Eggless Rasmalai Cupcakes with Saffron Rose Cream
Soft eggless cupcakes soaked in cardamom-saffron ras, filled with rasmalai pieces, and topped with rose whipped cream. A festive Indian fusion dessert perfect for Diwali and party tables.
Equipment
- 12-cup muffin tin and paper liners
- Electric mixer or whisk
- Piping bag with round tip and star tip (optional)
Ingredients
Eggless Cardamom-Saffron Cupcakes
- 1 cup all-purpose flour 120 g
- 1/4 cup fine almond flour 25 g; substitute with equal all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp fine salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter 75 g, cubed
- 2/3 cup whole milk 160 ml
- 1 pinch saffron threads for milk infusion
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt 120 g, room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar 150 g
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Rasmalai Soak and Filling
- 1 to 2 tins rasmalai store-bought or homemade; about 8–10 discs plus ras
- reserved rasmalai milk (ras) for soaking
Saffron Rose Whipped Cream
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream cold
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar adjust to taste
- 1 pinch saffron threads bloomed in 1 tbsp warm milk
- 1/2 tsp rose water
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 tbsp mascarpone or cream cheese optional stabilizer
Garnish
- 2 tbsp pistachios finely crushed
- 1 tbsp dried edible rose petals
Instructions
Bake the Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
- In a bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cardamom. Set aside.
- Warm milk with saffron and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until the butter melts and the milk just begins to bubble at the edges. Remove from heat immediately.
- In a large bowl, whisk yogurt and sugar until smooth. Add vanilla.
- Alternate adding the dry mix and the warm milk mixture to the yogurt, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Fold gently until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about two-thirds full.
- Bake 18–20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Chill before soaking if working ahead.
Prepare the Frosting
- Bloom saffron in 1 tablespoon warm milk for 5 minutes.
- Whip cold cream with powdered sugar and cardamom until soft peaks form.
- Add rose water, bloomed saffron milk, and mascarpone (if using). Whip to stiff peaks. Refrigerate until ready to pipe.
Assemble
- Poke several shallow holes across the top of each cooled cupcake with a skewer or toothpick.
- Spoon 1–2 tablespoons ras over each cupcake, letting it absorb before adding more if needed.
- Pipe a ring of whipped cream around the edge of each cupcake to form a well in the center.
- Tuck torn rasmalai pieces into each well.
- Pipe a rosette on top. Garnish with crushed pistachios and rose petals.
- Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. Best served chilled.
Notes
Store-bought rasmalai works well. Taste the ras first and adjust powdered sugar in the cream if it is very sweet.
Bake cupcakes up to 5 days ahead and store airtight in the refrigerator. Assemble with ras and frosting 1 day before serving for best texture.
If cupcakes firm up in the fridge, let them sit at room temperature 20–30 minutes before serving so the crumb softens slightly.
Shortcut: use plain store-bought vanilla cupcakes, scrape off frosting, and begin at the soak-and-assemble step.
Do not over-soak warm cupcakes. Cool completely and add ras in small amounts to avoid a soggy base.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!