October is my favourite month…for lots of reason. Apart from being my birthday month, it’s also the festive month for the Indian subcontinent. Diwali is right around the corner, which is the Christmas equivalent for us Hindus. It’s such a beautiful time of the year, the weather is perfect- not too hot, not too cold. Idk, it’s got good vibes. And since it’s time for festivities, we have to have mithai (hindi word for sweets/desserts). This Saffron Passionfruit Cake is the perfect addition to your festive table :))

If you’re looking to whip up something different, and exciting this year, this should be it. It’s a stunner of a cake, with lots of traditional Indian flavours- cardamom, saffron, cashews & pistachios. If you’re not familiar with the Indian sweet culture, nuts & saffron play a huge role in almost all Indian desserts. So it’s only fair to use the most common flavours for our dessert here.

Now I don’t generally enjoy fusion desserts, and I don’t particularly like the idea of westernizing Indian sweets because I do believe Indian sweet-making is a skill and art in itself, but since I’m no expert at Indian mithai (like many others), this is kinda my way of participating in the festivites. If you’re like me, I think you’ll come to enjoy this just as much.

As much as I appreciate the skill, the one thing I don’t love about Indian desserts is that they’re overtly sweet, for my liking anyway. Which is why, I’ve used passionfruit here to break up the monotony and add a much needed zing to balance out the flavours. Plus it pairs beautifully with all the other flavours, making this dessert truly shine. Cashew brittle, popularly known as chikki in Hindi, adds a much needed crunch to the dessert.

As fancy as it looks, this cake is actually quite simple to put together. I hope this dessert makes it onto your festive table and I hope it brings you as much joy as it did me. Happy Dussehra and Diwali to everybody celebrating! Lots of love and prosperity xx

Recipe

Serves: 8

Ingredients

For the cardamom saffron soak:

• 25g caster sugar

• 25ml water

• 1 cardamom pod, crushed lightly

• 5-6 strands of saffron

For the cake:

• 75g unsalted butter, soft at room temperature

• 30g caster sugar

• 1/2 tsp vanilla paste

• zest of 1/2 orange

• 135g condensed milk

• 60g greek yoghurt

• 143g plain flour

• 3/4 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 tsp soda bi-carb

• pinch of salt

• 45ml milk

• 45ml fresh orange juice (or sub milk)

For the saffron passionfruit namelaka:

• 52g fresh passionfruit juice

• 28g milk

• 3g gelatine leaf

• 80g good quality white chocolate

• 160g heavy cream

• 7-8 strands of saffron

For the cashew pecan brittle:

• 75g unsalted butter, cubed

• 75g caster sugar

• 25g ground jaggery (or sub coconut sugar/ more caster sugar)

• 20ml water

• 1g salt

• 1 tsp vanilla paste

• 25g cashews

• 25g pecans (or sub cashews)

For the chocolate dip:

• 80g good quality dark chocolate*

• 16g neutral flavoured oil (or sub cocoa butter)

• 25g pistachios

Method

For the cardamom saffron soak:

• In a small pot, combine all the ingredients together and place over medium heat. Cook until the sugar has fully dissolved.

• Remove from heat and keep aside while the cake is baking.

For the cake:

• Preheat oven to 180°C.

• In a bowl, whisk and sieve the plain flour, baking powder and soda bi-carb together. Keep aside.

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with paddle attachment, add the butter, sugar, orange zest and vanilla paste. Mix on medium speed for 3-4 minutes until light and pale in colour.

• Add the condensed milk and mix for 2-3 minutes until well combined.

• Add the yoghurt and mix to combine.

• Add the dry ingredients and mix until barely combined.

• Stream in the milk & orange juice and mix until just combined.

• Transfer the batter into a piping bag and pipe halfway into mini silicon log mould. Alternatively, you can also use a greased and lined 20cm square cake frame/ tin.

• Bake for 30-32 mins or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. If you’re using a square cake frame, you’ll have to increase the baking time slightly.

• Once the cake is out of the oven, poke holes with a skewer. Soak the cake with simple syrup. Allow to cool completely.

For the saffron passionfruit namelaka:

• Make a day ahead: Soak the gelatine leaf in ice cold water for 5 mins or until soft. Squeeze out the excess water and keep aside.

• Place the saffron strands in a small bowl. Add an ice cube and keep aside.

• Place the white chocolate in a measuring jug.

• In a small pot, add the passionfruit juice and milk and place over medium heat. Heat until the mixture is just about to boil.

• Remove from heat, add the gloomed gelatine and stir until all the gelatine has melted.

• Pour over the white chocolate and emulsify using an immersion blender.

• Add the cold cream and saffron strands, along with the melted ice and emulsify again.

• Pour the namelaka into a plastic container, put a cling wrap on the surface and refrigerate for minimum 8 hours.

• The next day, whip the namelaka to medium-stiff peaks. Transfer to a piping bag, fitted with a star nozzle and refrigerate until use.

For the cashew pecan brittle:

• Preheat oven to 160°C.

• Roast the cashews and pecans for 8-10 mins or until golden brown. At this point, you can also roast the pistachios (for the dip).

• Coarsely chop the roasted nuts into big chunks. Keep aside.

• In a pot, add the butter, sugar, jaggery, water and salt. Place over medium heat and cook to 146°C, whisking continuously.

• Remove from heat, add in the vanilla paste along with the nuts and stir to combine well.

• Roll the brittle to 2-3mm between two sheets of baking paper before it starts to set. Dab off the excess oil using a paper towel. Keep aside to set.

For the chocolate dip:

• Preheat oven to 160°C.

• Roast the pistachios for 7 mins. Cool completely.

• Coarsely chop the pistachios into small chunks. Keep aside.

• Melt chocolate over a double boiler or in a microwave. Add the oil and stir to combine.

• Add the chopped pistachios and stir to combine. Transfer the chocolate dip to a tall narrow jug/container to allow for easy dipping.

Assembly:

• If using a square cake tin, cut the cake into rectangles of 8.5cm x 3cm (or any other size you want). If using the silicon mould, trim the dome off to get a rectangle.

• Cut the cashew pecan brittle into rectangles of 8.5cm x 3cm (or the same size as the cake).

• Stick two skewers or knives at either ends of the cake and dip into the chocolate dip. Wipe off the excess chocolate off the bottom at the edge of the container and place on a baking tray lined with paper/silpat. Refrigerate until the chocolate sets.

• Pipe a small dollop of the whipped namelaka in the middle of the cake and place a rectangle of the cashew brittle on top. Press down lightly.

• Pipe the namelaka on top of the brittle.

• Garnish with a gold leaf. Refrigerate until service.

Notes:

*- I use Callebaut 811 54.5% dark chocolate. You can use any other chocolate with a similar cocoa percentage.

You can also use gelatine powder. There is no substitute for gelatine in this recipe.

If you enjoyed that and tried it at home, please tag me at @myyummyspatula on Instagram so that I can see all your bakes! For more BTS stories, updates and fun, you can follow long here: