Milk Cake is another one of those recipes that magically transforms milk and sugar into a delicious dessert. Milk Cake is very popular in the north of India, which is arguably where you get the best Milk Cake in India. This recipe is laborious because you need to watch and stir the milk for about an hour or so, but the results are worth the effort.
If you’ve made Fresh Paneer before, then you will notice that the method for making Milk Cake is somewhat similar. When making Paneer, the milk is curdled right after it comes to a boil and the milk solids are separated from the whey and set into a block. Whereas to make Milk Cake, the milk is first thickened and then a smaller quantity of lemon juice is added to make it curdle. The lemon juice makes the milk grainy but the milk solids do not completely separate from the whey. The curdled milk is then sweetened with sugar and cooked further; it is then cooled and set into a block.
Yield: 10 cups of whole milk produces about 1.5 pounds.
Milk Cake
Pictured above: Ozeri Food Scale (affiliate link)
Ingredients
10 cups Whole Milk
1 cup Sugar
3-4 tbsp Lemon juice
1/2 tsp Cardamom Powder
Pinch of Saffron threads (optional)
Preparation
To make Cardamom Powder, crack open the cardamom pods and remove the seeds. To make 1/2 tsp you will need about 5-6 pods. You can use the skins the next time you make Masala Tea; toss them in for more flavor.
Cooking Milk Cake
Step 1
Bring the milk to a boil on medium-high heat in a heavy-bottomed pot to prevent it from burning; this may take up to 15 minutes. TIP: Keep a close watch on the milk when bringing it to a boil so it does not boil over.
Step 2
When the milk comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium. Keep stirring the milk at regular intervals to ensure that it does not burn at the bottom of the pot. You need to continue stirring regularly until the milk has reduced to about 1/3 of the original volume. Also, as the milk reduces in volume, keep scraping any milk solids that are formed on the sides of the pot. IMPORTANT: As the milk continues to thicken and its volume decreases, you must stir it more frequently. The key is that you do not want the milk to burn.
Step 3
In a bowl, combine about 2 tbsp of water and the lemon juice. Reduce the heat to low, and add the diluted lemon juice to the pot. Give the pot a couple stirs to mix in the lemon juice. Stop stirring and let the milk stand for about 30 seconds. The sour lemon juice will make the milk curdle and little grains of milk solids appear.
Grains of milk solids in the curdled milk
Step 4
Increase the heat back to medium and continue stirring, scraping the bottom of the pan with the spatula to prevent burning.
IMPORTANT:
- From this point on you must keep stirring the milk continuously until it’s time to take the pot off the heat. Add the sugar to the pot and continue stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan. The sugar will make the milk stick more to the pot and so you must keep stirring continuously.
- As you continue stirring, you will also notice that the color of the mass changes as the milk gets caramelized and the mass has a thick pudding consistency. Reduce the heat to low.
Step 5
Add the Cardamom Powder and Saffron to the mixture and continue stirring so it gets mixed in well.
Step 6
When you see that the entire mixture moves together as one unit when you stir it, and it does not stick to the bottom any more, take the pot off the heat. It should look something like the photo below.
The mixture is almost ready
Step 7
Follow these instructions to set the cake.
Setting the Cake in a Vessel
Grease the setting vessel with ghee or unsalted butter and pour the milk cake batter into the vessel. Level the top surface of the mixture and press firmly with a spatula, so that the mixture is compact. Do not refrigerate it and let it set until it completely cools down. It will continue to caramelize as it cools.
Removing the Cake from the Vessel
Using a knife, separate the sides of the cake from the vessel. Put the vessel on your stove at low heat for about 6-8 seconds. Turn the vessel over on a plate and the cake should slide onto it. You may need to tap the bottom of the vessel to help it out.
Delicious milk cake is ready. Enjoy!
- 10 cups Whole Milk
- 1 cup Sugar
- 3-4 tbsp Lemon juice
- ½ tsp Cardamom Powder
- Pinch of Saffron threads (optional)
- Bring the milk to a boil on medium-high heat in a heavy-bottomed pot to prevent it from burning; this may take up to 15 minutes. TIP: Keep a close watch on the milk when bringing it to a boil so it does not boil over.
- When the milk comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium. Keep stirring the milk at regular intervals to ensure that it does not burn at the bottom of the pot. You need to continue stirring regularly until the milk has reduced to about ⅓ of the original volume. Also, as the milk reduces in volume, keep scraping any milk solids that are formed on the sides of the pot. IMPORTANT: As the milk continues to thicken and its volume decreases, you must stir it more frequently. The key is that you do not want the milk to burn.
- In a bowl, combine about 2 tbsp of water and the lemon juice. Reduce the heat to low, and add the diluted lemon juice to the pot. Give the pot a couple stirs to mix in the lemon juice. Stop stirring and let the milk stand for about 30 seconds. The sour lemon juice will make the milk curdle and little grains of milk solids appear.
- Increase the heat back to medium and continue stirring, scraping the bottom of the pan with the spatula to prevent burning.
- Add the Cardamom Powder and Saffron to the mixture and continue stirring so it gets mixed in well.
- When you see that the entire mixture moves together as one unit when you stir it, and it does not stick to the bottom any more, take the pot off the heat. It should look something like the photo below.
- Setting the Cake in a Vessel: Grease the setting vessel with ghee or unsalted butter and pour the milk cake batter into the vessel. Level the top surface of the mixture and press firmly with a spatula, so that the mixture is compact. Do not refrigerate it and let it set until it completely cools down. It will continue to caramelize as it cools.
- Removing the Cake from the Vessel: Using a knife, separate the sides of the cake from the vessel. Put the vessel on your stove at low heat for about 6-8 seconds. Turn the vessel over on a plate and the cake should slide onto it. You may need to tap the bottom of the vessel to help it out.
As you continue stirring, you will also notice that the color of the mass changes as the milk gets caramelized and the mass has a thick pudding consistency. Reduce the heat to low.
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Spanish Saffron (affiliate link)
Saffron
This might be my new favorite dessert! It also reminds me of playing Pac-Man back in the day 🙂
Good to hear! And I like the Pac-Man comparison.:)