Milk Cake – Kalakand

Milk cake has a very special and important place in my life. It’s connected to beautiful memories from childhood. It is also known as Kalakand.

The first birthday cake I remember from my childhood was milk cake. It was decorated nicely with small small balls which holds candles all around the cake.

It was the sweet that can bring smile to face when I was angry. Remember eating different shades of milk cake to have different flavours.

Lets refresh memories in this lockdown with yummy milk cake

Ingredients

• 2 Litres Full cream milk
• Ghee – 4 tbsp
• Sugar- 3/4th Cup (increase if you want more sweet)
• Cardamom powder – 1 tsp (optional)
• Lemon juice – 2 tbsp or Alum (Fitkari) – 1 to 1.5 Pinch(powdered)

Time

It will take around 2-2.30 hrs, it totally depends on the quantity of milk

Procedure

• Take heavy base iron or steel kadai. Heavy because milk will burn due to high heat if the base is thin

• Boil milk in kadai and keep stirring continuously without stopping as milk can stick to the base and can burn

• Flame should be High to medium (depends on your gas stove and base of the kadai)

• When the milk remains little less than half the total quantity, add lemon juice/Alum gradually.

Keep stirring and you will notice milk granules will start forming. Don’t add too much lemon juice otherwise it wont be what we want it to be 🙂

• Keep stirring don’t stop till we finally turn off the flame

• When it’s around 1/4th of total quantity add sugar

• keep stirring and once you feel the water is all gone add ghee gradually, until it start leaving pan

• You have to cook till it’s light brown in color and then add cardamom powder to it(cardamom is also optional)

Turn off the flame now and grease any tray with ghee and take out the mixture from kadai in it.

Press it gently to set and make it even all around. Now cover the tray with lid or plate. Take a thick towel and keep this tray wrapped properly inside the towel.

Leave this wrapped for 4-5 hours as the mixture would self cook with its heat and give beautiful brown color.

Now after 4-5 hours take out the tray and cut the milk cake in squares and garnish with dry fruits as per your liking.