Paan Cake

Yet another fusion cake inspired from an ice-cream at Nirvanaah ! Nirvanaah in San Jose has the best desi flavors of ice-cream , including paan , malai kulfi , gulkand , chikoo and so much more.. If one could add paan to ice-cream , why not to cake ? 

The mint and gulkand icing on top adds a very refreshing taste to the paan’s strong flavor.

INGREDIENTS
For the Cake

All-purpose flour   -   2 ¼ cups
Sugar – ¼ cup
Baking powder – 1 tsp
Baking Soda – 1 tsp
Butter – 8tbsp (1 stick)
Vanilla essence – 1 tbsp
Condensed Milk – 1 can (14oz)
Milk – ½ cup
Vinegar – 2tsp
Plain Soda – ½ cup
Betel leaves – 2
Gulkand – 2tbsp
Mukhwas assorted – 4tbsp (finely pulverized)
Tutti-fruity – 3 tbsp
Dried rose petals – a small fistful

For the icing

Heavy Whipping Cream – 1 cup
Peppermint extract – ½ tsp
Gulkand – 2tbsp

PREPARATION
1. Mix all the dry ingredients together and set aside.

2. In a bowl , add the butter and the sugar. Cream them until soft and fluffy. Add in the condensed milk and combine well. 

3. Add the vinegar to the milk and then add this whole mix along with vanilla essence to condensed milk mixture. 

4. Grind the betel leaves to a paste , combine the gulkand and this paste in a bowl and add the mukhwas powder to this mixture. Now add this to the condensed milk mixture.

5. Add the flour in parts and combine well. Pour the club soda to the batter and fold well. Do not overmix the batter at this stage. Also fold in tutti-fruity to this. 

6. Preheat the oven to 340F and bake for around 20-24 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. 

7. Cool the cake on a wire rack. 

8. For the icing , whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Fold in the peppermint extract and gulkand into this and pipe onto the cake.