Blessings From My Kitchen: Vanilla cake with rasgulla filling

With the innumerable cake stories told here, and throngs, in cue, waiting to be published, whipping up a cake on impulse, is quite genuinely, a piece of cake for me (yes, I'm having fun, please)).

Furthermore, if you're like me and give in to the fact that every day of life warrants a cause for such treats, you can never really hold back from delivering. In addition, when your eyes and ears are open to diverse methods, modes, and means on how you can achieve this goal, with evenly matched fortitude and fervor, nirvana takes on a whole new meaning.

Cake and rasgulla should definitely be an essential part of fusion food conversation. It's an intriguing combination of two potent forces in dessert culture, one of world renown, the other making its way to it from the Indian subcontinent. The one does not exalt itself over the other. As a young taster explained, "there could not be a more necessary pairing."

Three ingredients is all it takes to create fancy mithai from soured milk, and save you one less grocery commitment.

Insert Tisa's master tip here: make the rasgullas at least a day in advance of cake baking. It solves major stress issues stemming from way too many tasks and no time to do them, despite the fact that these days you have all the time in the world.

For assembly purposes, any complementing flavor of cake would do. The idea of a fluffy, yellow cake saturated with the juice of the gulla is highly appealing to me. Moreover, subtle, vanilla scented layers responsibly housing gobs of moist confection to enliven its crumb is unbeatably epic.

Mind you, this is not a rasgulla flavored cake See it as the grandest calling for cake, in gateau- ish frame, with a bevy of paneer meat gutting it's soul.

Subsequently, it takes well to a spritz of syrup and rum and serves substantially tasty as a leftover staple.

Let it speak to you...as one that guts your soul could only and invariably do.

Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour
¾ tbsp baking powder
½ cup salted butter
½ cup canola oil
1 ½ cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup plain yoghurt
¼ cup water
about 15-20 rasgullas, separated from syrup
½ cup rasgulla syrup
2 tsp rum
1 batch vanilla frosting

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter and flour two 8" round cake pans and line the bottom with parchment paper. Butter and flour parchment.
Whisk flour and baking powder in a large bowl.
In a stand mixer, on medium- high speed, beat, butter, oil and sugar until light and fluffy.
Reduce mixer speed, add eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla.
In a large measuring cup, whisk together yoghurt and water until combined.
Beat the flour mixture into the batter, alternating with the yoghurt mixture, in three batches, beginning and ending with flour.
Divide the batter between the prepared pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until lightly golden on top and toothpick inserted in centers come out clean.
Allow cakes to cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn cakes out onto racks to cool completely.
In the meantime, cut about 7 rasgullas into halves or thirds.
Stir together syrup and rum. Lightly drizzle the syrup mixture over the tops of both cakes.
Allow the syrup to fully seep through before spooning on more.
Frost the top of one cake with buttercream. Place 6-8 halved rasgullas on top of the frosted cake. Top with the second cake.
Fully frost sides of stacked cake. Decorate as desired. Garnish with remaining rasgullas.

Vanilla buttercream:
Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened
3-5 cups confectioner's powdered sugar, sifted (depending on stiffness and consistency)
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3-4 tbsp heavy cream

Vanilla buttercream:

Directions:

Place butter in a bowl. Beat on high until softened and pale in color.
On lowest speed, gradually add your powdered sugar, until the sugar has been incorporated with the butter.
Increase to medium speed again and add vanilla extract.
Pour in cream, one tablespoon at a time until frosting reaches desired consistency.

Notes~
I do not add the cardamom when I make the rasgullas for this purpose, because I don't like its flavor in cake.

There are a variety of cakes that would work in this dessert on dessert scheme. Look here, here, here, here, and here. Or just click on the recipe index tab on my home page and scroll through the "Cakes, Cupcakes, Cake Pops" section.