Rasmalai is the darling Indian dessert in which we seek refuge for satisfying our greatest of sweet cravings. And cupcakes, your smooth and small pie of happiness are no less of an easygoing delight. How about bringing the two favourites into one sweetmeat and getting lost in that out-of-the-world taste? But wait, make no assumptions. Just like its name, the method of making Rasmalai Cupcake is unconventional but fairly hassle-free. Unlike the lengthy preparation involved in making traditional rasmalais, this one requires baking the Rasmalai batter. However, you do infuse the core elements of both, Rasmalai and Cupcake into it by lightly soaking the baked rasmalais in rabdi and topping it up with delicious rabdi and cream icing. And ta-dah, you accomplish the wonder-filled mission Rasmalai Cupcake!
It is well known that Rasmalai comes from the land of delicious sweets, Bengal. However, the exact place of genesis and creator is still not established. The chena and cream-based mithai were created first in the 19th century. The word Rasmalai, or Rossomalai is made of two words Ras meaning juice and malai meaning cream, true to its character which makes it that milky, creamy, spongy, and juicy sweetmeat with all the right flavours in the right proportions. Many sources popularly claim Kolkata-based KC Das Grandsons to be the real creator of Rasmalai. Other sources claim the Sen brothers of Comilla in Bangladesh to be the inventors of this delicious treat.
Sen brothers even filed registration in 2017 to get the GI tag for their ‘original’ Comilla Rasmalai. Rasmalai is typically made from chena which is obtained from curdled milk. The flattened chhena balls are then soaked in thick gooey rabdi made with milk, sugar, and saffron and flavoured with cardamoms. The rabdi needs to be cooled in the fridge for some time before soaking the rasmalais in it. The delicacy has inspired the halwais and connoisseurs over years across the country to devise numerous variants including rasmalai falooda, rasmalai cake jar and Chhena pays. Rasmalai cupcakes are also one such product. Kolkata even has various flavours of this sweet which include vanilla, rose, mango, blueberry, and chocolate rasmalais. Here’s how you can make it at home.
Preparation time: 2 hours
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Servings: 3
Ingredients:
For the batter to make cupcakes:
½ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup milk powder
¼ cup milk
¼ cup sugar
2 tbsps butter
4 -5 drops of Kesar essence
For rabdi:
1 litre milk for rabdi
Sugar as per taste
1 tsp cardamom powder
1 tsp nutmeg powder
1 tsp saffron
½ cup chopped pistachios
For icing:
1 cup rabdi
1 cup whipped cream
1 tsp cardamom powder
1 tsp saffron
Method:
1. For making cupcakes, first sieve all the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Then mix up all the wet ingredients in a separate bowl, and then transfer it to the bowl containing dry ingredients.
3. Fold with a spatula as you pour wet ingredients.
4. Add saffron, cardamom and nutmeg powder and blend the mixture into a smooth batter.
5. Pour the batter into each of the cupcake moulds and fill it up to half as it will swell up in baking.
6. Bake it for 20-25 minutes at 180 degrees celsius.
7. In the meantime, prepare rabdi. Boil milk in a saucepan and then let it simmer, until it reduces to half.
8. At this point add sugar, saffron, cardamom and nutmeg powder into the milk and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until everything gets nicely infused.
9. Add pistachios and mix. Turn off the flame, and scrape malai from the sides. Refrigerate it after it cools down.
10. After the cupcakes are baked, let them cool down.
11. Prick these cupcakes with a toothpick. Pour rabdi over them with a spoon and let them soak in rabdi.
12. For the icing, whip the cream until soft and fluffy, and add rabdi, saffron and cardamom powder. Mix and whip everything for about 5 minutes.
13. Pipe out the cream on the cupcakes and garnish with chopped pistachios, saffron and tiny pieces of rasmalais.
The marriage of the age-old delicacy with the contemporary cupcake yields one of the most luxurious desserts. Try it out on one of those lazy weekends and pamper yourself more by appeasing your sweet tooth. Dig in and forget all your worries.