Jalebi Cupcakes filled with creamy rabdi make the ultimate festive treat! These cardamom flavored eggless cupcakes are filled with a thick instant rabdi, topped with creamy saffron scented frosting and decorated with jalebi on top!

In the recent years, there has been so much interest in Indian fusion desserts. I have to admit, that it’s one of my favorite things to bake too. I can’t get enough of mixing Indian mithai flavors with cakes, cupcakes and cheesecakes like in these rasmalai cake jars and motichoor ladoo cheesecake jars.

So, continuing with the yearly Diwali tradition, this year I am sharing Rabdi Jalebi Cupcakes. These are eggless cardamom flavored cupcakes, filled with thick rabdi, with a cream cheese frosting and jalebi on top! Super pretty and decadent!

This is the kind of dessert that will steal the show at your Diwali party. First, they look so pretty, there’s so much flavor and when you bite into them, you get a mouthful of everything- the cardamom cake, the rabdi, the creamy frosting and of course the jalebi.

These Rabdi Jalebi Cupcakes

• make a showstopper dessert for Diwali!
• looks festive and decadent.
• combines a soft eggless cake with rabdi and jalebi!

This might look complicated to make though but honestly it’s not. Here are few shortcuts that you can use to cut short the process.

Using Shortcuts

This is a time consuming recipe so you can use these shortcuts to save time especially during the busy festive time.

Make instant rabdi: sure classic rabdi is great but make instant rabdi to save time. You can also use a box that you get at Indian stores to make rabdi.

Use a box-mix for cupcakes: while I have made cupcakes from scratch, there’s definitely an option to use a cake box-mix and use that to bake your cupcakes. No harm in using this shortcut!

Buy jalebi from store: now this one I highly recommend that you do! Buy jalebi from store and that will save you so much time. Of course if you want to go all out then you can make jalebi at home.

Ingredients

There are 3 parts to the recipe- the cupcakes, the frosting and then the rabdi & jalebi to finish the cupcakes.

For the cupcakes

Dry ingredients: the dry ingredients for the cake use basic pantry ingredients like flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar. There’s also some cardamom powder to flavor the cupcakes.

Wet ingredients: the liquid ingredients include yogurt, oil, vanilla and rose water.

For the frosting

Butter: you can use either unsalted or salted butter but I have used unsalted butter in this recipe. Make sure it’s at room temperature.

Cream cheese: I like using plain full-fat cream cheese in the frosting, it helps cut out the sweetness a bit. Again, make sure it’s at room temperature before using in the recipe.

Flavorings: Other than a splash of vanilla, I have also used kewra essence which you can find at Indian grocery stores. You can also use rose essence if you don’t have kewra or you can skip it completely.

Powdered Sugar: which is also known as confectioners sugar or icing sugar is used in the frosting. You can use anywhere between 3 & 1/2 cup to 4 cups depending on how thick you want the frosting to be. More confectioners sugar will lead to thicker frosting.

To Complete the Cupcakes

Rabdi: we need a thick rabdi to fill these cupcakes and the instant rabdi works perfectly well. It really thickens as it cools so there’s less chance of it leaking out of the cupcakes. However, you can also make a classic rabdi and use that in the recipe. Make sure it’s thick enough for a filling.

Jalebis: to top these cupcakes, we need jalebis. You can either make these at home (which is a long process) or save yourself sometime and buy from stores (what I did).

Step by Step Instructions

1- Before you start, pre-heat the oven to 350 F degrees and line a 12-count muffin pan with cupcake liners. To make the cupcakes, first in a large bowl sift together flour, cardamom powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

2- Now to the steel bowl of your stand mixer (or any other bowl if using a hand mixer), add yogurt (room temperature) and sugar.

3- Also add in the oil, vanilla and rose water.

4- Using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer (or using a stand mixer), mix on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes until everything is well combined.

5- Start adding the dry ingredients, add in 2 parts, and mix after each addition.

6- Remember to not over-mix the batter here, so mix until it’s all just combined.

7- Fill the cupcake liners with the batter until 2/3rd full. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 F degrees for 15 to 17 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Oven timing may vary as every oven is different so keep an eye on them after 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and let the cool completely on a wire rack before you frost them.

8- Before you start making the frosting, heat 2 tablespoons of heavy cream in a small pan (not boil but warm it up), crush some saffron strands in your hands and add it to the warm cream. Remove pan from heat and let it sit for 10 minutes while you work on the frosting.

9- For the frosting, beat 1 stick of butter (at room temperature) using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer (or use your hand mixer) for 2 to 3 minutes on medium heat until it’s creamy and light in color.

10- Then add the room temperature cream cheese and beat 1 minute, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.

11- Add the prepared cream-saffron mixture, kewra essence and vanilla extract and mix.

12- Then add the powdered sugar (1/2 cup at a time) and mix until it’s all well combined. The frosting should be thick and hold it’s shape. Remember to mix at low speed in the beginning while adding powdered sugar else it will all blow up on your face.

13- Now, take the cooled cupcakes and core it. I use a large piping tip that I had and use the open round end of it, pressed it into the center of the cupcakes, twisted it inside the cupcake a few times and then pulled it out.

14- You can use a cupcake corer as well.

15- Now fill the center will around 2 tablespoons of the prepared thick rabdi. Make all the cupcakes similarly.

16- Pipe the frosting and then place a jalebi on top of the cupcake. You may garnish with edible gold leaves.

Storage

These cupcakes stay well for 1 to 2 days at room temperature. I store them inside a cake carrier, so that way they remain airtight as well.

They will last in the fridge for a longer time, around 4 to 5 days. Remember to wrap them and keep them in an air tight container to prevent them from drying out.

Make Ahead Instructions

If you want to make these in advance, you can make the rabdi 2 days in advance and keep it refrigerated. Then make the cake and the frosting the next day and keep them refrigerated as well. And bring it all together on the day you want to serve these.Remember to keep the cupcakes in an airtight container so prevent them from drying out.

If you want to make the entire cupcakes with rabdi and frosting, then make them the night before of your party. Store at room temperature in air tight container (if it’s not too hot where you live) else keep them in the fridge.

Tips & Notes

• You can make these cupcakes without the rabdi as well. Even if you don’t fill them, they are pretty good festive cupcakes. But the rabdi adds a lot of richness and flavor and takes them to the next level.
• If you are not a jalebi pan, then you can even top these cupcakes with gulab jamun since rabdi also goes very well with gulab jamuns.
• Make sure the rabdi that you are using for filling the cupcakes is pretty thick. If you are using my instant rabdi recipe, then that gets pretty thick as it cools down so you will be fine with that. But if using any other recipe or method, just make sure it’s thick.
• The prep and cook time does not include the time taken to make the rabdi. You should make that in advance before you start with these cupcakes.

More Stunning Fusion Diwali Desserts

• No-Bake Mithai Cheesecake
• Rasmalai Cake Jars
• Burfi Truffles
• Eggless Paan Cheesecake
• Gulab Jamun Shrikhand Jars

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