Saffron Cream Cake

Saffron Cream Cake : A fragrant and airy lemon cardamom cake that is piled high with dollops of fluffy whipped saffron cream.

The first time I made this cake my husband said it tasted like kesar peda. The next time I made it he said it tasted like kesar kulfi. I thought about naming this cake mithai cake for the longest because of layers of flavors inspired by Indian desserts.

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I think the best compliment however was when I sent this cake to one of my best friends via contactless delivery and she said it reminded her of visiting a beautiful temple in India, the fragrance of flowers and saffron.

Lemon and cardamom pair beautifully together in this fragrant and fluffy cake. The addition of fluffy whipped saffron cream makes this a divine dessert, perfect for any celebration. 

This is an eggless cake and uses whole milk yogurt, however if you have a dairy allergy you can substitute the yogurt for two eggs. See recipe notes for details. 

Some notes about the ingredients in this cake:

Lemon:

I used a mix of lemon zest and lemon juice. If you don’t have a fresh lemon you could certainly use bottled lemon juice however the zest really does pack quite a beautiful flavor. 

Cardamom:

You can use either ground or powdered in this cake. We always like the little specks of cardamom so I used ground.

Saffron:

To get the most flavor out of saffron it needs to be bloomed. One of the best ways to extract flavor from saffron is to soak the threads in a hot liquid for at least 15 minutes. Then add both the saffron and the liquid to the recipe. As the saffron soaks, you’ll notice the distinctive aroma and color indicating that your saffron has bloomed. I soaked the saffron in hot milk and let it cook completely before adding it to the whipped cream.

Saffron Cream Cake

 

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Cook time

35 mins

Total time

35 mins

 

Saffron Cream Cake : a light and airy lemon cardamom cake topped with whipped saffron cream.

Author: Nisha Vedi Pawar

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Lemon Cardamom Cake:

• 1½ cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup whole milk yogurt; plain
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ cup cooking oil; neutral
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cardamom seeds; finely crushed
• 1 tablespoon warm water

Saffron Cream :

• 1½ cup heavy cream
• 7-8 saffron threads
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk

Method

Lemon Cardamom Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease one 8-inch cake pan with melted butter or oil.
2. In a large bowl sift the flour. Add the sugar, yogurt and warm water. Whip with a wire whisk until fluffy.
3. Add in baking soda and baking powder. Mix and let the mixture rest for 3-4 minutes as the baking soda starts to react with the yogurt.
4. Once bubbles start to appear, add lemon zest, lemon juice, oil, vanilla extract and crushed cardamom, mix.
5. Bake for 35 minutes.
6. Allow to cool completely before trimming off the top of the cake, just until the surface is even.

Saffron Cream

1. Heat the milk and bloom the saffron in the hot milk for at least 15 minutes, allow this mixture to cool completely.
2. Chill beater and bowl for 1-2 hours.
3. In the chilled bowl add the cream, cooled saffron milk + threads and powdered sugar.
4. Wisk or beat all ingredients until incorporated and peaks appear 3-4 minutes.
5. Cover and let chill in the refrigerator for about an hour until stiff.
6. When ready to use, re-whisk for 10 to 15 seconds. Frost cake generously. Garnish with edible rose petals and pistachio slivers.
7. Refrigerate frosted cake until ready to serve.

Notes

This is an eggless cake that uses whole milk yogurt, however if you have a dairy allergy or no yogurt on hand, you can substitute the yogurt for two eggs + ¼ cup water or milk

If your batter is thick and lumpy add an additional tablespoon of warm water to loosen it up.

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Enjoy,