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I’ve been baking a lot of cakes recently. Cakes for birthday parties, baby showers, and so much more. I figured why not bake one for Diwali! This Masala Doodh cake is inspired by Christina Tosi’s famous naked birthday cake! Masala doodh is a milk drink that has a masala mixture of nuts and spices mixed into it. It’s a super warming and comforting drink that I used to drink at the night time growing up. I topped my cake with a cake topper from Teal Firefly!
I also got the cute Diwali banner from Teal Firefly! I love that these type of decorations exist here in the US! They sell tons of cute little gift tags and stickers as well!
This cake can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge for up to 5 days. Whenever I bake cakes my mom always hates it when I have too much frosting. I think this is cake has the perfect ratio of frosting to cake. The milk soak helps keep the cake super moist so you won’t miss all that frosting! The cake flavor has a mixture of warm vanilla and cardamom with hints of saffron. All the flavors that give me warm and fuzzy feelings!
Diwali, the Hindu New Year, is a time to get together with friends and family. Every year on Diwali, my family would stop by all our cousin’s houses to share sweets (for a sweet life in the new year) and catch up over good food and conversation. Over the years it turned into a Diwali dinner as the number of people we had to visit grew to be too much! Hopefully, you make this masala doodh cake for your family dinner.
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Masala Doodh Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
A cake with an Indian twist, inspired by Christina Tosi’s cakes from Milk Bar, vanilla cake layered with masala doodh frosting. Perfect recipe for Diwali.
Ingredients
DOODH MASALA
- 2 tbsp (16 g) raw almonds
- 2 tbsp (15 g) raw cashews
- 2 tbsp (17 g) shelled raw pistachios
- 2 tbsp (16 g) shelled raw pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp cardamom seeds
- 1/4 tsp fennel seeds
- 2 black peppercorns
- pinch saffron
- 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 1/2 tbsp (25 g) granulated sugar
CAKE
- 1/4 cup (57 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 cup (51 g) vegetable shortening
- 1/2 cup (118 mL) grapeseed oil
- 1 1/4 cups (250 g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (55 g) light brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cups (355 g) buttermilk
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 tbsp (15 mL) clear vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cups cake flour
- 4 tsp of baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp salt
MILK SOAK
- 7 1/2 tbsp milk, lukewarm
- 1/4 tsp saffron
FROSTING
- 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup (51 g) vegetable shortening
- 1/4 cup (57 g) cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 tbsp (30 mL) light corn syrup
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 1/4 cups (150 g) powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup doodh masala
- 1 tbsp dried rose petals (optional)
Instructions
Doodh Masala
- To make the doodh masala, add almonds, cashews, pistachios and pumpkin seeds to a small skillet over medium heat. Toast for 4 minutes while mixing occasionally. Pour the nuts into a blender. Add cardamom seeds, fennel, and peppercorns to the skillet and toast for 1 minute. Pour the whole spices into the blender as well. Add saffron, turmeric, and sugar and blend until you have a fine powder, about 1 minute. Pour the powder into a jar and set aside.
Cake
- Pre-heat oven to 350°F/177°C. Grease and line three 9-inch baking pans with parchment paper.
- In a large stand mixer, add butter, shortening, and sugars. Cream for 4 minutes on high, until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing in between each addition. Add the vanilla extract and mix on high for 4 minutes until it’s light and voluminous.
- While the batter is mixing, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate container, whisk together the buttermilk, and oil.
- Alternating, add the flour and buttermilk in 4 additions, mixing in between each addition until just incorporated. Evenly divide the batter amongst the 3 prepared baking pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes and then flip out onto a rack and cool completely.
Milk Soak
- Add warm milk and saffron in a small bowl and mix well. Set aside.
Frosting
- Add butter, shortening, cream cheese, corn syrup, powdered sugar, cardamom and salt to a stand mixing bowl. Mix on high for 5 minutes or until white and fluffy. Add the doodh masala and mix until well incorporated.
Assemble
- Use a 6-inch round cutter to cut each cake. These are your top three layers. Place the cutter on parchment paper-lined baking sheet and line the sides with a strip of acetate. Take the cake scraps and place them inside the ring. Use the back of your hand to press scraps together into a flat, even layer. Use a spoon to drizzle one 1/4 of the milk on top of the cake. Spoon 5 tablespoons of frosting on top of the cake and use a spoon to smooth it into an even layer. Top with the next cake layer and gently press down and repeat the milk soak and frosting. Gently tuck second acetate strip between cake ring and the top ¼” of the first acetate strip, so that you have a clear ring of acetate that is 5–6″ tall. Add the next cake layer. Add the next two cake layers and repeat. Spread the rest of the frosting on top of the final layer. Sprinkle the edges with additional doodh masala and dried rose petals. Place the cake in the freezer for at least 3 hours. When you’re ready to serve, defrost in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours.
Notes
Note: Adapted from Christina Tosi’s Birthday Cake
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American, Indian
