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Thandai cake is a rich, juicy, beautifully flavored, delicately spiced, and very easy fusion cake. Made with flavors of the festive occasion of Holi this is one of the best make-ahead desserts for any Holi party.

Thandai cake draws inspiration from a very famous drink served for the festival of Holi called "Thandai". This drink is flavored with a variety of spices and has a heavy influence of nuts making the drink not just delicious but also very aromatic and rich.

This cake has the perfect balance of flavor that reminds you of the traditional Thandai and at the same time surprises you with the beautiful texture of this very unique cake.

In one bite this cake is soft, juicy, melt in your mouth, lightly sweet, with a beautiful hint of spices, the nutty flavor of mixed nuts, and the light yet creamy flavor from the whipped cream frosting.

Thandai cake is very unique and will surprise you with each bite. Savor it in your mouth and be amazed by the balance of flavors and the fantastic textures. Believe me, I am not a Thandai drink fan but this cake just made me love Thandai flavor and appreciate the complexity of flavors that come through.

Why I love Thandai cake

• Its soft and moist

• Its quick and simple to bake

• It can be prepared ahead of time

• It has the perfect flavor of Thandai drink

• It is perfect for any celebration.

What is Thandai?

Thandai is a traditional Indian drink made during the festival of Holi and Mahashivratri predominantly. This drink is made with almonds, some seeds, spices, saffron, milk, and sugar and is served chilled.

What is a Thandai cake?

Thandai cake is a perfect blend of soft, rich, buttery, nutty, and lightly spiced eggless cake which is infused with a Thandai milk syrup and topped with a light and fluffy Whipped Cream frosting.

If I go by the current trend I could have called it a Thandai Tres Leches Cake however I cannot. Tres Leches cake is made with the fusion of 3 types of milk but this cake has a fusion of 4 kinds of milk. A perfectly balanced blend of 4 types of milk, heavy cream, condensed milk, evaporated milk, and Almond milk.

Though this Thandai Cake has multiple elements the recipe is very straightforward, easy, and made with easily available ingredients. I always like to work with ingredients that come together easily and do not increase your cooking time and effort.

When you serve this cake, drizzle some extra Thandai syrup on the cake. This adds extra flavor and texture to the cake.

Ingredients for Thandai Cake

Part 1 - Ingredients for the eggless Thandai cake

All-purpose flour - Unbleached all-purpose flour works the best for this recipe.

Condensed Milk - You will need Sweetened condensed milk in the Thandai cake. Condensed milk is the only sweetening agent in the cake and so be careful that you use the sweetened one only. The richness of the fats in the condensed milk helps in making the cake moist and soft and gives the crust a beautiful color.

Butter - Always use unsalted butter while baking a cake. Each brand has a different amount of salt in it and so using salted butter might change the taste every time. It is always good to have control over the amount of salt that goes into the recipe.

Milk - Full fat whole milk yields the best results. Using any less fat percentage milk will lead to the runny cake batter. If you use 2% or less fat percentage milk you might have to reduce the amount of milk that goes into the recipe.

Thandai Masala - I use a regular store bout Thandai masala for this recipe. The one I like to use is the Everest Thandai masala. You can always make the Thandai masala at home but for just a teaspoon of masala that is a lot of work that you can easily avoid.

Milk masala powder - The milk masala powder is a fragrant mix of powdered nuts like almonds, cashews, and pistachios, some spices like nutmeg and cardamom, and saffron. You can use ready-made store-bought masala that is easily available at any Indian grocery store.

Or you can finely chop the nut in equal quantity and add nutmeg and cardamom powder and a few strands of saffron.

Baking Powder - Use regular baking powder and check for expiry before use.

Baking Soda - Always use fresh baking soda while baking cake to ensure good results.

Cardamom extract - A hint of cardamom extract elevates the flavors of this delicious cake.

Salt - Use regular or kosher salt. Salt brings out the sweet flavors of the cake and gives the cake a new dimension.

Part 2 - Ingredients for the Thandai syrup

Heavy Cream - Heavy cream adds a creamy texture to the Thandai cake and the syrup tastes so rich and delicious. Heavy cream or heavy whipping cream is easily available in any grocery store.

Almond Milk - Almond milk is the magic ingredient for a perfect Thandai cake. Almonds are an integral part of traditional Thandai. The almonds are blanched, soaked, and grounded before adding them to the Thandai drink.

So the challenge for me was to get the same flavor in my cake without having to soak, grind and use the paste to get the flavor in the syrup. Also when you use the paste for syrup then you will have to strain the liquid before using it for soaking.

Almond milk that is readily available in the store is a perfect solution that is easy and quick and a perfect flavor for the recipe.

Evaporated milk - Evaporated milk is milk that is boiled to reduce the water percentage in the milk. Evaporated milk contains almost no water content. Since the water content is removed using the evaporation process and hence named evaporated milk.

Sweetened Condensed milk - Sweetened condensed milk thickens the Thandai milk syrup and is the sweetening agent in the soaking syrup.

Saffron - Saffron gives the Thandai syrup a nice flavor, fragrance, and beautiful color.

Thandai Masala - Use any good quality store-bought Thandai masala.

Part 3 - Whipped Cream Frosting

Heavy whipping cream - High-fat content, heavy cream is needed for a perfectly whipped fluffy whipped cream frosting. I would recommend using heavy cream with a minimum of 30% fat content. It will stand up and form peaks and hold shape for several hours without melting.

Granulated sugar - I use Granulated sugar for this recipe as it gives the cream a light sweet balance. You can use confectioners sugar too if you want which has cornstarch in it which naturally stabilizes the whipped cream.

Cardamom extract - For flavoring the frosting.

How to make the Thandai Cake

This thandai cake has 3 elements-

• The base cake with Thandai flavor. An eggless thandai cake that is easy and quick to make.

• The Thandai Syrup that will be used to soak the cake and will amp up the Thandai flavor in the cake.

• Lastly the whipped cream frosting that adds a creamy flavor to the cake. It also is light in sweetness so it balances the sweetness in the recipe.

Baking the Thandai cake

Preheat the oven to 355F.

Grease a square 8-inch baking pan with butter or oil and dust it with all-purpose flour. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.

Sift the dry ingredients, all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, thandai powder in a bowl and set it aside for later

In a bowl for stand mixer add butter and condensed milk and beat it till it is light and creamy.

Now add the Milk masala powder to the wet ingredients followed by ⅓ portion of sifted dry ingredients and ⅓ portion of whole milk. Add the dry ingredients and milk in 3 parts and mix them together at low speed.

Mix all the ingredients till well combined. Do not over mix the thandai cake batter.

Once the batter is ready pour it into the pan prepared earlier.

Place the pan in the oven and bake the cake for 40-45 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean.

Get the pan out of the oven once done and let the cake come down to room temperature.

Once the cake has cooled down, run a knife or butter knife along the edges and transfer the cake onto a wire rack.

Using a serrated knife torte the top of the thandai cake to remove the crust. Also, cut off the 4 sides of the cake for better presentation however you can leave it if you do not mind the look of the crust.

How to make the Thandai Syrup?

In a saucepan add heavy cream, evaporated milk, and almond milk, and heat it till you see bubbles around the edges.

Add the thandai masala and saffron and mix it well. Simmer for a minute and then switch off the heat.

Let the liquid cool down till it's slightly warm or at room temperature.

Now add the condensed milk and stir it in. Mix it till well incorporated. Set it aside for later.

Soaking the thandai cake with syrup

Place the cake in the deep dish or a deep container so that it has a little space around for the liquid and you can cover it up and refrigerate it after soaking.

Using a pastry or silicone brush start soaking the cake. Brush the whole surface of the cake couple of times.

Once all the surface is soaked you can pour the remaining liquid evenly on top of the cake. Some of the liquid will not soak and form a pool around the cake. That is how it should be.

Leave the cake on the work surface at room temperature for about 30 minutes so that it soaks in the syrup.

Whipped Cream Frosting

This is the last part of the cake assembly.

Place a steel bowl in a freezer for at least 30 minutes before making the frosting.

Fill another bigger bowl with ice and place the chilled bowl into it.

Add heavy cream, granulated sugar, and cardamom extract to the bowl and whip it up at medium speed with a hand mixer or a stand mixer till it is light and fluffy and forms soft peaks.

For a detailed step-by-step recipe for the whipped cream frosting click on the link WHIPPED CREAM.

Spread the whipped cream on top of the cake using an offset spatula or if you want to be creative you can fill it in a piping bag and pipe the frosting on top of the cake.

Decorate the cake as per your liking and place it in the refrigerator to chill.

Serve the thandai cake chilled with a drizzle of thandai syrup and enjoy the unique refreshing flavors of the beautiful cake.

Baker's tips for Thandai Cake

• Do not over mix the batter

• Cream the condensed milk and butter till it is creamy and bubbly.

• Measure the flour properly. Do not press pack the measuring cup. Fill it lightly and scrape off the excess with a knife.

• Always use a room temperature butter. when you press your finger into the butter it should create a dent but there should not be a residue on your finger.

• Preferably use whole milk in the cake batter for best flavor and right consistency of the batter.

• While making the syrup do not boil over the liquid.

• Use fresh and good quality ingredients.

• While making the whipped cream do not over whip the frosting and beat it at medium speed. Avoid high speed.

• Keep at least ¾th cup of thandai syrup to serve it with the cake on the side.

• Taste the syrup before pouring on the cake. I like mine to be lightly sweetened. However if you like more sweetness then you can add more condensed milk.

You can also check out other easy cake recipes

Eggnog Cake

Mawa Cake

Eggless Vanilla Cake

Eggless Chocolate Cake

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What to do if I do not have Almond milk?

Almond flavor is very important for the Thandai cake as it gives the cake a perfect thandai feel. If you do not have almond milk do not worry all you need is some almonds.

Take 20 to 25 almonds and soak them for a few hours. Remove the peel and then grind them into a fine paste. You can add 2 to 3 tablespoons of milk to help with the grinding process.

While making syrup add heavy cream, evaporated milk, ½ cup whole milk, and almond paste and bring it to a boil. Then let it cool and strain the mixture before adding condensed milk to the syrup.

Can I bake the cake ahead of time?

Yes, you can bake the cake a day before you want to soak it with thandai syrup and frost it with whipped cream frosting. However, do not refrigerate the cake before soaking it with syrup. This is a butter cake so if you refrigerate it before soaking then it will not absorb all the thandai syrup and lose the required texture of thandai cake.

How to store the Eggless Thandai Cake?

Thandai cake that is freshly baked will stay good at room temperature for a day. After soaking with the syrup the cake needs to be refrigerated and will stay good for up to a week in a refrigerator.

Always refrigerate the cake in an air-tight container.

How to serve the Thandai Cake?

The thandai cake has 3 elements the base cake, the thandai syrup, and the whipped cream frosting. Each element is equally important for the blissful eating experience.

So soak the cake with the syrup and let it rest for about 30 minutes before frosting and after frosting let it chill for about 30 minutes.

Serve a slice of frosted and soaked thandai cake on a plate and drizzle a little extra syrup on the plate. The extra syrup will taste so good with the cake and make the experience more delightful.

What do I do if I don't have milk masala for the Thandai cake?

You can still make the cake if you do not have milk masala. You can use 1 teaspoon finely chopped almonds, 1 teaspoon finely chopped cashews, 1 teaspoon finely chopped pistachios, ¼ teaspoon elaichi/cardamom powder, and a pinch of nutmeg powder to the batter.

How to decorate a thandai cake?

You can decorate the thandai cake with some sliced nuts like almonds and pistachios with some saffron threads and a few dried rose petals. But don't stop at this, be creative and have fun decorating the cake.

HAVE YOU TRIED THIS RECIPE?

DO DROP A COMMENT IF YOU HAVE TRIED THE RECIPE. I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCES. ALSO, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS DO DROP A COMMENT BELOW.

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