Rasmalai Tres Leches Cake

This Rasmalai Tres Leches Cake tastes just like rasmalai! The sponge cake is soaked in a cardamom and saffron flavoured milk mixture, and topped with a luscious whipped cream.

Rasmalai is one of my favourite Pakistani/Indian desserts! It's balls or discs of cheese, soaked in a sweet, thickened milk flavoured with cardamom and saffron. It's absolutely delicious. If you've never tried it, I strongly urge you to do so!

The flavour goes so well with tres leches, truly a fusion of flavours and cultures! It's the perfect dessert to make for Eid or any party to impress. My mom loves it so much that she's started using this cake as the standard to judge all my other desserts. Sigh.

I love tres leches cakes and of course I have multiple variations, which I know you'll love! Check out this popular Pistachio Tres Leches, these refreshing Lemon Coconut Tres Leches and Strawberry Tres leches, this summery Mango Coconut Tres Leches and of course a Pina Colada Tres Leches!

Ingredients

See recipe card BELOW for quantities.

• Eggs - whites and yolks separated
• White granulated sugar
• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Cardamom powder
• Whole milk
• Salt
• Evaporated milk
• Sweetened condensed milk
• Cardamom pods
• Saffron strands
• Heavy cream
• Powdered sugar
• Crushed pistachios
• Dried rose petals

Instructions

This recipe has three components: the sponge cake, the milk mixture, and the whipped cream (the easiest). It might seem a bit overwhelming at first, especially the sponge cake, but it's not that complicated. I'll walk you through step by step so make sure to follow along!

Making the sponge cake

Before starting, I recommend gathering and prepping all your ingredients to make it easier for you. This way you won't end up forgetting an ingredient or having to scramble around.

Whipping egg whites can seem like an intimidating task - I still go into it praying they whip up and that I haven’t wasted all those egg whites. The KEY is to make sure your bowl and beaters don't have any grease on it. Even the tiniest amount can prevent the egg whites from whipping up. Wash and properly dry before starting.

Another thing to consider when separating the eggs is to make sure no yolk gets into the whites, as the fat will prevent them from whipping. A good method is to crack each egg into a small bowl first, placing yolks in one bowl and whites in another before transferring the whites to your mixing bowl.

Crack the eggs one at a time and place the egg white into a small bowl and the yolk into another large bowl (where you'll whisk it with the sugar). Add the egg white to the main bowl to whip them up. Repeat with the rest.

Since whipped egg whites start deflating if they sit too long, I prepare the rest of the batter first, then whip the whites just before folding them in—always using separate whisks and beaters, of course!

Rasmalai Milk

Rasmalai is made by cooking milk with cardamom and saffron to reduce and thicken it up a bit. This process of cooking it—basically scalding it—denatures many of the proteins in the milk. It gives it a distinct, slightly sweet, creamy taste. Without this, it's simply not rasmalai.

To make the rasmalai milk for this tres leches cake, I chose to cook the milk with cardamom and saffron to reduce it a bit and replicate the flavour of the traditional dessert. It makes such a difference, instead of just adding the spices to the milk mixture. Definitely makes the cake taste just like rasmalai.

3. Poke holes into the cake with a fork and slowly pour the milk mixture in 2-3 intervals, letting it absorb before adding more. You can reserve some of the milk for serving if you'd like. I do about ½ cup. Cover and soak in the fridge for a few hours or overnight .

Frost the cake

4. Whip the cream until it starts to thicken, then beat in powdered sugar and vanilla extract just until you reach stiff peaks. Don't over-mix it or it will start to curdle.
5. Transfer the whipped cream to a piping bag and pipe onto the cake. You can also just do a straight, smooth layer. Garnish with some crushed pistachios and dried rose petals

Storage

Cover and store this cake in the same pan, in the fridge for 4-5 days.

Related

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Rasmalai Tres Leches Cake

This Rasmalai Tres Leches Cake tastes just like rasmalai! Soaked in cardamom & saffron milk, and topped with a luscious whipped cream!

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Indian, Mexican, Pakistani

Keyword: Baking, Cake, Tres Leches Cake

Servings: 9 slices

Author: Nabeah Wahab

Ingredients

Sponge Cake

• 3 large egg whites, room temperature
• 3 large egg yolks, room temperature
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour (103g)
• ⅔ cup white granulated sugar (133g)
• 3 tablespoon milk
• ⅛ teaspoon salt

Rasmalai Milk

• 1 cup evaporated milk (240ml)
• 1 ¾ cup whole milk (420ml)
• ⅔ cup sweetened condensed milk (160ml)
• 5 cardamom pods
• pinch of saffron
• pinch of salt

Frosting and garnish

• 1 cup heavy cream 240ml
• 2-3 tablespoon powdered sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• crushed pistachios
• dried rose petals

Instructions

Sponge Cake

• Separate the egg whites and egg yolks in clean separate bowls. To prevent a yolk from accidentally breaking into the whites, separate the whites into a separate small bowl each time and then transfer it to the one you will beat them in. Make sure the bowl you add the egg whites in is very clean and has no grease marks.
• Add about two-thirds of the sugar into the yolks (about 7 tbsp - 88g) and whisk well until pale and light. Whisk in the milk. Then add in the flour, salt and baking powder. Fold or whisk gently until all mixed together.
• Now beat the egg whites in the separate clean bowl, until soft peaks form. Gradually add in the rest of the sugar (3.5 tbsp - 45g) while beating and continue until you get stiff peaks.
• Add a dollop of the egg whites into the yolk mixture and whisk it in to loosen the batter and make it easier to fold in the whites. Add the rest of the whites and fold gently with a spatula by scraping from the sides of the bowl, inwards. Cut down the middle with the spatula and fold the sides towards the middle until mostly combined. Don’t mix too much or aggressively to prevent deflating the whites.
• In a 8x8 pan, with ONLY the bottom lined with parchment paper, pour the batter and bake at 350F° for about 40 minutes. Don’t open the oven door until the last 10 minutes. Gently poke the cake with your finger and if it springs back, it’s done. If it leaves an indent, then bake for another 5 ish minutes.
• Take the cake out of oven and place upside down on a cooling rack to let cool. This helps prevent it from deflating. Take the cake out of the pan and take off the parchment paper. Put the cake back in.

Rasmalai Milk

• Combine the milk, cardamom and saffron in a pot and heat it up just to a boil. Turn down the heat to a low simmer and cook while stirring occasionally until slightly thickened and reduced to 1 ⅓ cup.
• Add in the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and a pinch of salt. Taste to adjust the sweetness.
• Poke holes into the cake with a fork and slowly pour the milk mixture in 2-3 intervals, letting it absorb before adding more. You can reserve some of the milk for serving if you'd like. I do about ½ cup. Cover and soak in the fridge for a few hours or overnight .

Decorate

• In a chilled bowl, pour in your whipping cream and beat it until you get soft peaks. Now add in the powdered sugar and vanilla, and beat just until you reach stiff peaks. Don't over-mix it or it will start to curdle.
• Transfer cream to piping bag and pipe onto the cake. You can also just do a straight, smooth layer. Garnish with some crushed pistachios and dried rose petals