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A good cup of chai can fix any problem, but a good cup chai and a good tea biscuit can turn any crappy day better! For me, I have a couple of tea accompaniments that I love, Parle G biscuits and cake rusk. Cake rusk is like biscotti, but instead of twice-baked cookies, it’s twice-baked yellow cake. It’s super buttery and soaks up chai without falling apart!
Cake rusks are a piece of India’s pre-partition past. They originate from Elizabethan England and were made so that the cake/bread would last longer. The low moisture content allows the cake rusks to keep for long periods of time. They are served plain with chai, but I covered mine in chocolate because, well, I wanted to. I also incorporated thandai masala into the batter to add more flavor. (P.S my thandai masala recipe is not traditional since I used pecans instead of pistachios)
I loved dipping these into my chai- sweet, buttery and it had tons of flavor! Currently, I’m obsessed with One Tripe Chai , a chai concentrate that you mix with hot milk. Full disclosure, Farah sent me a bottle after seeing how chai obsessed I was and now I can’t get enough. If you like your chai strong (or khadhak) then this is perfect! The spicy chai plus sweet cake rusks = breakfast heaven.
Give these cake rusks a try, whether you want to make them plain (without the thandai masala and chocolate) or dress them up- they’re well worth making!
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Thandai Cake Rusk
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 4 dozen cake rusks 1x
Ingredients
Thandai Masala
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 1/2 cup pecans*
- 1/2 cup cashews
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1/2 tbsp cardamom seed
- 6 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp saffron
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp dried rose petals
- 1 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp ground nutmeg
Cake Rusk
- 1/2 cup ghee
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 6 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup thandai powder
Chai Spiced Chocolate
Instructions
Thandai Masala
- Add almonds, pecans, cashews, and pumpkin seeds to a large skillet. Toast on the stove for 2-3 minutes on medium flame, stirring often. Add the nuts to a blender. Add the spices and blend until you have a coarse powder. Set aside.
Cake Rusk
- Pre heat oven to 355 F. Grease a 9×13 pan with butter and set aside.
- Whisk ghee, olive oil and granulated sugar for 2-3 minutes until its pale and fluffy. Add eggs in one at a time, whisking well in between each egg. Add vanilla extract and whisk well.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and thandai masala. Add half the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and fold in. Add the rest of the dry ingredient and fold in.
- Pour the batter into the greased 9×13 pan and bake for 30 minutes. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Then cut into 1/2 inch thick slices. Then cut each long strip into shorter rectangles.
- Place the cake rusks onto a baking sheet and bake at 300 F for 20 minutes. Turn the rusks over and bake again for another 20 minutes. Cool on a rack.
Chai Spiced Chocolate
- Melted chocolate and coconut oil to a microwaveable bowl. Microwave in 15 second increments, mixing in between until all the chocolate is melted. Add spices and mix well.
- Dip each cake rusk in chocolate (you can also drizzle the chocolate onto the cake rusks) and place on a parchment line baking sheet. Sprinkle the top with more thandai masala and let the chocolate set at room temperature. Enjoy with a cup of chai or coffee!
Notes
*traditionally pistachios are used, but I didn’t have any, so I used pecans.
You’ll have tons of thandai masala leftover, just store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 months. You can add a 2-3 teaspoons to a glass of warm milk for a relaxing drink!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
One Response
yesss biscotti is my fav and the addition of all these floral flavors sounds very heavenly
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