The Leftovers Cake

The Diwali frenzy has died down. The diyas have been washed and stored away. The fairy lights have been brought down and carefully returned to their boxes. The din of the crackers had quietened. The belts have loosened a notch. And the fridge is groaning under the weight of the mountain of mithais!

While we wait an entire year to indulge in these special Diwali sweets, the week long exchange makes us groan at the sight of yet another laddoo or barfi. 

Short of giving it away or crumbling it into yet another kheer or dessert, there aren't too many options around. But this year I decided to be inventive!

 

While the overdose of mithais had everyone gagging sweet, the realm of cakes had been untouched. If I could reinvent the barfis into a less sweet, unconventional tea cake, I was sure it would  find many takers. 

My inspiration came from the delicious Mawa Cake. This east meets west fusion was perfect for the cake I had in mind. After all, most mithais had a generous base of mawa to complement the dry fruits tucked within. Armed with a random mix of Kaju katlis, anjeer barfi, pista rolls and lavang latikas I set out to bring my experiment to life.

The result you ask? This gorgeous golden hued, light as air cake. The crust was crisp and inside was all soft sweetness. Redolent with the fragrance of mawa and dry fruits, this cake was an instant hit with the young and old alike. People came back for seconds. And thirds! Dipped into tea. Warmed for a quick snack. Topped with shrikhand for a rich dessert. This was definitely the most versatile product of my Diwali Leftovers! 

My fridge is emptied of all the excess mithai that lay unwanted. And I have a house filled with cake satiated tummies! Now if only someone can find a way to recycle all that Son Papdi!

Ingredients:
Leftover Mithai                200 gm
Maida                               200 gm
Butter                               200 gm
Powdered Sugar               150 gm
Cardamom powder          1/4 teaspoon
Baking Powder                1 teaspoon
Eggs                                 4

Method:
Pre heat the oven to 180 C. Beat the butter and sugar well, till it is light and fluffy. Mix in the crumbled mithai. And beat well, till the batter is smooth. Sieve the maida, cardamom powder and baking powder and fold into the batter. Beat the eggs and incorporate into the batter. Mix everything well to get a smooth, consistent batter.
Alternately, if effort is not your thing, just whizz everything together in a food processor or mixie. Pour into a greased baking tin and bake for 45 minutes till a skewer inserted comes clean. Cool and slice!

Mawa Cake

Cooks all over the world have this knack of experimenting and converting a dish to their own. Indians are no exception, and perhaps nothing exhibits this more than the very adaptable Cake! Yes, we do have our cake and eat it too!!

When the Portuguese came to India, they brought their baking skills along, and the locals took a liking to the sight, smell and taste and modified it to suit local ingredients. Today, every tea-shack boasts it own little slice!

One of the most remarkable mingling of Indian tastebuds meets foreign baking, is the Mawa Cake. The ingredients used are those of traditional Indian sweets, but the baking gives it a whole new texture and dimension!

To make this hugely popular MAWA CAKE, you need:

100 gm mawa (evaporated milk)

100 gm refined flour

100 gm butter

100 gm powdered sugar

1/4 tsp green cardamom powder

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp rose essence

2 eggs (well beaten)

To make this cake, cream the butter and sugar till pale and fluffy. Sift all the dry ingredients together. Crumble the mawa into the butter-sugar mix and incorporate till smooth. Add the eggs slowly and keep beating till you get a smooth and homogeneous mixture. Fold in the rest and pour into greased baking tin. Pre-heat the oven to 180 C and bake for 35 minutes. Serve warm, straight out the oven :)