So last year , around this time , I tasted Thandai for the first time and made a thandai pannacotta tart that I shared with a lady in my apartment complex whom I had just gotten to know. She quite liked it .
Fast forward one year later , its almost Holi 2022 and we are really good friends now . She gets me a bottle of Thandai syrup and asks me to make the same tart for her visiting family. There is nothing that makes the baker in me happier than requests like this ! That tart is chilling in the fridge as I type this but I also wanted to try something new and that’s this Thandai mousse cake. Which was made and devoured 2 days back.
Thandai is a special drink popular around the festival of colours that is made with a combination of dried fruits , nuts and spices. You can make it yourself , buy it in powder form or as a syrup – each of which is then mixed into milk for a beverage that is refreshingly unique and totally Indian !
The base of this Thandai cake is an eggless cake recipe that I have repeatedly fallen back onto in recent times. It is easy to make and has no fancy ingredients . The mousse has a concentrated form of Thandai , folded into some whipped cream and set with agar agar ( which I am still getting used to using ) . For an extra jolt of Thandai , I made a quick Thandai syrup that I soaked my cake layers in. Since a mousse cake is served cold, the syrup works well to keep the cake from drying out in the fridge .
This is a mousse cake so the ratio of the mousse to the cake is pretty high and that’s how I intended it. The cake is almost melt in your mouth and the entire spoonful of this dessert is one creamy , soft delight ! In case you want more cake than mousse ( like a regular layer cake ) , you can bake two cakes. So there is more cake than mousse or you can also reduce the quantity of mousse. The thandai mousse can also be served by itself in serving glasses , but I would add some textural component to the serves like toasted nuts , or it could be too one tone .
I love coming up with new desserts, particularly fusion ones and while this one may not seem terribly innovative , it was unlike anything I had tasted before !
Thandai mousse cake ( eggless Thandai cake)
Ingredients
For the cake
- 190 grams or 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour or maida
- 240 ml or 1 cup yoghurt or curd at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 120 ml or 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Thandai syrup
- 2 tablespoons thandai syrup
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 240 ml or 1 cup water
For the Thandai mousse
- 60 ml or 1/4 cup thandai syrup
- 60 ml or 1/4 cup milk
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon agar agar powder
- 360 ml or 1 1/2 cup whipping cream cold
Instructions
To make the cake
- Preheat the oven to 180 C or 350 F. Butter and flour a 8 inch round pan and line the bottom with parchment ( optional )
- In a bowl, whisk together the curd and sugar until smooth.
- Whisk in the baking soda and baking powder. Let rest for 5 minutes while the mixture bubbles up.
- Whisk in the oil and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Sift in the flour and salt , whisk until smooth
- Fill the batter into the prepared pan , smoothen top and immediately transfer to oven
- Bake for 25 to 28 minutes until the cake springs back on pressing and a toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean
- Cool in pan for 5 minutes , gently unfold from pan , remove parchment (if using) and then completely cool right side up on a wire rack.
To make the Thandai soaking syrup
- In a thick bottomed saucepan ,mix the thandai syrup and sugar into the water
- Bring to a boil over medium – high heat
- Then simmer on low heat for upto 10 minutes so the syrup is slightly thickened
- Take off heat and cool completely
To make the Thandai Mousse
- Make the mousse when you are ready to assemble the cake
- In a thick bottomed saucepan , measure out the milk , sugar , thandai syrup and agar agar powder .
- Mix well
- Over medium heat , bring to a boil while stirring constantly.
- Continue heating for another minute and then take off heat. Strain if needed. You want this mixture warm ( not hot ) to mix into the cream
- As the mixture becomes warm, in another bowl, whip your cream until you have firm peaks ( the cream shouldn't move when the bowl is upturned)
- Continue whipping / beating the cream , as you add the warm mixture continuously into it .
- Once all the mixture is added into the cream , mix well with a spatula to make sure the mousse is uniform
To assemble
- Slice the cool cake horizontally in 2 layers
- Place the bottom half onto your serving dish or plate.
- Using a pastry brush or spoon , soak the layer with about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of cool thandai soaking syrup – the cake should be damp to touch but not oozing out
- Using a piping bag or a spatula , spread the mousse on top of the cake layer . Create as thick a layer as mousse as you want , reserving some for the top and sides if you wish
- Place the second layer of cake gently on top . Again soak the layer until damp.
- Spread mousse on top and sides if you wish. Garnish with toasted nuts or as desired.
- Chill for at least 4 hours or longer . Serve cold !
Notes
This is one plate scrapingly good dessert ! Like I said , the syrup soaked cake and the mousse is velvety smooth and the spicy nuttiness of the Thandai leaves a lingering sensation on your taste buds that you will definitely like !