An amazingly delicious, Indian fusion thandai cake recipe for this Holi festival! It is a super soft, spongy, and moist cake brimming with traditional thandai flavor spices. It has tender crumbs and so much flavor in every bite.
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❤️About This Recipe
Super easy to make: To make this eggless thandai cake just mix dry ingredients, mix wet ingredients, combine both, garnish the batter with sliced almonds and dried rose petals and bake.
Different than usual thandai cake: Most other versions that you find on the internet are kinds of tres leches cake where baked cake is drenched in milk (similar to this rasmalai cake). But my version of thandai cake is kind of a coffee/tea cake. Having a slice of it with a hot cup of coffee/tea is like heaven. However, this can be a dessert when served with a dollop of whipped cream (flavored with rose water).
Made without eggs: Just like my all eggless baking recipes, this is also eggless thandai cake recipe.
Taste & Texture:
- Super soft, spongy and moist
- Light and tender crumbs
- Infused with thandai flavor with amazing fragrance of spices
- Perfectly sweet (not too sweet like other Indian sweets)
🧾Ingredient Notes
Here is a pic of the ingredients you’ll need to make this delicious thandai cake recipe.
- Milk: Always use full-fat whole milk.
- Thandai powder: I have used my homemade thandai powder.
- All purpose flour (maida): I prefer to use unbleached flour.
- Sugar: Regular white granulated sugar is used.
- Leavening: Both baking powder and baking soda are used.
- Salt: It is used so the cake doesn’t taste flat.
- Oil: Any flavorless oil works here like avocado oil, canola oil, corn oil, vegetable oil, safflower oil, etc.
- Rose water: It gives a fresh flavor and a nice fragrance to the thandai cake.
- Vinegar: I have used white distilled vinegar. But you can use apple cider vinegar too.
- Sliced almonds and Rose petals: These are used as a garnish. You can use sliced pistachios as well.
👩🍳Step By Step Photo Instructions
1) Make thandai milk: Warm up the milk in a microwave or on a stovetop. Add thandai powder to it and stir.
2) Let it rest and cool down to room temperature. You can pop it in the fridge to speed up the cooling process. During this resting time, milk will be infused with all the flavors.
Prep:
- Grease a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan with butter/oil or spray with cooking oil spray.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) for at least 10 minutes.
3, 4) Mix Dry Ingredients: Take all purpose flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl. Whisk it until everything is combined.
5, 6) Mix Wet Ingredients: Take oil in a large bowl and add sugar to it. Whisk it until the sugar starts to dissolve.
7, 8) Add cooled thandai milk, vinegar and rose water. Whisk again until mixed.
9, 10) Combine Dry & Wet: Add dry flour mixture to a wet bowl. Whisk it until it comes together in a smooth batter. Using a spatula, scrap the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix the batter once.
11) Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread evenly.
12) Sprinkle sliced almonds and dried rose petals on top.
13) Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
14) Let the cake cool down in the pan itself for around 5-10 minutes. Then run a butter knife around the sides to loosen it and invert it on a cooling rack. Let it cool down completely then cut it into slices.
💭Expert Tips
- Don’t over-mix the batter after adding in flour. Otherwise, the cake may not rise as high and will result in a tough, dense thandai cake.
- Bake just until cooked through. Under-cooked and cake will sink in the center, over-cooked and cake will be dry.
- Prefer a more sweet cake? You can increase the sugar quantity. I have tried it with ¾ cup of sugar as well, the texture was perfect. But it was too sweet for me. I prefer my baked goods just sweet, so I can enjoy them with my coffee.
🧁 Storage Instructions
- Store this thandai cake in an airtight container.
- At room temperature, it stays good for a day. I do not recommend keeping it on the counter overnight. Leftovers should be stored in the refrigerator.
- In the refrigerator, it stays good for 3-4 days.
- In the freezer, it stays good for up to 3 months. Wrap the individual slice using plastic wrap. Store them in a freeze-safe ziplock bag and freeze.
- To thaw, reheat in the microwave at small intervals. Do not overheat in the microwave otherwise thandai cake slice may get dry and chewy.
Check Out Other Eggless Cake Recipes
Did you try this thandai cake recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Leave a review in the comment section below.
📋 Recipe Card
Thandai Cake (Eggless)
Ingredients
- 1 cup Milk warm
- ¼ cup Thandai powder
- 1 ½ cups All purpose flour (Maida)
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon Salt
- ½ cup Oil any flavorless oil like avocado, canola, corn, vegetable, safflower, etc.
- ½ cup Sugar
- 1 tablespoon White distilled vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Rose water
- 1 tablespoon Sliced almonds
- 2 teaspoons Dried rose petals
Instructions
- Warm up the milk in a microwave or on a stovetop. Add thandai powder to it and stir.
- Let it rest and cool down to room temperature. You can pop it in the fridge to speed up the cooling process. During this resting time, milk will be infused with all the flavors.
- Grease a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan with butter/oil or spray with cooking oil spray.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) for at least 10 minutes.
- Take all purpose flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl. Whisk it until everything is combined.
- Take oil in a large bowl and add sugar to it. Whisk it until the sugar starts to dissolve.
- Add cooled thandai milk, vinegar and rose water. Whisk again until mixed.
- Add the dry flour mixture to a wet bowl. Whisk it until it comes together in a smooth batter. Using a spatula, scrap the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix the batter once.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread evenly.
- Sprinkle sliced almonds and dried rose petals on top.
- Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool down in the pan itself for around 5-10 minutes. Then run a butter knife around the sides to loosen it and invert it on a cooling rack. Let it cool down completely then cut it into slices.
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