Happy 12 to Us

Hello Lovely Readers,

We completed our 12th Anniversary on Monday. 

This year the romantic dinner out was obviously out of question so all celebrations were home-bound. Since I am back to WFH lunch was a working one, basic Gobhi Parathas & good ol' curd. For the coveted celebration dinner; I ditched my kitchen apron & we ordered the full fledged 'Indian food' experience from a tad-fancy restaurant. 

Being desi, foodies & more than a decade of marriage; we have no appetite for teeny portions of cute nibbles as food for anniversary. A proper meal, of any cuisine is the norm.

Dessert was the exception though, a homemade delight! Mava Cake with Gulab Jamun Surprise with Saffron flavoured Cream-Cheese frosting in a semi-naked cake style.

I know it sounds a mouth-full, but the taste was equally a mithai-ki-dukkan in your mouth. (mithai-ki-dukkan - indian sweets shop). While mava cake & gulab jamun are our mutual favourites, what blew us away was the Saffron (kesar) flavoured cream-cheese frosting which reminded us of another desi fav - shrikhand. 

This Cake was meticulously planned by me; from the complex flavours, the choice of design and accessories; each was loving picked for our unusual celebration.

So set aside the popular ras-malai frosting which is common in indian-flavoured cakes and do give this Saffron Cream Cheese frosting a chance.

RECIPE:

Time taken: 15 mins

Yield: Enough for a 3 layered 6 inch cake 

Method:

1) Ingredients to assemble: 50 gms of unsalted butter (room temperature), 100 gms of cream-cheese (room temperature), 1 tsp of rose water in which few strands of saffron or kesar is soaked, half + 3/4 cup of powdered sugar (divided as per the portions).

2) Cream the butter and half cup powdered sugar for 5-7 mins till light and fluffy.

3) Add the saffron soaked rose water & give it another minute whip.

4) Add the cream-cheese & 3/4 cup powdered sugar and whip carefully for not more than 2 mins. Over-whipping cream cheeses can make your frosting runny. So whip the frosting only till the cream-cheese is well incorporated and no more.

5) Set aside in a cool place; when your cake is ready for frosting, apply as you wish.

6) For a naked or semi-naked cake your cake sides have to be near perfect, ample greasing & flouring of the cake tin will be sufficient to give you a perfect finish (based on my experience) . To my mava cake batter I had added mini gulab jamuns cut in half before baking, so it set in perfect intervals in the cake. Once baked I had divided the cake in 3 layers & soaked them with a simple sugar syrup & chill them. 

7) Once sufficiently chilled spread the frosting between the 2 layers in a thick spread, spreading it towards the edges more. After placing the third top layer same treatment for the top of the cake with the frosting spread more towards the edges. Holding the spatula vertically swipe on the sides to get the semi-naked cake effect (you will get many you-tube tutorial videos to get the naked or semi-naked cake effects). Chill the cake before the final decoration.

8) Once chilled, I made stenciled butter-cream flowers here n there for added effect. I had some buttercream left which came handy. I also added pistachio crush at the bottom of the cake to hide any un-even edges that normally get covered with complete frosting or fondant.

9) For the top decoration I went for simple fresh flowers, I had picked baby rose buds and blooms a day prior and kept in vase filled with water. Before decoration the cake with them, wipe dry the stems, and cover them with crepe tape (preferable green coloured). Since the baby rose stems were delicate, I knew they would not pierce through the mava cake easily. I had made holes in the surface at the intended places with a toothpick and then inserted the flowers carefully. I had even reserved a couple of d mini gulab jamuns to intersperse with the flowers. The flower colours were yellow (for my hubby's fav colour) and baby pink (coz it complimented yellow well, lol most of my readers know my fav colour is purple; since no chance of getting baby roses in that, pink was next best option)

I need not re-iterate the cake tasted phenomenal. The lightly spreaded saffron cream-cheese frosting was perfect to enjoy the mava cake flavor, savour the occasional gulab jamun in the cake in each amazing bite. 

If you decide to make this cake, do share with me in the comments below how it turned out.

Cheers!!!