Egg-free cake specialist Cake Box has unveiled a five-strong range of treats inspired by South Asian desserts.
Available in Cake Box’s 205-plus stores nationwide, the line-up taps into the UK’s growing appetite for global desserts with cakes based on classic recipes such as gulab jamun (fried dumplings spiced with cardamom and steeped in rose & saffron syrup) and trending ones such as Dubai chocolate.
This new range re-imagines much-loved mithai (traditional South Asian sweets enjoyed across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and beyond) in cake form, bringing authentic flavours into accessible formats for both long-standing fans and adventurous foodies, according to Cake Box.
It comes as part of a collaboration with South Asian sweets brand Ambala which was bought by Cake Box earlier this year for £22m.
The limited-edition line-up comprises:
- Bedana Cake – inspired by fruity dried-fruit sweets, this cake sees a Victoria sponge layered with fresh cream, topped with more swirls of cream, and finished with jewel-like Bedana pieces in red, green, and yellow, and cubes of Khoye ki Barfi
- Rose Cham Cham Cake – echoing the popular Bengali mithai, the cake features a Victoria sponge base while the sides are decorated with strawberry curls, all finished with swirls of fresh cream, vibrant Rose Cham Cham pieces, and strawberries
- Gulab Jamun Cake – caramel sponge with cream layers that recreate the syrupy richness of the classic dessert. The cake has caramel curls on the sides and is topped with swirls of fresh cream and syrup-soaked Gulab Jamuns
- Pistachio Cake – a nut-flavoured sponge with subtle roasted notes is smothered in pistachio cream with pistachio pieces around the sides and pieces of Pista Barfi (a fudgy Indian sweet made primarily from pistachios, milk, and sugar) on top
- Dubai Chocolate Cake – an indulgent chocolate sponge with a glossy finish, featuring a coasting of pistachios and suter pheni along the sides, with chocolate mousse, Pista Barfi, and pistachios on top.
The cakes are available to buy whole in sixes ranges from 6” to 12”, with prices starting at £29.99. To meet a variety of shopper missions, the range is also available in single-serve slices (from £4.50) and cupcakes (from £3.50 each / £19 for a box of six).
Sukh Chamdal, CEO at Ambala and Cake Box, explained that mithai has been at “the heart of family life and celebrations for generations”.
“We’ve taken well-loved flavours like the syrupy richness of gulab jamun and the delicate nuttiness of pistachio and reimagined them as freshly made, egg-free cakes, slices and cupcakes,” he said. “Our ambition is for mithai-inspired cakes to be the next big foodie trend and this collaboration puts authentic flavours into formats people already know and love.”
Middle Eastern flavours, such as rose, pistachio, and Dubai chocolate, as well as Japanese ones like matcha, miso, and hojicha (roasted green tea) are gaining traction on the UK’s cake scene often paired with flavours more familiar to UK consumers such as caramel and chocolate.
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