Rasmalai Tres Leches cake is the ultimate dessert mashup of Indian Rasmalai and Mexican Tres Leches cake!! Cardamom scented creamy ricotta whipped cream slathered on a sponge cake that is soaked in saffron infused milk.
What is Rasmalai Tres Leches Cake?
It is a creative mashup of Rasmalai sweet and Tres leches cake – A cardamom scented sponge cake is soaked with the saffron and cardamom flavored three milks. It is then topped with a homemade ricotta whipped frosting.
This saffron milk cake has been consistently been one of our most popular recipes – It is truly the best Indian tres leches cake recipes that you will ever make!
If you love this cake, then you might fall in love with Tiramisu Tres Leches Cake <—- Another creative mashup of Italian Tiramisu and Mexican Tres Leches!
Few of our reader feed backs:
“This was the best cake i could ever make. I have recently started baking and your recipe is truly awesome. The way you explained every single step is so informative and easy to follow. As soon as the cake was ready to serve, it got vanished. All credit goes to you for creating this master piece 😘😘😘😘”
“Made this cake for eid for my in-laws and it went down so quick, thank you very much for this detailed explanation and directions. It tasted amazing, best cake I’ve made”
“I finally made the cake and it turned out delicious! Thank you for all your tips, detailed instructions and prompt replies to my queries!!”
How to make Rasmalai Cake?
This Rasmalai tres leches cake is not an easy, one bowl kinda cake – It takes two days to make.
First day —> Bake cake. Soak cake with saffron milk. Make ricotta cream.
Second day —> Make ricotta cardamom whipped cream. Finish cake.
Don’t you worry. I have included a lot of pictures to guide you along the way. You are all set to make your new favorite cake for birthdays, holidays, parties, get togethers or anytime you wanna celebrate.
More details:
You will need a 9 by 13 inch pan. Or the same recipe in two 8 by 8 inch (round/square) pans to make two cakes.
FIRST DAY:
- It is easier to seperate eggs when they are cold. So remove eggs and seperate ’em and leave aside to come to room temperature (1-2 hours before making cake). Remember it is easier to seperate eggs when they are cold whereas room temperature eggs whip to full volume. (refer picture above – left)
- Whisk all dry ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.
- Beat egg whites and cream of tarter until soft peaks form (refer picture above – middle)
- With clean beaters, beat yolks and sugar until very think (refer picture above – right)
5. Add milk ( straight out of the refrigerator is ok ) (refer picture above – middle)
6. Beat for about 30 seconds, until well combined. (refer picture above – right)
7. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold whisked dry ingredients in two additions (refer picture below – left)
8. Gently fold in whipped egg whites in three additions, taking care not to loose all that air. Pour batter into a greased 9 by 13 inch pan. (refer picture below – right)
9. When is baking, heat 1 and 1/2 cups milk in stove top or microwave. Take off heat, when it comes to a boil. Stir in saffron and let milk cool to room temperature. Mix along with sweetened condensed milk and heavy cream.
10. When cake is cooled, poke holes all over cake with a tooth pick (refer picture above – right). Gently pour milk all over cake, cover pan with a foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate over night.
10. Make ricotta whipped cream – Boil milk, cream and salt. Stir in vinegar to curdle and strain in a cheesecloth (refer picture below – left). Refrigerate until second day.
SECOND DAY
11. Beat ricotta, heavy cream, sugar and cardamom powder until it gets thick. (refer picture below – right)
12. Remove soaked cake from refrigerator ( refer picture below – left) and spread ricotta cardamom whipped cream on top (refer picture below – right).
13. Store cake in refrigerator. Leftovers can be stored in the same pan for up to 3 days.
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- Rasmalai Tres Leches Cake…read more
Tips and tricks in making the cardamom Tres Leches cake:
- Room temperature eggs – room temperature eggs whip to full volume when compared to cold eggs. But, eggs are easier to be separated when cold. So seperate cold eggs and leave at room temperature for 1-2 hours before making cake.
- Use freshly ground cardamom powder. It makes a huge difference! Grind about 1/4 cup green cardamoms in a dry grinder, until finely ground. Excess cardamom powder can be stored in a zip lock bag and placed in the freezer for months.
- Fold egg whites without loosing much of the air – We need all those tine air bubbles intact to soak up the sweet saffron milk.
- Make a creamy ricotta – please follow instructions to the dot, to get a smooth, creamy ricotta.
Frequently asked questions:
NO. This ricotta is made with lots of cream and uses a very gently separation method to produce a fresh ricotta. Store bought ones will never come close.
Soft, spongy dumplings made out of fresh cooked paneer (aka ricotta) is boiled in a thin sugar syrup until doubled in volume. These dumplings are then soaked in sweet saffron infused milk for several hours. The dumplings are severed with the milk and garnished with chopped pistachios.
“Tres Leches” means three milks. A sponge cake is soaked with 3 types of milk ( authentic tres leches cake recipe includes sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and whole milk) and then topped with whipped cream. It is very popular in Mexico and Latin America.
This cake is unlike any other cake that you will eat. Dripping with sweet milk, it is so soft and moist.
Unfortunately, this rasmalai cake recipe is too soft to be made into layer cakes.
Though I haven’t used it personally, fresh lemon juice / white vinegar is a common replacement for cream of tarter. You will need 1/4 teaspoon of lemon juice/vinegar for the 1/8 teaspoon cream of tarter.
Storage instructions:
The cake can refrigerated (wrap the baking pan tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap) for up to 4 days.
Keeping track of all the cake recipes? Check out Carrot Walnut Cake
More Mexican recipes:
Spicy Chicken Ranch Quesadillas
Homemade Chicken Taco Seasoning
If you love this saffron tres leches cake, then you might also love these recipes:
Zucchini Cardamom Cupcakes with Lemon Glaze
Rasmalai Tres Leches Cake
Ingredients
Cardamom Cake
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 and 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon cream of tarter
- 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/3 cup milk
Saffron milk
- 2 healthy pinches saffron threads
- 1 and 1/2 cups whole milk
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 7 ounces sweetened condensed milk (about 1/2 of 14 ounce can)
Ricotta cream
- 3 cups whole milk
- 1 and 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 and 1/4 tablespoons white vinegar
Ricotta cardamom whipped cream
- 1 and 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cardamom powder
Additional ingredient (optional)
- chopped raw pistachios
Instructions
FIRST DAY
Make cardamom cake
- Seperate eggs and place egg whites in a medium bowl and yolks in a large bowl and let come to room temperature, for about 1-2 hours. (Eggs straight of out of the refrigerator are easier to to seperate when compared to room temperature eggs)
- Pre heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- Whisk together all purpose flour, baking powder, cardamom powder and salt together in a small bowl and set aside.
- Using a hand held electric beater, beat eggs whites and cream of tarter for about 2 minutes, until soft peaks form. Set bowl aside, Rinse and dry beaters thoroughly.
- Using the hand held electric beater, beat egg yolks for about 2 minutes, until thick. Add sugar in 3 batches and continue to beat for about 4 more minutes, until thick and falls back as ribbons when beater is lifted. Add milk and beat for a few seconds, until mixed well.
- Switch to a rubber spatula and fold in flour mixture in 2 additions. Then, fold in beaten egg whites in 3 additions. (be gentle while folding the whites we don’t want to loose all that air).
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Spread batter into an even layer. Bake for about 20 minutes, until slightly golden on top and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes clean.
- Place pan on a wire rack to cool completely.
Make saffron milk
- When the cake is baking, make safron milk.
- Let milk come to a boil (either on a stove top or microwave). Take off heat and stir in saffron. Let cool to room temperature.
- Mix cooled saffron milk, heavy cream and sweetened condensed milk together until thoroughly combined.
Soak cake with saffron milk
- When cake has cooled completely, poke holes all over the cake with a toothpick (this will help in the milk seeping into the cake and make it ultra moist).
- Gently pour saffron milk, all over the cake making sure it is even (else, the cake some part of the cake might be dry when another part is dripping with too much milk). Cover pan with a foil or plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for about 8 hours or overnight.
Make ricotta cream
- Combine milk, cream and salt in a non-stick sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn off stove immediately. Stir in vinegar and let stand for exactly 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, spread cheesecloth or thin kitchen towel on a strainer and place over a bowl. After 5 minutes, pour curdled milk into the cheesecloth lined strainer and let stand for 2 hours, until all whey is separated. Transfer ricotta into a covered container and store in the refrigerator overnight.
SECOND DAY
Make ricotta cardamom whipped cream
- Place ricotta in a large bowl and beat with a hand held electric beater for about 2 minutes on high to make it creamy (the beater might struggle a little since the ricotta is thick, but just keep it moving around).
- Add heavy cream, sugar and cardamom powder and continue to beat until thick frosting consistency.
Finish rasmalai tres leches cake
- Spread ricotta cardamom whipped cream on top of the cake and spread evenly. You can leave as is or swirl around with a clean spoon (to make it like the pictures) or use your favorite method of decorating.
- Sprinkle chopped pistachios on top, if required.
- Cover pan with a plastic wrap or foil and store in refrgearator.
- Rasmalai Tres Leches Cake needs to be always stored in the refrigeartor.
Notes
- Room temperature eggs – room temperature eggs whip to full volume when compared to cold eggs. But, eggs are easier to be separated when cold. So seperate cold eggs and leave at room temperature for 1-2 hours before making cake.
- Use freshly ground cardamom powder. It makes a huge difference! Grind about 1/4 cup green cardamoms in a dry grinder, until finely ground. Excess cardamom powder can be stored in a zip lock bag and placed in the freezer for months.
- Try to fold egg whites without loosing much of the air. We need all those tine air bubbles intact to soak up the sweet saffron milk.
- Make a creamy ricotta – please follow instructions to the dot, to get a smooth, creamy ricotta.
- Can you substitute store bought ricotta instead ? NO. This ricotta is made with lots of cream and uses a very gently separation method to produce a fresh ricotta. Store bought ones will never come close.
All contents and images are my original work, unless and otherwise mentioned. Please do not use my recipes or images without linking back to www.kitchenathoskins.com. If you wish to republish a recipe, please rewrite in your own words and don’t forget to include a link back to the original recipe.
Meghana
Saturday 25th of December 2021
Hi!
I made this cake, but it feels like it didn’t rise and is pretty flat? Is that typical?
Maria Doss
Saturday 25th of December 2021
Hi Meghana, This type of cake will rise (comparatively less when compared to traditional cakes) and then shrink a touch as it cools. This method helps to soak up the milk mixture later. Hope it helps - Wishing you wonderful holidays, Maria
Karishma
Saturday 6th of November 2021
If I can only use non freshly ground cardamom, should I use more for a stronger flavor?
Maria Doss
Monday 8th of November 2021
Hi Karishma, It totally depends on how old the cardamom powder used is. I would use a touch more but not too much (since, it could over power the cake), Maria
Apoorva Mittal
Tuesday 2nd of November 2021
Thanks for the lovely recipe, it's my favorite for Diwali season! I'm making it in round 8/9 inch pans this time, how would the baking time change? I was thinking of splitting the same batter into two pans...
Alisha
Saturday 30th of October 2021
Hi Maria, The first time I baked your cake, I absolutely loved it! It was such a big hit with my family. I’m planning to make it again for a friend’s Diwali party this year, and I was wondering if you can use it for two 9 inch circle baking pans? The batter amount itself should remain the same but, do you recommend I increase or decrease the amount of frosting as I’m doing two tiers?
Maria Doss
Sunday 31st of October 2021
Hi Alisha, Glad that you liked the cake. You can certainly divide the batter between two 9-inch pans, however we do not recommend making this into a layered tier cake, since it is very soft and will not hold up, Maria
Kay
Thursday 21st of October 2021
Hi Maria, I would like to make this for a party on a Saturday but have a busy few days just prior to it. I read that the cake can be made 4 days ahead; how far ahead can the ricotta be made? Can the ricotta cream also be whipped ahead or is it better to save that step for the last day?
Kay
Monday 1st of November 2021
@Maria Doss, Hi Maria, Thanks so much for the advance prep guidelines. I made it for a Diwali party that I hosted and cooked a bunch of other items for, but this cake was hands down voted by all as the star of the show!
Just a comment that I used a 9x5¨ rectangular baking dish and the cake came up only half way. I also had to double the quantity of Whole milk for the ricotta since 3 cups appeared to be very little and I’m glad I did as this yielded sufficient amount for the cream.
Maria Doss
Friday 22nd of October 2021
Hi Kay,
Cake, Ricotta, Saffron Milk --- All can be made 3 to 4 days in advance
Ricotta cream ---- Can be made 2 to 3 days in advance
Soaking cake with saffron milk ----Can be made 2 days in advance
Make ricotta whipped cream and top soaked cake ---- Can be 1 to 2 days in advance
Hope it helps - Enjoy, Maria