Milk cake is one of the popular easy desserts in India. It is available in most sweet shops around the country, as well as in neighboring Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. This is a simple recipe that includes full cream milk, tartaric powder, fresh lemon juice, white sugar, and corn flour. The milk cake is flavored with saffron and finely chopped dried fruits. You can also garnish the milk cake with chopped nuts like pistachios, almonds, or cashews. Sweet, soft and milk, milk cake has a touch or sourness. Some like to add cardamom to give it aroma, color and flavor. The saffron in this recipe gives it a beautiful and elegant color and presentation.
You can prepare these easy healthy recipes dessert ahead of time and store it at room temperature or store it in the refrigerator as long as you put it in an airtight container. You can serve it at room temperature or chilled. Use a deep plate for setting the milk cake. Ideally, the cake should be a few inches tall, but sometimes it is made only an inch thick, which is fine. Grease a six-inch plate with some clarified butter or Ghee so that it is easier to unmold the milk cake.
Ingredients: 1 liter full cream milk, ½ cup full cream milk to pour in the end, 1/2 tsp tartaric powder, 2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, 100 gm white sugar, 1 tablespoon corn flour, 10-12 threads of saffron soaked in little water, 1 tablespoon finely chopped dry fruits
Preparation Instructions: 
In a thick bottom pan, boil milk and tartaric powder with lemon juice. Allow milk to curdle and reduce it to half. Keep stirring to avoid sticking to the base. It should become thick and later throw in some corn flour, milk and saffron soaked in little water. Give it a good stir. Allow thickening before turning off the heat. Transfer the mixture on to a flat tray and cut into diamond shape. Garnish it with finely chopped dry fruits and serve. Store in an airtight container.
The milk is quite delicate so you want to be careful when boiling it. Use a medium fire when you start boiling the milk and then lower it to a simmer. Use a wide and heavy-bottomed pan for even heat distribution and to keep the milk from burning. You have to stir the mixture constantly so as to keep the milk particles from sticking to the bottom and the sides of the pan. Use a wooden spoon or spatula for stirring the milk and mixing the ingredients together. Once done, transfer the mixture to the plate and press on it firmly to form a square shape.
Source: www.gourmandia.com
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