welcome for my little DIY idea.

I made an eggless sponge so I used homemade yoghurt for that. Other ingredients are basic sponge cake ingredients.

For the nuts, buy good quality nuts and wash them before chopping. I used almonds, cashews and pistachio in this cake.

I used rose petals just to make my cake look pretty. If you are worried, don’t, because rose petals are edible. You can skip it but this can really change the way your cake looks.

For the malai, make sure you have three types of milk else it’s not a tres leches cake!

I initially thought of making it with store bought rasmalai, but I felt if I make it at home, the taste would be way better and richer.

How to make rasmalai cake or tres leches cake?

For the sponge cake

– Pre-heat oven at 180°C.

– Grease a 6 inch round cake tin with some butter or oil. Dust flour on top to coat the cake tin.

– In a bowl, mix the sugar and yoghurt together using a whisk or a beater.

– Add the baking powder and baking soda to the mix. Let the mix rest for five minutes.

– The mixture will bubble up in five minutes when the baking soda starts reacting with the yoghurt.

– Add the vanilla essence and cardamom powder.

– Add the refined oil to the mixture and mix it using the whisk.

– Strain and add the refined flour. Using a spatula, mix well to incorporate the flour. Make sure there are no lumps in the batter.

– Pour the batter in the lined cake tin and bake it for 40 to 45 minutes at 180°C.

– Using a toothpick or a knife, poke it in the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, then the eggless sponge is ready.

– If it is not ready and the sponge has become golden on top, then cover it with aluminum foil or a piece of butter paper and bake it for some more time.

For the malai or tres leches mix

– In a heavy bottomed pan, add in condensed milk, cooking cream and milk.

– Add strands of saffron to the milk mix.

– Chop the nuts and add it to the milk mix.

-Place the milk mix on a low flame and cook it for few minutes.

For the assembly

– Remove the sponge from the cake tin.

– Make a hole in the center of the sponge using a piping tip or nozzle. If you don’t have one, use a knife and cut out a circle. I did it to make my cake look aesthetically pleasing. You can choose to skip this step.

– Using a toothpick or a knife, poke the sponge well. The aim is to make way in the sponge for the malai to seep through.

– Using a spoon, start adding the tres leches mix to the cake.

– The mixture will seep through little by little.

– Keep adding till the entire mixture has seeped through. Save some for serving the cake later.

– Let the milk mix or malai seep through for about an hour. Place it in the refrigerator for an hour or till the time you serve it.

– Take it out if the refrigerator and pour the remaining malai in the plate and top with some rose petals and silver vark if you want to.

Bake with me:

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the taste of rasmalai cake?

– Well, it tastes just like your favorite Indian sweet. May I also say, better, because this one is made using ingredients from your home. Instead of that chenna or cottage cheese ball, let’s just say I replaced it with a cake.

Is the rasmalai cake soggy?

– Not at all. The malai seeps through the sponge and makes it moist and soft. Soggy is not its texture, I would rather explain it as a moist and soft cake with burst of flavors.

Can I make rasmalai cake with whipped cream?

You can absolutely, but I wanted to make a easier version so that everyone can easily make it at home.

Is this eggless?

-Yes, it is eggless and perfect for Diwali.

Can I make rasmalai cake with butter cream?

– I wouldn’t recommend making it with butter cream. The texture and taste of rasmalai is too subtle for buttercream. Whipped cream would be a better choice.

Which cardamom do I use?

– Use small cardamom so that the flavor doesn’t come off as too strong and the rasmalai is still the main focus.

Pro Tips for the perfect rasmalai cake

Here are some tips which will help you make this beauty perfectly.

First, you want to make sure that you do not wait for too long after the mixture bubbles up. The sponge will start losing its air bubbles and will end up becoming a dense sponge cake. So make sure you follow my steps and pre- heat the oven and keep your cake tin ready.
Second, make sure that you don’t heat the milk mix or malai for too long. Heating will ensure that the milk seeps through well, that’s all. Also let the saffron strands soak for a while before you heat up the milk.
Third, make sure that the sponge and malai mix is warm, when you are pouring it in the cake. Place the sponge cake in a deep dish or a deep plate, so that you can easily pour the malai in it.

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Rasmalai cake| Tres Leche Cake| Malai Cake

October 20, 2021

Servings: 4

Prep: 15 min

Total: 55 min

Difficulty: Easy

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Imagine rasmalai and now just remove the chenna or cottage cheese balls and replace it with a cake! This rasmalai cake is eggless and has the perfect amount of nuts and malai.

By: Alisha Sarkar

Ingredients

For the eggless vanilla sponge
Flour - 100 grams
Yoghurt - 125 grams
Castor sugar - 85 grams
Refined oil - 65 ml
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
For the malai
Condensed milk - 100 ml
Cooking cream - 100 ml
Milk - 100 ml
Saffron - 8 strands
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Cashew - 15 grams
Almond - 15 grams
Pistachio - 15 grams

Directions

Step 1 For the sponge cake
Step 2 -Pre-heat oven at 180°C.
Step 3 Grease a 6 inch round cake tin with some butter or oil. Dust flour on top to coat the cake tin.
Step 4 In a bowl, mix the sugar and yoghurt together using a whisk or a beater.
Step 5 Add the baking powder and baking soda to the mix. Let the mix rest for five minutes.
Step 6 - The mixture will bubble up in five minutes when the baking soda starts reacting with the yoghurt.
Step 7 Add the vanilla essence and cardamon powder.
Step 8 Add the refined oil to the mixture and mix it using the whisk.
Step 9 Strain and add the refined flour. Using a spatula, mix well to incorporate the flour. Make sure there are no lumps in the batter.
Step 10 - Pour the batter in the lined cake tin and bake it for 40 to 45 minutes at 180°C.
Step 11 Using a toothpick or a knife, poke it in the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, then the eggless sponge is ready.
Step 12 If it is not ready and the sponge has become golden on top, then cover it with aluminium foil or a piece of butter paper and bake it for some more time.
Step 13 For the malai or tres leches mix
Step 14 - In a heavy bottomed pan, add in condensed milk, cooking cream and milk.
Step 15 Add strands of saffron to the milk mix.
Step 16 Chop the nuts and add it to the milk mix.
Step 17 Place the milk mix on a low flame and cook it for few minutes.
Step 18 For the assembly
Step 19 Remove the sponge from the cake tin.
Step 20 Make a hole in the center of the sponge using a piping tip or nozzle. If you don’t have one, use a knife and cut out a circle. I did it to make my cake look aesthetically pleasing. You can choose to skip this step.
Step 21 Using a toothpick or a knife, poke the sponge well. The aim is to make way in the sponge for the malai to seep through.
Step 22 Using a spoon, start adding the tres leche mix to the cake.
Step 23 - The mixture will seep through little by little.
Step 24 - Keep adding till the entire mixture has seeped through. Save some for serving the cake later.
Step 25 Let the milk mix or malai seep through for about an hour. Place it in the refrigerator for an hour or till the time you serve it.
Step 26 Take it out if the refrigerator and pour the remaining malai in the plate and top with some rose petals and silver vark if you want to.
Step 27 And your diwali special cake is ready! Take a big slice, you deserve it:)

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I hope you found my post “How to make rasmalai cake” helpful. If you have any queries, feel free to post them in the comments.

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Rasmalai Cake | Eggless Tres Leches cake