7 cup cake with a twist

Jan 27th 2010

Disclaimer: I have never made the 7 cup cake :)

I am really not sure if this 7 cup cake is easy or hard but pretty much every south indian I have talked to seems to make or know about this sweet. And the lore associated with it is that even one who cannot make good sweets can make a good 7 cup cake ?!

When you make any cake like sweet, you need to get the right *padham* or consistency. For example for mysore pakku you need to know exactly when to take the paste out and pour it into the pan so that it will harden into a cake. If you take it too early, it will remain mysore halwa, if you take it too late..it will be like a brick. But if you take it out at the exact time, oh you will have heaven in each bite :D

But when you make a badam cake or in this case a cashew-badam cake, this mixture is a bit more forgiving and you have a little bit leeway in when you can take it out of the pan. Worst comes cashew badam halwa is yum too!

Difficulty level : Easy - Medium

Time: 10 min ( Prep Time),  30 min ( Cooking Time)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup ground powder of badam and cashews ( no need to peel almonds(badam))
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup ghee (clarified butter)
• 1 cup besan flour (kadalai maavu)

Method de Preparation:

1. Grind unpeeled almonds and cashews (equal or unequal quantity does not matter). Measure 1 cup and keep aside. Grease slightly hollow pan or baking tray with ghee and keep aside.
2. Roast besan flour in ghee.
3. Dissolve milk and sugar in a pan with heat on.
4. Mix 2 and 3 and with the ground powder without forming lumps.
5. Keep stirring till it does not stick to the bottom of the pan and forms a halwa like consistency. The ideal way to know when it is done is that the liquid will start thickening and you cannot stir that easily, you will need more effort to stir everytime. Additionally you will see the whole sweet come without sticking to the base of the pan and start to bubble slightly. 
6. Take out and pour onto a greased pan. Allow to slightly solidify and cut into cubes or cuboids. If you cut into circles then I want to see that!

Source:  Through Amms from a maami in PHX

Observations: 

1. You get a good # of cakes for the measure you add. For example if you use a rice cup for the 1 cup measurement, you get at least 20-30 such cakes.
2. With the ingredients you put in - cashew/badam, milk,ghee, sugar..this cannot taste bad, period. So start with that confidence.
3. The traditional 7 cup cake has 1 cup coconut which is replaced by this cashew/almond ground paste here.