Amazing burst of flavors and aroma in every muslim kitchen on this day, ghee, nuts, saffron, rose, cardamom, vermecilli, yes its Eid!! and sheer kurma is on the way.....but with a twist...
Having grown up sipping on moms amazing Sheer Kurma every Eid, I miss it most everytime I celebrate the festival away from home here in U.A.E. And most of you would agree with me on how every mom has a unique take on Sheer Kurma. Every home has a unique taste and no two Sheer Kurmas would ever taste alike. Reason could vary from recipe ingredients and portions used, from Cream to nuts, rose water, saffron, vermicelli and so on...garnished with HER love. And now that I am a mom! I too decided to make a mark and came up with my own signature Sheer Kurma, but wait the twist is, it's a Sheer Kurma cake!!
I know you would hate me for posting the recipe this late, believe me it was an experiment that I was skeptical about and when it turned out to be a hit with family and friends, I let the accomplishment sink in before, the laze just had the better of me after the Eid holiday with family. Finally a bounce back post before another Eid arrives!!!!
Sheer kurma literally means "milk with dates" in Persian. I have adapted Tarika Singh's Rasmalai cake recipe and mom's sheer kurma and with some variations , mix and match..... made my version of Sheer kurma cake! A must try!
This one is dedicated to you mom, with loads of love.... :)
Ingredients
- For the Sheer Kurma:
- Milk- 1cup
- Cardamom-2 pods
- Sugar- 3 tbsp
- Rose water- 1 tsp
- Vermicilli- 3-4 tbsp
- Saffron- few strands
- Mixed nuts(almond, cashew, pistachio)-1tbsp chopped
- Ghee- 1tbsp
- For the Cake:
- Egg whites- 2
- Milk- 1/2 cup
- Vanilla extract- 1/4 tsp
- Rose water- 1/4 tsp
- Cake flour- 165 gms (weigh out 165 gms all-purpose, remove 2 Tbs flour from it & replace with 2 Tbs cornflour
- Castor sugar- 150 gms
- Baking powder- 10 gms
- Cardamom powder- 1/4 tsp
- Butter- 85 gms(Softened)
- For the Saffron butter whipped cream frosting and filling:
- Butter- 1/2 cup
- Icing sugar- 1cup
- Whipping cream-1/2 cup
- Saffron extract-1/2 tsp
- Yellow color gel- 1 drop
- For the Vermicilli cover:
- Hand full uncooked vermicelli (more if needed)
- Ghee- 2 tbsp
- For topper:
- Few dates,Whole Almonds and pistachio powder.
Directions
- 1To make the Sheer kurma, In a saucepan, heat ghee, add the chopped nuts, cardamom, and broken vermicelli, toast til light brown. Add milk, sugar, rose water and saffron strands. Bring to boil. Allow to cool down completely before using it on the cake. (Be patient, there will be some left over sheerkurma which you can sip later :) )
- 2To make the cake:Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Grease a 9 inch round cake pan with butter and dust some flour. In a bowl, whisk together the egg whites, milk vanilla and rose water. In the stand mixer bowl, whisk together, flour, sugar, baking powdernand cardamom powder. To this add the butter and one third of wet ingredients and beat briefly to combine, add the remaining wet ingredients in 2 batches, beating briefly. Pour the batter in the cake pan and bake for 30 mins or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely.
- 3To make theSaffron butter whipped cream frosting and filling:
Whip the whipping cream till almost done, keep aside.Beat soft butter till it becomes fluffy, then add icing sugar and whip lightly. Fold in the whipped cream, saffron extract and color. - 4Slice the cake into half, using a serrated knife. With a spoon or brush drizzle the insides of each half with sheer kurma. Apply the frosting to the inside of the bottom layer and close the top cake slice over. Cover the outside of the cake with frosting.
- 5Heat ghee in a pan, add vermicelli and toast it till fragrant and changes color slightly. Remove the vermicelli on kitchen towel. Allow to cool completely. Dab the roasted vermicelli onto the outer frosted cake, Top it with dates, nuts and strands of saffron. Pipe remaining frosting on the edges to give a finishing touch. Sky is the limit to decorate a cake, use your imagination and get creative! .Enjoy, and yes, Eid Mubarak to all!!!
