Kulfi is an eggless Indian ice cream usually flavored with nuts and cardamom. My problem is that I do not like ice cream. Just don’t like the texture. Give me some cake with my ice cream and I am a happy girl. Recently, I was at Costco and they were giving out samples of Kulfi. I had the cardamom flavored sample and thought, “I wish I had some cake to go with my kulfi”. I decided to come up with a way to enjoy Kulfi and cake together. I came up with Kulfi Cake! It’s an almond cardamom sponge cake soaked in Kulfi mixture. Sort of like Tres Leches Cake having a baby with Kulfi. Yummy! It was a big hit with my lactose intolerant husband and kids. My poor husband paid the price (or rather I paid the price) that night! Here is how you make it:
Add flour, salt, cardamom and baking powder to a bowl and using a whisk, mix. Now add the almonds. I prefer to use a spoon at this point because the almonds will get stuck in the whisk.
Separate the eggs.
Here is the most important thing about this cake. I mean it is a matter of making a good cake or a cake that is a complete fail. Do not get any YOLKS in the whites!!! I repeat. Do not get any YOLKS in the whites!!! Not even a tiny bit. If you do, your egg whites will not whip up and we do not want that.
Add sugar to your yolks and beat until they are pale yellow.
Add milk, vanilla and mix. Now add that to the flour bowl and mix it all together.
Now comes the crucial part. Beating the egg whites. I suggest using a hand mixer or kitchenaid stand mixer for this step. Take the egg whites and beat until soft peaks form.
These are soft peaks. The tip of your peak will drop when it is soft. Add the remainder of sugar and beat until peaks are stiff but not dry.
These are stiff peaks. The tip does not fall down.
Fold the egg whites into the flour mixture until there are no streaks of white. Do not over mix or your cake will not turn out light and fluffy.
Pour cake mixture into your prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes. This cake does bake up fast, so start checking it at the 15 minute mark to make sure you aren’t over cooking it.
While your cake is baking combine all milks from the Kulfi ingredients.
After the cake has cooled, pierce the top of the cake with a fork or a knife. Do this across the cake. This will help the cake absorb the yummy Kulfi mixture we made.
Now pour the Kulfi milk mixture across the cake. Make sure you get every part of the cake. The cake will soak up the milk as you are pouring. Let it sit for 30 minutes.
Beat heavy cream and sugar to make whipped cream.
Frost cake with whipped cream.
Kulfi Cake
Print RecipeIngredients
- FOR THE SPONGE CAKE
- 1 cup All-purpose Flour
- 1-1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cardamom (Check the spice aisle at your local grocery store)
- 1/4 cup Blanched Almonds, chopped
- 5 whole Eggs, separated
- 1 cup Sugar, divided
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 1/3 cup Milk
- FOR THE KULFI
- 1 can Evaporated Milk
- 1 can Sweetened, Condensed Milk
- 1/4 cup Heavy Cream
- Cardamom is usually added to the Kulfi mixture but I found it easier to add ground cardamom to the cake.
- FOR THE TOPPING:
- 1 pint Heavy Cream, For Whipping
- 3 Tablespoons Sugar
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 x 2 pan with Pam or any vegetable spray until coated.
Add the flour, salt, cardamom and baking powder to a bowl and using a whisk, mix. Now add the almonds and mix with a spoon.
Separate the eggs. To the yolks, add 3/4 cup sugar and beat until it is light in color. Add milk, vanilla and mix. Now add that to the flour and mix it all together. The cardamom smell should be hitting your senses about now.
Take the egg whites and beat until soft peaks form. Add the remainder of sugar and beat until peaks are stiff but not dry. Fold the egg whites into the flour mixture until there are no streaks of white. Do not over mix.
Pour cake mixture into your prepared pan. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until a toothpick or fork inserted in the middle comes out clean.
While your cake is baking combine all milks from the Kulfi ingredients.
After the cake has cooled, pierce the top of the cake with a fork or a knife. Do this across the cake. This will help the cake absorb the yummy kulfi mixture we made. Now pour the kulfi milk mixture across the cake. Make sure you get every part of the cake. The cake will soak up the milk as you are pouring. Let it sit for 30 minutes.
Now take 1 pint of heavy cream and add 3 tbs sugar. Whip it until it is nice and thick. Be carefull not to overwhip otherwise you will have butter and not whipped cream. That has happened to me. Spread across cake. Decorate with crushed pistachios or any fruit of your choice. I added pistachios.
*Variation: decorate with nuts or fresh fruit.
I tried the Kulfi-cake and it tasted delicious. Detailed step by step instruction with pictures for the recipe is very helpful.
Thank you!