Rich and buttery Mini Bundts enriched with mawa/khoya and Thandai flavours topped with White Chocolate Ganache.A fusion recipe for Holi, where Mawa Cakes and White Ganache are infused with Holi special Thandai flavours.

A rich buttery, cardamom-infused Mawa/Khoya cakes are rich tea cakes that known to be the specialty of Mumbai's Parsi Cafes.These cakes are extremely delicious, soft and buttery. Traditionally, eggs are used in baking Mawa cakes, but since these days so many people prefer eggless bakes, we can bake equally good eggless version also.

In Mumbai where I had my home- baking venture, I made eggless Thandai* flavored mawa cakes/cupcakes during Holi for my clients. I used Thandai flavored fresh whipped cream for frosting. Store bought Thandai syrup or Thandai Powder both can be used giving the flavor. For this post, I have used homemade Thandai paste. I was making Thandai syrup when my daughter reminded me of the Thandai flavored cupcakes that I made during Holi in Mumbai. She loves Thandai milk and loved Thandai Mawa cupcakes. So I saved some paste while making Thandai. I have these cute mini bundts and decided to bake mini bundts this time. For frosting, I have used Thandai flavored and saffron infused White Chocolate Ganache. The soft, khoya cakes moistened with diluted Thandai syrup and frosted with saffron and thandai infused white chocolate ganache, tastes almost like Rasmalai( an Indian dessert made with Indian Cottage Cheese in thickened milk syrup).

*For those who don't know about Thandai, it is an Indian summer drink that is prepared with Almonds, Cashew nuts or pistachios along with fennel, poppy and melon seeds, black peppercorns, rose petals, saffron. It is prepared in concentrated form like sugar syrup and is mixed with cold milk for consumption. It is one of the best summer cooler drink and helps to keep the body cool.

Click here for the recipe of Homemade Thandai.

Give a try to these mini bundts and have something new this festival season.You can bake in cupcake pans or an 8-inch cake pan.I have used a combination of All purpose flour and almond meal/flour. You can use only all-purpose flour if you want.Substitute the amount of All-purpose flour with Almond meal. Also, increase the amount of Mawa or Khoya to 150 gms in the recipe. Mawa used can be store-bought or homemade.

Let's see the ingredients and the method to bake these Mini Mawa cakes.

This recipe gives you 4 mini bundts and 9 mini bite-sized cupcakes, or 12 medium cupcakes or and one 8-inch round cake.

Ingredients:

For Mawa Cakes:

• All-Purpose Flour-- 2 Cup
• Almond Meal-- 1/2 cup
• Thandai Paste*/ Powder-- 3-4 tbsp
• Khoya-- 100 gms
• Butter--1/2 Cup
• Baking Powder-- 1 Tsp
• Baking Soda--1/2 Tsp
• Curd--4 Tbsp
• Milk -- 100ml
• Apple Cider Vinegar--5 ml

*Substitute 15 ml of Thandai concentrate for Thandai paste if fresh paste or powder is not available with you. Adjust the quantity of sugar accordingly.

Method for Mawa Cakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C.
2. Grease the bundt pans with oil/butter and dust very lightly with flour. Tap off the extra flour from the pan. If you are using a cupcake tray then line the muffin liners.
3. All ingredients should be at room temperature.
4. Sieve together all-purpose flour, almond meal, baking powder, baking soda and salt if using unsalted butter or using oil. If you are using Thandai Masala, sift it with flour. I used oil for the recipe and added 1/4 tsp of salt with the flour.
5. If using butter beat softened butter and sugar together.
6. Once light and fluffy, add curd and beat until creamy.
7. Add vinegar in milk to make buttermilk and let it stand till it is added with flour. Don't mix it.
8. Add Thandai paste and mix.
9. Add flour in 3 parts mix alternating with buttermilk. Finally, add some saffron infused milk.
10. Transfer the batter to pans and bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes in mini bundt pans or cupcake tray.
11. Once baked check the doneness by inserting a toothpick into the cake it should come out clean and also cake should leave the sides of the pan. Transfer to cooling rack and cool completely.

Move the cursor over the images for caption

Ingredients for Mawa Cakes

Sieve together Flours, Baking soda, Baking Powder.Add salt if using unsalted butter,

Make buttermilk using milk and vinegar

Let it stand for few minutes

Beat together oil and sugar

Add Yoghurt/Curd

Beat the mixture nicely.

Add Thandai paste and mix

Add crumbled Khoya

Mix everything nicely

Batter for the cakes

Add batter till 3/4 full

I added the remaining batter in mini bite sized cupcake mould

Baked cakes and muffins

For Thandai Flavoured Ganache Sauce:

• White Chocolate --1 cup
• Cream-- 4 tbsps
• Thandai Masala/ Syrup---1 Tsp
• Saffron Infused Milk--1/2 cup
• Butter--1 Tsp

Method for White Chocolate Ganache:

1. Take chopped White Chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Keep over a pan of hot water, the bottom of the bowl should not touch water in the pan.
2. Stir until the chocolate is melted.Make sure to press out any lumps with spoon or spatula. Take away from hot water and mix until smooth.
3. Boil cream in a small pan with a tsp of butter, you can heat cream in the microwave for 2-3 minutes also but be careful as cream may splatter in the microwave while heating. As soon as it starts to bubble, add slowly into melted chocolate stirring continuously and mix well.
4. Add Thandai syrup and beat until smooth. Add the saffron infused milk and mix well.
5. Wrap it with a cling film, and once it cools down.

Ingredients for Ganache

Melt White chocolate over a pan of hot water

Melt it smooth and mix thoroughly pressing the lumps

Heat Cream in a pan

Mix with Chocolate

Add Thandai Concentrate or syrup

Add saffron infused milk.. Ganache is ready to use

Pour Ganache sauce over bundts

The Ganache will have a thick sauce like consistency as we have added some milk to it. Pour over the mini bundts or the cupcakes. Garnish with crushed nuts or sprinkles.

Garnish with crushed nuts and sprinkles

Ganache can be stored in the refrigerator for a month and in the freezer for about 3 months.

If you don't have White Chocolate, you can use Rabri as topping for mawa cakes. Please check the recipe for instant Almond Rabri. Add some Thandai powder or syrup to rabri to get the Thandai flavor.

If you don't want to Thandai flavor in the cake or ganache, skip it, flavor it with cardamom/ nutmeg or cinnamon powder.

For Homemade Khoya recipe.. click the link.. Homemade Mawa/Khoya

Hope you will enjoy these mawa cakes infused with Thandai flavors.

Have a very Happy and colorful Holi!!

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