Spiced Pistachio Rasmalai Cake

Inspired by the popular South Asian delicacy rasmalai, these layered pistachio mini-cakes are filled with a saffron pastry cream and finished off with a raspberry topping based on chhana or cheese curds. This version of the cake is eggless and dense and can easily absorb a rich milk soak — key to the dessert's flavour and texture.

Andrew’s spiced pistachio rasmalai cake helped earn him the title of Star Baker for Spice Week in Season 7 of The Great Canadian Baking Show.

Spiced Pistachio Rasmalai Cake

By Andrew Evers

Ingredients

Saffron Pastry Cream:

• 2 tsp powdered gelatin
• 2 tbsp cold water
• 4 egg yolks
• 1⅓ cups (266 g) sugar
• ¾ tsp saffron, steeped in 3 tbsp very hot water
• ¼ cup (28 g) cornstarch
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup 35% cream

Pistachio Cake:

• 1 cup plus 2 tbsp (160 g) pistachios, finely ground
• 4½ cups (500 g) cake flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1½ tsp baking soda
• 2 tbsp ground cardamom
• 2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1½ cups (300 g) sugar
• 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup plain yogurt, room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 to 4 drops green food colouring
• 1¼ cup plus 2 tsp milk, room temperature

Raspberry Cheese-Curd Topping:

• 8 cups whole milk
• 5 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 to 4 tbsp olive oil
• ½ cup (150 g) raspberry jam
• 2 tbsp freeze-dried raspberry powder
• 2 tbsp icing sugar
• ½ tsp ground cardamom
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg

Cardamom-Nutmeg Cream Soak:

• 2 cups 35% cream
• ¼ cup (50 g) sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg

Spiced Pistachios:

• ½ cup (70 g) pistachios
• 2 tbsp sugar
• ½ tsp ground cardamom
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp kosher salt

Garnish:

• Edible rose petals

Preparation

Saffron Pastry Cream:  

Line a rimmed baking sheet with plastic wrap and set aside.

Stir together gelatin and water in a small bowl. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar and saffron mixture until thick and pale yellow. Whisk in cornstarch. 

Place milk in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and slowly whisk the hot milk into the egg mixture. Transfer mixture back into the saucepan and return to heat.

Increase heat to medium and bring to a boil, whisking constantly until thickened, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add gelatin. Stir until melted.

Strain onto the prepared baking sheet, cover with more plastic wrap, and place in the fridge to cool completely. 

Using a hand mixer, whip cream in a medium bowl until stiff peaks form. When pastry cream is cool, fold in cream. Refrigerate until needed.

Pistachio Cake:   

Heat oven to 350 F. Grease a 13-by-18-inch rimmed baking sheet with butter or cooking spray and line with parchment paper so it hangs over the short sides.

Whisk together pistachios, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, nutmeg and salt in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, melted butter, yogurt, vanilla and food colouring until sugar is almost dissolved. 

Alternate adding dry ingredients and milk to butter mixture. Mix just until flour disappears. Spread batter onto the prepared sheet. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to even out the surface. 

Bake until the cake begins to pull away from the sides, rotating the pan halfway through, about 12 to 14 minutes. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes, then flip it onto a cooling rack. Remove the parchment and cool completely. 

Raspberry Cheese-Curd Topping: 

Pour milk into a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. As soon as it boils, add lemon juice and turn off heat. Set aside for a few minutes to allow curds to form, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Strain curdled milk through a cheesecloth-lined sieve set over a bowl. Rinse curds with cold water, then squeeze to remove excess whey. Set aside for about 20 minutes to continue draining. 

Transfer curds to a food processor and blend for 2 minutes until smooth. 

With the food processor running, drizzle in 3 tablespoons olive oil. Add raspberry jam, raspberry powder, icing sugar and spices, and process until smooth and fluffy. Add the last tablespoon of olive oil if the mixture is too stiff. Add mixture to a piping bag fitted with a large closed-star tip. Set aside until needed.

Cardamom-Nutmeg Cream Soak:

When the cake is cool, add all the cream ingredients to a medium saucepan and place over medium heat until warm and sugar is dissolved. 

While still warm, brush the cake with about half of the cream mixture. Reserve the remaining mixture to serve on the side.

Spiced Pistachios: 

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium. Add nuts, sugar, spices and salt. Gently stir until sugar begins to melt. Continue to cook until most of the sugar is melted and pistachios start to turn golden brown. Remove nuts from the heat on the prepared sheet to cool. Once cooled, roughly chop the nuts.

Assembly:

Transfer the saffron pastry cream to a piping bag with a large round piping tip. 

Using a 3-inch round cookie cutter, cut 24 pieces of cake. Dollop pastry cream on the surface of 12 of the cake slices. Place remaining 12 slices of cake on top of the pastry cream. Pipe a rosette of raspberry cheese-curd topping on top of the cakes. Garnish with spiced nuts and rose petals. Serve with remaining cream soak on the side.

Makes 12 mini-cakes