This is an Ekadasi Mango Shrikhand Birthday Cake with mango slices on top. After making cakes for friends and family members the past few months I finally got to make one for myself! This is my very own birthday cake, and since my birthday happened to fall on Ekadasi it had to be a no-grain-cake. My husband had been asking me for years to make the same cake I made him for his birthday (on Ekadasi) when we just got married, some 11 1/2 years ago. He liked that cake very much, but would I be able to remember how I made the cake back then? I did have the recipe but it was kind of ambiguous. Plus the measurements were in deciliters! I prefer to weigh all my ingredients. Plus who in the world has a deciliter measuring cup? Back then we lived in Sweden and I suppose deciliters is what they use there when they bake something. Fortunately I brought a deciliter measuring cup with me when we moved to the States. So, that problem was solved.
The problem with Shrikhand is that it is too runny to use it as cake icing even though I started out with some really thick hung yogurt. When I added the mango puree and homemade powdered sugar (no cornstarch in it) it became a challenge to keep the icing on the cake without running down the sides. I think next time I would use something else than mango puree. It is just too liquid. I am sure if one could get the consistency of Shrikhand right it would make a great cake frosting.
Well, here is what I did with my runny Shrikhand. First I put it in the freezer to firm it up a bit, making sure to stir it every now and then. I spread a think layer of icing on the cake which I had poked with a toothpick to help it aborb the Shrikhand. Then I put the cake in the fridge for half and hour to let the cake absorb some of the icing. Another thin layer, back in the fridge, another thin layer, ... (you get the idea). Finally the cake was all iced and it went back in the fridge overnight. Next day it was ready for the final touches - the mango slices on top and the toasted sliced almonds on the side.
The more time you give the cake to absorb some of the Shrikhand, the better it tastes. By the seond day the icing was nice and firm, the cake was nice and moist, and it tasted great.
For my next birthday I will have someone else make my cake though. I was up past midnight to make the cake and on my birthday the kids woke me up way too early because they were hungry and wanted a slice of the cake, and I wasn't even finished yet decorating it!
Maybe I'll put the kids + husband to work next year to make ME a cake for a change. Not a bad idea!
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