Baked Rasmalai

This is the first time I am attempting to post step by step pictures of a recipe. I had posted a recipe for oven baked rasmalai long time ago in a forum. One of the forum friends had trouble getting it right. So I am trying to help out by going into the details with pictures.

Here is the recipe I posted:

Mix 2 cups of ricotta cheese with sugar to your taste. I added a little more than half a cup of sugar. Mix this using a whisk until the mixture is very smooth. Now take a baking dish and spread this mixture in it. Bake it at 300 degree F until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. It took about 35-40 minutes for me to get into this stage. While it is baking boil 2 cups of milk (you may also use half and half if you want a thick texture). Flavor the milk with cardamom powder or vanilla. I used cardamom powder. Cool down the baked rasmalai a bit, and then cut into squares. If there is water in the baking dish, discard it, or move the rasmalai piecest to another dish. Pour the flavored milk. Keep in the fridge until ready to serve. Serve with crushed pistachios, or crushed almonds or crucshed walnts, or a mix of all these. Super easy! It tasted better on the second day.

2 cups of ricotta cheese(I used whole milk ricotta cheese) & a cup of sugar:

Beat until the mixture is very smooth. You may use an electric hand mixer or a manual whisk to do this. Make sure you beat it very well so that there is no sugar grains in the batter. You don't need to use all the sugar. Use it to your taste.

Spread the mixture in an oven safe pan. Level it using the back of a spoon.

Bake it in a 300 degree preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of the rasmalai comes out clean. I poked twice with a big knife, thats why you see a big damage there! :)

Let it cool slightly and cut into desired shapes. Tranfer the pieces to another clean dish.

Boil 2 cups of half & half with sugar and flavor it with cardamom. I have also added a few saffron strands. Let this cool slightly and pour over the rasmalai pieces.

Keep refrigerated. Garnish with crushed nuts and/or saffron strands.

Grapes, I hope that helps. Click on these images to get bigger images so you will get a clear view of the texture. If you still have problems with the texture of the rasmalai, I think you can try baking in a mini muffin pan so you will get individual pieces without the need of cutting. I haven’t tried that yet, but I think the idea is not bad.

Also, please note that I have used whole milk ricotta cheese. You may not get the right texture if you use fat free versions.