This Indian Carrot pudding cake is incredibly moist with soft crumbs, layered with an Indian sweet inspired melt in your mouth cream and then topped with a classic Indian dessert - Gajar ka Halwa.
Chocolate Ganache, Fresh Flowers, Macarons, Chocolate Spheres, Rose Petals and Crushed Pistachios
Instructions
Step 1 - For the Cake Base
Sift together the dry ingredients - Flour, Baking powder, Baking Soda, Salt and keep aside
Mix sugar and milk in a bowl until homogenous. Whisking continuously add the oil to help it emulsify. Next, add the yogurt and essence and combine together.
Add the sifted dry ingredients into the wet in two batches. Combine to form a smooth batter
Divide the batter evenly between three 6 inch pans that have been greased with butter and lined with parchment paper. Approximately 275 gms in each tin.
Bake in a preheated oven of 180°C for 35-45 mins or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
After 5 mins, invert the cake pans to release the cake. Remove the parchment paper and allow it to cool completely.
Step 2 - Sugar Syrup
Mix the sugar in the hot water until completely dissolved.
Set aside to cool completely.
Step 3: Whipped Cream for filling and frosting
Add the whipping cream, icing sugar and rabdi essence in a mixing bowl.
Beat till you reach the stiff peaks stage.
Step 4: Gajar Ka Halwa
I have a detailed post on how to make gajar ka halwa. You can refer that or simply use your mom's recipe or you can also choose to buy from the market.
You would need 200 gms of halwa for filling and 25 gms for filling the chocolate spheres if you are following my way of decorating the cake.
Step 5 : To Assemble
Start by trimming the top caramelised portion of the cake even if you get flat tops.
Soak the cake with prepared sugar syrup
Add 1/3 of the whipped cream filling and spread to an even layer
100 gms of gajar halwa goes next. Spread it out too.
A layer of chopped salted pistachios
Then comes the middle cake layer.
Repeat the steps till you reach the very top - sugar syrup, whipped cream, 100 gms halwa, chopped pistachio and the final (third) cake layer.
Crumb coat the cake with the remaining whipped cream to get the rustic look.
Follow the video in the recipe card if you like to decorate the cake as I have done or simply add your own spin to the cake by decorating the way you like.
Video
Notes
Tips on Cake Decoration:
If you are not sure how to decorate a cake simply give it a drip cake effect to automatically elevate its beauty. I have used this technique multiple times like in Fresh Fruit Cake or Eggless Chocolate Caramel Cake where we have used upside down drip technique.
Adding fresh flowers and chocolates is another great way to enhance the look.
1M Piping Tip can do magic. It is the best piping tip to make easy and quick decoration. Pipe stars, swirls or roses; each design is beautiful on its own.
A simple tip is to decorate the cake with the filling - for example in this case using pistachios which is a part of filling too. Rose petals and edible silver foil which forms the base of any Indian sweet adds its touch to cake decoration as well.
Follow my tips and tricks on stabilized whipped cream frosting if you would like to frost the cake rather than giving it a rustic look.
I also feel a clean hand written message on the cake enhances the look even further.
Still not sure then definitely consider checking my Pinterest board on Cake Decorating for inspiration.
Other tips on making this recipe:
Allow the cake, sugar syrup, gajar halwa to cool completely before assembling the cake.
Soaking the cake with sugar syrup keeps it moist for 3 days. At the same time, do not soak too much or else the cake would become wet rather than moist.
Salted pistachio cuts down the sweetness of the cake.
If you do not find rabdi essence (though I highly recommend to use it) then you can use cardamom, almond or kesar essence.
Do consider checking the above paragraph for additional detailed pictorial instructions and also for links to certain recipe posts and products that would help you to bake this cake easily.
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