Cardamon and Rose Flavored Ricotta Pound Cake (Paneer Cake)

Dear All,

Today's post is a very special and close to my heart. This post is dedicated to two very special individuals in my life...my mom and my dear roomy V. Today is my mom's birthday and I just wanna wish her.."Happy Birthday Ma", I know I may not express it enough but I love you very much and today whatever  I am is because of the culture and integrity that you built in me! Cant thank you enough mumma!!

  V and A, made for each other :-)

Now its V's turn, she is one of my closest and sweetest friend, though we both are roommates but I feel more like sisters and of course I being the eldest :P She is a sweetheart and I adore her! Very emotional and sensitive but at the same time rock solid and steady, now thats an awesome combo wouldnt you say? No wonder A has fallen hard for her and now they both are ready to tie a knot very soon! Congratulations guys! A calls me mother-in-law in context that V is my daughter :-) Now being a mother-in-law I have certain responsibilities towards my daughter's future which I do take very seriously :P Usually I need to bear with the dowry requests coming in from A where he demands for cakes and in return I make him cook food..lol. A is a hardcore punjabi and a fantastic cook himself! On this special occasion I wanted to make something festive  like halwa or some bengali sweet but the baker in me immediately took charge and I ended up baking this gorgeous melt in mouth Cardamon and Rose flavored Ricotta Pound Cake!

I had bookmarked Ricotta Pound Cake from Aparna's blog the moment I saw it and this was the perfect occasion to make one, as usual made some changes, added powdered cardamons and some rose water and it came out fantastic! Got 2 thumbs up from A and V both! Ricotta is not available in India and Paneer  (Indian Cottage Cheese) can be easily substituted for this. For cakes always use freshly homemade paneer and not the ready made ones, trust me this makes a lot of difference to the texture of cake. I know its a little extra effort but its well worth it! How to make paneer at home is here.

                                                          Myself and V, don't we look cute?

Cardamon and Rose flavored Ricotta Pound Cake
Adapted from Aparna's blog, original recipe here
Ingredients:-
3/4 cup fresh paneer or ricotta, its about 180gms (I used entire paneer from 1litre full fat milk)
3/4 cup all purpose flour, 110 gms
1 tbsp cornflour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg at room temperature
1/3 cup unsalted butter (75 gms)
3/4 cup sugar, 150 gms
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp freshly crushed cardamon seeds
2 tbsp rose water or 1 tsp rose essence
handful of raisins, soaked in water/rum for minimum 2hours, drained
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds removed or 1 tsp vanilla essence (optional but preferred)

Procedure:-

• Grease and flour a 6'inch round cake pan . Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
• Sieve flour, cornflour and baking powder. Keep it aside.
• In a blender/mixer add freshly made paneer with 2 tbsp of rose water and make a smooth paste.
• Put this paneer in a bowl, add in butter and beat it well. Use a beater for this but I did it using hand and didnt face any problems, its just that it takes a little more effort and plus its a very good exercise for hands :)
• Add in sugar and beat till light and fluffy.
• Now add in vanilla seeds, eggs and powdered cardamon and beat well.
• Add in flour mixture in 3 turns and beat gently.
• Finally add in drained raisins and give it a quick stir, donot beat.
• Fold the batter in the greased and floured pan and bake at 180 degress for 35 to 40 mins or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean!
• Remove from oven and let it cool for 10 mins.
• Once cooled completely, remove from tin and serve it plain and simple or with some whipped cream and fruits!

Verdict? I am planning to prepare a chocolate version of this cake very soon..yeah you guessed it right! The cake is a winner with melt in mouth texture and so soft and moist! Infact truly said its the softest cake I have ever made! It cuts extremely well and the recipe is very versatile.

Until next time take care and have fun!

Love,