Indian Cake Rusk
Oct 14, 2013, Updated May 07, 2023
Crunchy and crispy India Cake Rusk, perfect for tea time!
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Rusks in India are a favorite tea time snack. Dipping the crispy rusk in tea is something many of us would have done when we were kids and still continue to do so.
The rusks that we get in US at the Indian storse are quite bad. They look and taste stale and because I like them so much, I would always request my mom to bring them whenever she visited us. I always wanted to try my hands on baking them up at home and finally I got around doing so.
They tasted wonderful, just like they would from my favorite bakery in India! Rusks are similar to biscotti in USA and they are also baked in the same way. You need to bake the rusks twice just like the biscottis.
When they come out of the oven for the first time, they are soft like a cake. Let them cool for around 10 minutes and then pop them back into the oven again. They bake again at a lower temperature which makes them crunchy.
Making the batter is super easy because it only involves a few basic ingredients. However it’s the baking time which might test your patience. But I have lots of patience when it comes to baking, well don’t we all have that for something we truly love doing? 🙂
Make these rusks at home, for they taste so wonderful that you will never ever buy them from the store again!
Method
Preheat the oven to 325 F.
1. Beat the butter till it becomes soft and creamy. Butter should be at room temperature.
2. Add sugar gradually and cream the butter and sugar together till it becomes smooth and creamy.
3. Add in the eggs, one by one and beat the whole mixture till it comes to a smooth consistency.
4. Add in the vanilla extract and stir till it incorporates fully in the mixture.
5. Now add the flour and baking powder slowly into wet ingredients.
6. Beat the mixture for 2-3 minutes till it looks smooth.
7. Pour the batter into a 8 x 8 square cake pan.
8. Bake the cake at 325 F for 40 minutes.
9. Allow it to cool for 10 minutes and then cut into thin slices. [Cut the cake once from the center and then into slices] The rusks will be soft at this point of time.
We will now bake the cake rusks again.
Reduce the temperature of the oven to 300 F.
10. Arrange the slices on a baking tray, leaving some space between them.
11. Put the tray into the oven and bake at 300 F for 10 minutes.
12. After 10 minutes, take out the tray and flip the rusks to bake the other side. Put the tray back into the oven and bake again for 10 minutes. Each side should appear dark golden brown after the 2nd bake.
13. Allow the cake rusks to cool completely.
14. Once cooled, the rusks will be crunchy and crispy. Store them in airtight container.
Enjoy the cake rusks with hot cup of tea!
Tips
1. Keep an eye on the rusks when you bake them for the 2nd time. They can take anywhere between 10-15 minutes to bake and after 10 minutes one should be very careful else they might also get burnt. If you think they are turning very dark brown or black, take them out immediately and flip over to bake the other side.
2. Store in an airtight container. They should stay fresh for 2 weeks or so. I am unable to tell the exact time here because these rusks didn’t last that long in my house!
Indian Cake Rusk
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- ½ cup granulated white sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs at room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 F degrees.
- In a bowl sift together all purpose flour and baking powder. Set aside.
- Using your stand or hand mixer, beat the room temperature butter till it becomes soft and creamy.
- Add sugar gradually and cream the butter and sugar together till it becomes smooth and creamy.
- Add in the eggs, one by one and beat the whole mixture till it comes to a smooth consistency.
- Add in the vanilla extract and mix.
- Now add the flour and baking powder slowly into wet ingredients.
- Beat the mixture for 2 minutes till it looks smooth.
- Pour the batter into a 8 x 8 square cake pan.
- Bake the cake at 325 F for 40 minutes.
- Take out of the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes and then cut into thin slices. [Cut the cake once from the center and then into slices] The rusks will be soft at this point of time.
- Now reduce the temperature of the oven to 300 F.
- Arrange the slices on a baking tray, leaving some space between them.
- Put the tray into the oven and bake at 300 F for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, take out the tray and flip the rusks to bake the other side.
- Put the tray back into the oven and bake again for 10 minutes.
- Each side should appear dark golden brown after the 2nd bake.
- Allow the cake rusks to cool completely.
- Once cooled, the rusks will be crunchy and crispy. Store them in airtight container.
- Enjoy the cake rusks with hot cup of tea!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Indian Cake Rusk
Hi Manali, the minimum setting on my oven is 350F. How long should I bake on those settings? Thanks!
hmm that’s strange, I have never seen a oven with a minimum setting of 350 F , so many recipes require much less baking temperature. Please check again
Can I use store bought pound cake and follow your hardening procedure? Will it have same taste !! Any idea
yes you can try!
Hi,
I made it using monk sugar and rusk came out super delicious. They were buttery flavor and exactly like indian rusk. The only problem that I faced was that the batter was extremely thick and it was almost like cookie dough and was hard to transfer to the pan. Should I add some mild to make it a little less sticky next time? Will it change anything?
you can add some milk
Manali, you are simply superb. I tried a few of your recipes and they all are so easy to follow. The end result is very thrilling. This is the first time I made rusks. I added fennel seeds for flavour and used 3/4 cup of sugar. My wife went crazy eating them. She never liked anything before this and she is very picky eater. Thank you for being there and helping us enjoy food that we would go to a restaurant to enjoy. I wish I could share the pic. Keep up the good work. #CookWithManali
I am so glad to know! 🙂
Hi Manali,
I love these cake rusk recipe. Can i double the recipe?
yes you may!
This is an amazing recipe! We’ve been buying and eating store bought cake rusk for years. This is even better than store bought. I baked the 1X recipe in a 9×9 square cake pan and they turned out narrow (they looked like biscotti) but still tasted delicious. I’ll be baking the 2X version in the same pan next. Thanks for this recipe 🙂
I normally don’t leave comments, but after making this recipe several times, I must! Love this recipe and can’t imagine ever going back to store-bought. Thank you 🙂
Switched the all purpose flour for oat flour, eggs for flax eggs, and butter to Miyokos creamery vegan butter and it turned out to be a great vegan recipe! Doesn’t look like the pictures but tastes great. I added a pinch of cardamom and nutmeg to the batter as well for taste!
I accidentally used baking soda instead of baking powder. I realized it after I kept it for baking. Let’s see how will they turn out.
oops most likely it won’t turn out well. There’s no acidic ingredient in this recipe to react with soda and that’s why the recipe calls for baking powder.
Made these today. They are delicious.
Love it. My son thought they were bought from the store actually.
Just finished making these rusks and the came out perfectly and tasted great. Used less sugar without any problem..
Hi Manali,
Thank you so much for this recipe. The rusks tasted yumm…reminded me of my childhood fav rusks. I did substitute the butter with oil and sugar with jaggery, which I normally do for my cakes, and it was great. Also I dont have 150deg in my oven, so second bake was at 140 deg for 12 mins. Thanks again for a great recipe.
Do I need to grease the pan with butter or Pam spray?
either is fine
Arw cake rusk good for health? I eat alot of them but i am worried that they might not be good for health
everything in okay in moderation! 🙂
How can I adjust this recipe for a 9inch square tin?
*9×9 inch
I would follow the same recipe, should be fine
Nice easy recipe tried it it is delicious and you can flavor it like you want 🙂
Glad you liked it and that’s the best part about baking at home..isn’t it? 🙂
Better than store bought. Now the family is going to ask for them every couple of days. Thank you.
you are welcome! 🙂
Hi – I’m an american student and I made these yesterday! It was my first time baking from scratch. My mom was gifted some rusks from an appreciative parent a few years ago, and I’ve wanted to eat them again since! I had no idea that they’d be so easy to make with your recipe! I was stressed out before my first day of classes, and I wanted to cook. Rusks came to mind, and so I googled and found your recipe. I had no idea that they were so easy to make! I have no skills and they turned out much better than the package we were gifted.
We keep a kosher household and these made an amazing dessert last night for our family! I even brought some of the extras to my friends at college and they were gone in a flash. I can’t wait to make these again tomorrow – thank you so much for an excellent recipe. It was easy to follow and turned out perfectly.
Awesome! 🙂 so glad you enjoyed these rusks!
I made these today. Great tastings rusk. I tweaked the recipe a little to my needs. I did cut down on the butter. Instead of 1/2 cup butter I used 1/3 cup butter and added about 3oz of milk to form smooth batter. Also instead of 1/2 cup sugar, I used 1/3 cup of sugar. Rusk came out great.
Thank you Manali for posting a great recipe. I will love to try these rusks without tweaking someday. I bet those will be much more tasty.
Glad to know you enjoyed these Sadhana!
Did adding milk change the consistency after baking? I felt that batter was thick and was hard to transfer to the pan and was thinking of adding milk too
Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe. This is really look amazing. 🙂
Would it be okay to replace the maida with whole wheat flour? I love cake rusk but I am trying to be a bit healthier.
You can try Pinki, have not tested this recipe with whole wheat flour. The texture of the rusk will definitely be different if you use 100% whole wheat..maybe you can do 50% all purpose flour and 50% whole wheat?
Great web site. I just found you.
This looks amazing and the comments make me want to make this rusk right now!
Do you have a gluten-free version of this recipe? Or is it best made exactly as shown.
I do have a bit of a problem with gluten. Thank you!
Hi Suzzane, I don’t have a gluten-free version…but someone has made the same recipe using gluten-free flour mix and it worked well for them…you can give it a try!
Hi! great blog and recipe.. You’ve made it pictorial which makes it easy to follow..
BTW, is there a specific owen type you would suggest? Or would convectional types work?
PS: Never tried baking so far.. 🙂
Thanks!
hmm I live in the US and we bake in a normal oven here like this https://www.ifbappliances.com/products/kitchen/built-in-ovens you can buy a small oven from Bajaj or Philps in India? I am sorry I am not very aware of the types and brands in India..
Hi
love the recipe just want to know what is the difference between cake rusk and milk rusk
also in this recipe can i add vanilla essence instead of extract’
Thanks
you can vanilla essence…cake rusk is like a cake which has been baked twice for it to get crisp..the batter is exactly like a cake..milk rusk it’s a bread which has been baked twice to get it all crispy and perfect..
Hi Manali,
This is a great recipe; I’ve made these twice now and they’re so much better than the semi-stale ones full of preservatives that are sold in stores! Thank you for posting this!
I am glad you like these Kelly and yes that’s why I shared the recipe because I love rusk and these are just so much better when you make at home!
hello manali!
thanks alot for the recipe…thy turned out perfect…
welcome! 🙂
Hi Manali,
Thank you for sharing this recipe. The rusks look super tempting with a gorgeous color and I hope to try the recipe soon. Just want to know what can I substitute the eggs with?
Thanks
Neha
Hi Neha, For the egg try replacing with flax seeds or chia seeds egg..”For each egg, combine 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed (measure after grinding) with 3 tablespoons of water. Stir well, and place in the fridge to set for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, the result should be a sticky egg-like substitute.” If these options aren’t available then try 1/4 cup applesauce or 1/4 cup yogurt egg. This is cake rusk though, if you want to make the crispy milk rusk here’s the recipe for that and it’s egg free –> https://www.cookwithmanali.com/rusk-recipe/
Hi, I am making Sooji Rusk. Do you guide me how to make delicious with crunchy.
I don’t have a recipe for sooji rusk on my blog yet. You can try simple plain milk rusks https://www.cookwithmanali.com/rusk-recipe/
I have a question! I made these and they were amazing! Can I double or even triple the recipe? Thanks!
they should double easily
Awesome cake recipe. Not only tasty but so quick and easy
Glad you liked them!
Can we fry cake rusk because it will be more crispy after frying
I have never tried
Today, I made this cake rush with coconut oil in the place of butter and it turns out perfect crunchy, smelling good and beautiful cake rush stick. Thank you for the recipe.
welcome, glad you liked it!
I made these yesterday and my MIL approved. Whew! Thank you!
welcome! 🙂 Glad to know!
Hi Manali
I made the cake rusks today according to your recipe… the taste is good but after the first bake when I took out the cake, i.e. after 40 minutes, it was quite soft and hence it broke into pieces… but I managed to cut as much rectangle shape as I could… baked again … so the result was not that much satisfying… taste is awesome but shape n texture not that much… plz suggest…?
Eila, every oven is different. You need to check the temperature of your oven, a few degrees off can make a huge difference. So if you can buy an oven thermometer and check the actual reading of our oven. For example when you set it to 350 F, what exactly is the temperature of the oven, it might be 325 and that will make a difference. Because what you are saying is that it was soft after first bake which means it should have been baked more. again for 2nd bake, you should have baked for more time to get the desired crunchy texture. Just trying baking for extra 5-10 minutes and see if it works! hope that helps!
hey
I’m new to baking n I want to try ur recipe as it’s so tempting ?
can I use something instead of vanilla essence :/
hmm almond extract would be the next best option in this recipe!
Hi there…I made this recipe yesterday and did a mix of vanilla and almond extracts. Using all almond would be perfectly delicious.
almond sounds like a nice touch!
Hi manali…. I tried your rusk recipe… its damn tasty… I felt it little crumbled. What should i do for it??? I want make rusk just like how we get in market. I even it to be little hard. Should I lessen the use of butter???
Hello Vindya. Hmm can you tell me exactly what happened? Is the dough not holding up well? You can lessen the butter but I am not sure if that will solve the problem. Every oven is different, you oven settings might be little off. If you are not getting the desired results, bake the rusks for extra time. Remember these are cake rusks and not the regular milk/sooji rusks that we get. They will taste exactly like the cake rusks that you get in the market. Just bake them for extra 5 minutes or so, they should be quite hard. Hope that helps!
U are right. Can i use powdered sugar instead of granulated?? And how many grams of butter will half cup has?? I added 113gm of butter.
You are right, manali…
its a cake rusk!!! Can i add powdered sugar instead? And can u tell how much of butter to be used in grams? I used 113gms of butter…
113 grams is right, that is what I used = 1 stick of butter = 1/2 cup = 113 grams. If you want you can reduce 2 tablespoons of butter from this, which will be around 28 grams of butter. You can try adding powdered sugar in place of granulated sugar, let me know how it turns out.
I have wanted to make cake rusks for ages.
I put everything in a food processor. A dded a pinchextra baking powder and since my eggs were small a little milk. loosened mix. thee.
Great recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Great! Glad you liked it! 🙂
Tried them yesterday. They turned out great! Not too sweet, not too oily and perfectly crispy – just how I like them! Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Welcome Reem! Glad you liked them 🙂
Can i use oil or ghee instead of butter in this cake rusk recipe
Reply plz
Hi Anum! you may but I recommend using butter!
I made these today and they are awesome! I posted a pic on your FB page. Just a question. What size cake pan should I use to make twice the quantity? I am afraid these many won’t last for more than two days at my place ! Thanks ,
Mansi
Hi Mansi, I am so glad to hear that 🙂 Thank you for sharing the pic! I think a 9×13 inch pan would work if you are to double the recipe! And they never last more than 2 days at my place either!
These were wonderful! I found out last year that I cannot have wheat flour. This summer I pulled out your recipe again and made it with Namaste gluten free flour. They were just as good as before! So now I can still have rusks… thank you for a great recipe.
Can we make it without eggs…
Pooja you can try flax/chia eggs! For each egg, combine 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed (measure after grinding) with 3 tablespoons of water. Stir well, and place in the fridge to set for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, the result should be a sticky egg-like substitute. A quick and easy egg replacement, featuring freshly ground flax or chia seeds.”
I am a fan of rusk biscuits and have never been satisfied with the stuff available in the Indian stores in the US – tried your recipe and it worked out very well. Will it mess up the recipe if I try less sugar next time? Thank you!
Glad it turned out well! You can definitely try less sugar, that should be okay!
hiiii,
we dont eat eggs, so what else can we use in place of eggs
Hi Shalini, I have not tried it without eggs. But maybe you can try using 1/4 cup apple sauce for each egg in the recipe. Or if you have chia/flax seeds, to replace 1 egg, combine 1 tablespoon of ground chia/flax seeds with 3 tablespoons of water and let it sit for 15 minutes in the fridge and then use in the recipe. Hope this helps!
thank u so much for help, i will try and let me knw u.
Hi Manali.. I tried with flax seeds mix Instead of the eggs today as per your instructions mentioned above and it came out perfect. Thanks a lot. Can we reduce the quantity of butter and Add some milk?
you can try, haven’t tested
Manali, I am so tempted to try baking them today.
Ughh but will wait till the weekend.
Btw my mum follows your blog and she baked these rusks. She told me they were awesome. She’s your fan!! So am I 🙂
I hope you do bake them over the weekend Vrida, they are one of my favorites! And thank you so much for the support and encouragement, it means a lot to me. And a big thanks to your mom, please tell her I said thank you 🙂
I guess I didn’t use large eggs, because the batter was not very much. But the Rusk that I baked came out delicious. Thanks for sharing your recipe! It makes my hot cup of chai much more enjoyable in these winter months!
Hi Prakash, you are welcome and thank you so much for the feedback! Oh yes the eggs I used were large, so maybe that made the difference in the batter quantity…Happy to hear you liked the recipe 🙂
hi i want to print this page but there is no printer friendly page available. how can i print?
Hi Pragya, I have updated the page now. Sorry this was an old recipe and at that time I didn’t have the printer plugin installed on my blog. Hope you can print the page now 🙂
Tried this recipe – the cake mix was very sticky – after 40 min, my cake was still pale – way too sweet for rusks – i am south african so i know what rusks should taste like and this isnt it –
I don’t about South African rusks, but I am an Indian and this is how cake rusks are in India. I have made this recipe several times and it always works. Sorry it didn’t live up to your expectations.
They were delicious! Thanks for the recipe
Welcome Fiza!
hi madam, I want to start it in professional way, can you help in that.
Hi chandan! Sorry I didn’t get you. How can I help you?
Thanks for recipe. I will try to bake today.
You are welcome! Let me know how they turn out 🙂
I love your recipe!!! I bake these rusks every time it runs out. My dad used to buy it from the store, but now I (a 10-year-old) can easily bake it for my family myself!!! ??
Hi manali, I have been following this recipe and it turns out great every time. My whole family are fans! I just wanted to ask when its too hot here, sometimes these rusks get a little soft, can i just rebake them? Or do you have any other suggestion please? Many thanks
yes you can try re-baking them. Or keep them in the refrigerator maybe?
Thank you 🙂