Cake Rusk: Ingredients, Recipe, Calories and Where to Buy

Quick answer: Cake rusk is a twice-baked tea-time snack. A plain butter cake made from maida, sugar, eggs, butter and baking powder is baked, sliced into fingers, then baked again at low heat until dry and crunchy. One piece of cake rusk has roughly 85 to 100 calories, and it is made to be dipped in chai.

If you grew up in Pakistan, you know the sound. A cake rusk snapping in half over a cup of chai on a cold evening, with crumbs landing on the saucer. It is one of the most loved bakery items in the country, and also one of the most misunderstood.

This guide covers what cake rusk is, the full list of cake rusk ingredients, a tested home cake rusk recipe with oven temperatures, cake rusk calories per piece, and whether it fits a healthy diet. It also covers the honest question: is it worth spending two hours baking it, or should you order a fresh pack instead?

What is a cake rusk?

A cake rusk is a slice of plain sponge or butter cake that has been baked a second time until all the moisture is gone. The first bake makes a soft cake. The second bake turns that cake into a dry, golden, crunchy finger that keeps for weeks.

The word "rusk" covers any bread or cake that is baked twice. Regular rusk (the kind sold as "papay" or flat rusk) is made from bread dough and is harder and less sweet. Cake rusk is made from cake batter, so it is richer, more buttery and more crumbly when you bite it.

Think of it as the South Asian cousin of Italian biscotti. The method is the same idea: bake, slice, bake again. The difference is in the batter. Biscotti dough is stiff and often has almonds in it. Cake rusk starts as a soft, eggy cake batter, which is why it has that airy, open crumb you can see on every piece.

Cake rusk vs regular rusk vs biscotti

Is cake rusk Pakistani or Indian?

Cake rusk belongs to both. It is a bakery staple across Pakistan and India, and you will find it in every city bakery from Lahore and Karachi to Delhi and Mumbai. Neither country can claim to have invented it.

The double-baking method itself is old and widespread. Bakers in many countries dried bread and cake to make it last, which is where Italian biscotti, German zwieback and the British rusk come from. Cake rusk is the version that South Asian bakeries made their own, sweeter and more buttery, and built around the habit of dipping it in milky tea.

In Pakistan, cake rusk is part of the evening chai ritual. Guests arrive, the tea goes on, and a plate of cake rusk, nimko and biscuits comes out. That is the context it belongs to, more than any national label.

What are the cake rusk ingredients?

Cake rusk is made of seven basic ingredients: refined flour (maida), sugar, eggs, butter or oil, baking powder, a pinch of salt and vanilla. Bakeries add flavour variations such as elaichi, saunf (fennel seeds), dried fruit or coconut, but the base never changes.

Our own Special Cake Rusk is baked with flour, sugar, eggs, butter or oil and a touch of baking powder. Nothing exotic, which is the point. The skill is in the bake, not the shopping list.

Cake rusk ingredients and what each one does

That is a full block of butter and five eggs for one tray of rusk, plus about two hours of oven time. Order a ready-made pack of Special Cake Rusk and skip the shopping list altogether.

How do you make cake rusk at home? (cake rusk recipe)

This cake rusk recipe follows the method most home bakers and bakeries use. You will need an oven, a 9 x 13 inch (23 x 33 cm) baking tray, a serrated bread knife and a wire rack. Plan for about 30 minutes of prep, 30 minutes for the cake, at least an hour of cooling, and 30 to 40 minutes for the second bake.

Step 1: Make the batter

Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F) and grease the tray. Sift the maida, baking powder and salt together into a bowl.

In a large bowl, beat the soft butter and sugar for 3 to 4 minutes with an electric beater until pale and fluffy. If you are doing this by hand with a whisk, give it 8 to 10 minutes. Your arm will feel it.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Add the vanilla. Then fold in the flour mixture gently with a spatula, just until no dry flour shows. Over-mixing here gives you a tough, flat cake.

Step 2: Bake the cake

Spread the batter evenly in the tray and bake for about 30 minutes, until a toothpick in the centre comes out clean and the top is light golden. Ovens in Pakistani homes vary a lot, so start checking at 25 minutes.

Let it cool in the tray for 15 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack. Now the hard part: wait. A warm cake crumbles when you slice it. Give it at least an hour, and many bakers leave it overnight.

Step 3: Slice

Trim the edges if you want neat pieces. Cut the cake in half lengthwise, then slice each half into fingers about 1.5 cm (half an inch) thick. Use a serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion. Pressing down squashes the crumb.

Step 4: The second bake

Lower the oven to 150°C (300°F). Lay the slices cut-side up on an ungreased baking sheet with a little gap between them. Bake for 15 minutes, flip every piece, and bake another 15 to 20 minutes until both sides are dry and golden.

The rusk will still feel slightly soft when hot. It crisps as it cools. Let it cool completely on the rack before storing, or trapped steam will make it go soft again.

Oven temperatures and times at a glance

Where home cake rusk usually goes wrong

• Soft centre: the second bake was too short or the slices were too thick. Thick slices need another 10 minutes at low heat.
• Burnt edges, pale middle: the oven was too hot for the second bake. Low and slow is the whole trick.
• Crumbling while slicing: the cake was still warm, or the knife was not serrated.
• Dense, hard rusk: the butter and sugar were not beaten long enough, or the flour was over-mixed.
• No oven: you can bake the cake in a heavy patila on a bed of salt, but the second bake on a tawa is hard to control and often burns one side.

How many calories are in cake rusk?

Cake rusk calories land at roughly 480 to 545 kcal per 100 grams, depending on how much butter and sugar the bakery uses. That makes it an energy-dense snack, closer to a butter biscuit than to plain bread.

Those figures come from the published nutrition labels of two commercial brands listed in the Fitatu food catalog (checked November 2026): Britannia Premium Cake Rusk at 479 kcal per 100 g and Regal Bakery Original Cake Rusk at 544 kcal per 100 g. Chai Pani's Special Cake Rusk has not been lab-tested, so treat these as a fair range rather than an exact number for our pack.

1 cake rusk calories

One cake rusk has about 85 to 100 calories. A typical piece weighs 16 to 21 grams. On the labels above, a 16 g piece comes to 87 kcal and a 21 g piece to 101 kcal.

Two pieces with a cup of sweetened doodh patti can easily pass 300 calories. If you are counting, the chai matters as much as the rusk. Our guide to calories in one cup of chai breaks that part down.

Cake rusk nutrition per 100 g (commercial labels)

Want the taste without the baking? Get a 250 g pack of Special Cake Rusk and keep your portions to two pieces a cup.

Is cake rusk unhealthy?

Cake rusk is not a health food, and nobody should sell it to you as one. It is made from refined flour, sugar and butter, so it is high in calories and refined carbohydrates and low in fibre. That does not make it bad. It makes it a treat.

Here is a fair way to look at it. Two pieces with your evening chai is a normal snack, similar to a couple of biscuits. Half a pack while watching a match is a different story. The drying process removes water, not calories, so a small rusk carries the energy of a much bigger slice of cake.

A few practical points:

• Portion: one or two pieces per cup is a sensible limit for most adults.
• Diabetes: cake rusk has added sugar and refined flour. If you have diabetes or are watching your blood sugar, ask your doctor how it fits your diet.
• Weight loss: it is energy-dense, so it is easy to overeat. Count it in your daily calories rather than treating it as "just a rusk".
• Eggs and dairy: standard cake rusk contains both. Check with the seller if you have an allergy.

Our opinion: cake rusk earns its place because of how it is eaten. Slowly, with a hot cup of tea, shared with family. Eaten that way, two pieces satisfy you more than a packet of chips would.

What goes best with cake rusk?

Milky tea is the classic pairing. The open crumb soaks up chai in about two seconds, so dip fast and bite faster.

Pink Kashmiri chai is our favourite match. Its salty, creamy, slightly nutty flavour cuts through the sweetness of the rusk in a way doodh patti does not. If you have never made it, our step-by-step Kashmiri chai recipe walks you through it, or you can skip the hour of boiling with our ready Kashmiri Chai Qehwa (480ml), which makes pink tea in a few minutes.

For guests, a plate of cake rusk next to a bowl of mix nimko covers both sweet and savoury. That is the standard Pakistani tea table for a reason.

How should you store cake rusk?

Store cake rusk in an airtight jar or container at room temperature, away from the stove and out of direct sunlight. Moisture is the enemy. Once air gets in, the rusk loses its snap within a day or two.

Home-baked rusk that has been dried properly usually stays crisp for about two to three weeks. If a batch goes soft, spread it on a tray and give it 8 to 10 minutes at 150°C, then let it cool fully before closing the jar.

Do not keep rusk in the fridge. Fridges are humid, and cold rusk picks up moisture and other smells.

Is it cheaper to make cake rusk at home or buy it?

On ingredients alone, home baking can work out cheaper per kilo if you already bake often and buy butter, eggs and flour in bulk. For most households, the picture changes when you count everything else.

If you enjoy baking, make it. It is a satisfying project. If you just want good rusk with your chai this week, ordering is the sensible choice.

Why order ready-made cake rusk from Chai Pani?

Special Cake Rusk is baked from a family recipe with the same simple ingredients you would use at home. Here is what you get:

• Simple ingredients: flour, sugar, eggs, butter or oil and a touch of baking powder.
• Small batches: baked in small batches, not on a factory line.
• Made for dipping: golden, crisp and light enough to soak up chai without falling apart in the cup.
• Delivery across Pakistan: Leopards Courier delivers in 3 to 5 days to major and secondary cities.
• Cash on delivery: pay when your order arrives.
• Free delivery: on orders above Rs. 1,500.

Special Cake Rusk price

Buying tip: try the 250 g pack first if you just want to taste it. If cake rusk is a daily habit in your house, the 1 kg pack at Rs. 1,800 works out cheaper per gram and already crosses the Rs. 1,500 free-delivery line. For a first order with tea included, Deal 06 is the easiest way to get both with free delivery. Browse more bundles in our free shipping deals.

Frequently asked questions about cake rusk

What is cake rusk made of?

Cake rusk is made of maida (refined flour), sugar, eggs, butter or oil, baking powder, a pinch of salt and vanilla. The batter is baked as a cake, sliced, then baked again until dry. Some bakeries add elaichi, saunf, dried fruit or coconut for flavour.

Is cake rusk Pakistani or Indian?

Both. Cake rusk is a bakery staple in Pakistan and India, and neither country has a clear claim to inventing it. It grew out of the older habit of double-baking bread and cake to make it last, the same idea behind biscotti and zwieback.

Is cake rusk unhealthy?

Cake rusk is energy-dense, at roughly 480 to 545 calories per 100 g on commercial labels, and made with refined flour, sugar and butter. One or two pieces with tea is a reasonable treat for most people. If you have diabetes or are on a weight-loss plan, count it carefully and ask your doctor how it fits your diet.

What is a cake rusk?

A cake rusk is a twice-baked slice of butter cake. The cake is baked, cooled, cut into fingers and baked again at low heat until crunchy. It is eaten with tea across Pakistan and India, usually dipped.

How many calories are in 1 cake rusk?

One cake rusk has about 85 to 100 calories, depending on its size and recipe. A 16 g piece is around 87 kcal and a 21 g piece around 101 kcal, based on published commercial labels.

Can you make cake rusk without an oven?

You can bake the cake in a heavy pot on a bed of salt over low flame, but the second bake is the difficult part. Drying slices evenly on a tawa or in a pot without burning one side takes patience and a lot of flipping. An oven gives much more reliable results.

Why is my homemade cake rusk soft?

The second bake was too short, the oven was too hot so the outside browned before the inside dried, or the rusk was stored before it cooled. Put it back at 150°C for 10 minutes and let it cool fully on a rack.