These cupcakes are inspired by six classic Indian biscuits – JimJam, Parle-G, 50-50, Little Hearts, Bourbon, and Hide & Seek. Made with simple vanilla and chocolate bases, these cupcakes are filled with flavors and nostalgia!
I’ve eaten all kinds of fancy cookies and biscuits from around the world, but nothing beats the simple, classic Indian biscuits. Every time I eat these biscuits, they remind me of the times I visited India as a kid, and my favorite uncles and aunts used to stock up all different kinds for me.
JimJams, Little Hearts, Hide & Seek, you name it, and a packet would appear out of thin air. So of course, these Indian biscuits have a special place in my heart, which is why I love turning them into desserts, and these cupcakes just might be my favorite biscuit-inspired desserts.
I’ve chosen six of my favorite classic Indian biscuits – JimJam, Parle-G, 50-50, Little Hearts, Bourbon, and Hide & Seek, and used them as flavor inspirations for cupcakes, and the result is not just delicious, it’s also playful and super nostalgic.
I’ve used two bases for these cupcakes – a chocolate-flavored cake base for the chocolate biscuits, and a simple vanilla base for the non-chocolate biscuits. With just two simple batters, you can make six different cupcake flavors inspired by your favorite Indian biscuits.
Let’s get into the details.
Chocolate Cupcake Base
The two chocolate biscuit-inspired flavors, Bourbon and Hide & Seek are made with a rich and delicious chocolate cupcake batter that comes together quickly in a single bowl. The recipe is super simple and can be made without any fancy equipment.
Here are the steps for making the chocolate cupcakes.
- In a bowl, add the dry ingredients – flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, coffee powder, and salt, and give them a quick whisk.
- Now add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients – brown and white sugar, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla, and mix until fully combined.
- Finally, add the hot water and whisk (carefully) and everything is fully combined. The water helps activate the cocoa powder and coffee in the batter, making it rich and even more delicious.
- Line a cupcake tray with cupcake liners. Place half a Bourbon biscuit in a few liners (for the Bourbon cupcake), and a whole Hide & Seek biscuit in a few liners (for the Hide & Seek Cupcake).
- Pour the batter on top of the biscuits, filling the liners 3/4th of the way. Don’t overfill or the batter will leak out of the liner.
- Bake the cupcakes for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center, and let them cool.
Vanilla Cupcake Base
Like the chocolate cupcakes, this vanilla cupcake batter also comes together in just one bowl and uses simple ingredients. It’s soft and fluffy and acts as a perfect base for the biscuit flavors.
Here are the steps for making the vanilla cupcakes.
- In a bowl, add the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk until combined
- Then add the wet ingredients – sugar, milk, egg, and vanilla essence and whisk until combined. You may have a few lumps in the batter at this step.
- Drizzle the melted butter on top and mix until fully combined. The batter should be smooth at this step.
- Line a cupcake tray with cupcake liners. Place whole JimJam cupcakes in a few liners, whole 50-50 biscuits in a few, and leave a few liners plain (for the Little Hearts and Parle-G cupcakes). Fill the cupcake liners 3/4th of the way.
- Bake the cupcakes for 10-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center, and let them cool. Do not overbake them or they will become dry.
Once both cupcakes are ready and cooled, you can move on to assembling them.
PSS: Here are some more biscuit-inspired recipes you’ll love!
- JimJam Cheesecake Ice Cream
- Hide & Seek Ice Cream Sandwiches
- Bourbon Brownies
- Little Hearts & Butterscotch Ice Cream
Bourbon Cupcakes
The Bourbon-inspired cupcakes are filled with chocolate cream and topped with a whipped chocolate ganache. And of course, let’s not forget the bourbon biscuit baked within the cupcake that provides extra flavor!
Here are the steps for filling the Bourbon cupcakes.
- Make the ganache: Place milk chocolate in a bowl with a little coffee powder. Top it with hot liquid whipping cream and let it sit for two minutes, allowing the chocolate to melt from the heat of the cream. Whisk until fully combined and you have a silky smooth ganache.
- Reserve some of the ganache to use as the filling, and chill the rest for a few hours, then whip it until it becomes creamy and stable enough to pipe.
- Fill the Bourbon with the reserved ganache, pipe the whipped ganache on top, and top it with half a bourbon biscuit.
Hide & Seek Biscuits
The Hide & Seek cupcakes have a biscuit baked within the cupcake, and are topped with a chocolate whipped cream with crunchy chocolate bits and another biscuit on top. The textures of this cupcake are absolutely perfect.
Here are the steps for filling the Hide & Seek cupcakes.
- Make the chocolate whipped cream: In a bowl, add the liquid whipping cream, icing sugar, and cocoa powder and whip until it reaches medium-stiff peaks. Drizzle melted chocolate on top (making sure it’s not hot), and place it into the fridge for 5-10 minutes (WITHOUT MIXING), until the chocolate sets. This will be easier if you drizzle the chocolate in thin lines instead of adding big dollops. Once the chocolate is set, give it one final whisk until the set chocolate breaks into smaller pieces and mixed with the whipped cream.
- Pipe the chocolate whipped cream on top of the Hide & Seek cupcakes and place a whole Hide & Seek biscuit on top to finish.
JimJam Cupcakes
These are definitely my favorite among all the flavors! The vanilla cupcake has a JimJam baked at the base and is filled with strawberry jam in the center and topped with a jam-swirl whipped cream and half a JimJam biscuit.
Here are the steps for filling the JimJam cupcakes.
- Make the whipping cream: Whip liquid whipping cream and icing sugar with an electric whisk until they reach medium-stiff peaks. Add a few dollops of jam into the cream and swirl it in, do not mix completely. Place the cream in a piping bag.
- Use a small round cookie cutter or the back of a large piping nozzle to make a hole in the center of the JimJam cupcake (make sure you’re using the ones with the JimJam baked in the bottom). Fill the center with any strawberry Jam of your choice, I like using Kissan for an extra Indian kick.
- Pipe the jam-swirl whipped cream on top and finish with half a JimJam biscuit.
Chai & Parle-G Cupcakes
The Parle-G cupcakes are soaked with chai and are topped with a masala whipped cream and Parle-G biscuit. They remind me of those chai & Parle-G moments and taste absolutely delicious!
Here are the steps for filling the Chai & Parle-G cupcakes.
- Make chai as you prefer to make it – make sure it’s sweetened. Do this before the cupcakes are baked. As soon as the cupcakes are baked, poke holes in one of the plain vanilla cupcakes and pour 2-3 tbsps of chai on it so that it absorbs the mixture well. Set aside to let it cool.
- Make the masala whipping cream: In a bowl, add the liquid whipping cream with icing sugar, cardamom powder, and cinnamon powder (or if you have chai masala, that would work best!). Whip until the cream reaches medium-stiff peaks.
- Once the cupcake is cooled, pipe the whipping cream on top and finish with a Parle-G biscuit.
50-50 Cupcakes
These sweet and salty cupcakes are one of my favorites. They have a 50-50 biscuit baked at the base of the cupcake and are topped with a 50-50 flavored whipping cream.
Here are the steps for filling the 50-50 cupcakes.
- Make the 50-50 whipped cream: In a bowl, add liquid whipping cream, icing sugar, and crushed 50-50 biscuits (make sure they are crushed finely, like a powder). Whip until the cream reaches medium-stiff peaks.
- Pipe the 50-50 cupcake with the whipped cream and finish with a 50-50 biscuit on top.
Little Hearts Cupcakes
Little Hearts always remind me of caramel, so these Little Hearts cupcakes are filled with a delicious, homemade caramel sauce, and are topped with sweet whipped cream and a Little Hearts biscuit,
Here are the steps for filling the Little Hearts cupcakes.
- Make the caramel: In a saucepan, add sugar and water and place it on medium heat. DO NOT STIR the mixture or it may crystalize. Let it cook for 5-10 minutes, swirling the pan every few minutes, until the mixture turns deep amber. Add the cream and whisk until fully combined and cook for 2 minutes, then take it off the heat, add butter and salt, and whisk until combined. Once the caramel has cooled slightly, blend to create a silky smooth texture. Let it cool completely before using.
- Make the whipped cream: In a bowl, add the liquid whipping cream and icing sugar and whip until it reaches medium-stuff peaks.
- Make a hole in the center of a plain vanilla cupcake and fill it with the caramel sauce. Top the cupcake with the sweet whipped cream and finish with a Little Hearts biscuit.
Two cupcake bases, six flavors, and each flavor is super simple to make! If you love Indian biscuits, these will make your heart super happy!
Ready to get started? Let’s go!
PS: I always measure ingredients in grams, never in cups. Using a measuring scale is the only way to bake accurately. Cups are unreliable and can give different measurements, so I suggest you buy a measuring scale before you start baking! If you can’t get your hands on one, you can use the online tools for converting grams into cups; however, I do not guarantee their accuracy.
Indian Biscuit-Inspired Cupcakes
Equipment
- 1 Cupcake baking tray
- 12 Cupcake liners
- Hand whisk
- Silicone spatulas
- Electric mixer with whisk attachment
- piping bags
- Saucepan
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcake Base (makes 8)
- 125 ml full-fat milk
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 120 grams all-purpose flour
- 100 grams white granulated sugar
- 100 grams packed brown sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 th tsp baking soda
- 38 gs cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp coffee powder
- 1 egg
- 60 ml neutral oil
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 125 ml boiling water
Vanilla Cupcake Base (makes 12)
- 250 grams all-purpose flour
- 125 grams granulated white sugar
- 10 grams baking powder
- 1/4th tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 75 grams butter melted
Bourbon Cupcakes
- 200 grams milk chocolate
- 100 ml liquid whipping cream/heavy cream
- 1 packet Bourbon biscuits
Hide & Seek Cupcakes
- 100 ml liquid whipping cream
- 30 grams icing sugar
- 20 grams cocoa powder
- 20 grams milk chocolate melted
- 1 packet Hide & Seek biscuits
JimJam Cupcakes
- 100 ml liquid whipping cream
- 30 grams icing sugar
- 100 grams strawberry jam for whipped cream swirl and for cupcake filling
- 1 packet JimJam biscuits
Chai & Parle-G Cupcakes
- 100 ml Indian chai prepared as per your preference
- 100 ml liquid whipping cream
- 30 grams icing sugar
- 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder or 1 tsp chai masala powder
- 1 packet Parle-G biscuits
50-50 Cupcakes
- 100 ml liquid whipping cream
- 30 grams icing sugar
- 30 grams 50-50 biscuits crushed finely
- 1 packet 50-50 biscuits
Little Hearts Cupcakes
- 25 ml water
- 100 grams white granulated sugar
- 90 ml liquid whipping cream
- 25 grams unsalted butter
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 100 ml liquid whipping cream for topping
- 30 ml icing sugar
- 1 packet Little Hearts biscuits
Instructions
Chocolate Cupcake Base
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, coffee powder, and salt.
- Add both sugars, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla to the dry ingredients, stirring until fully incorporated.
- Carefully whisk in hot water until the batter is smooth. This step enhances the chocolate and coffee flavors.
- Line a cupcake tray with liners. Place half a Bourbon biscuit in some liners and a whole Hide & Seek biscuit in others.
- Pour batter over the biscuits, filling each liner about ¾ full. Avoid overfilling.
- Bake at 175°C (350°F) for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely.
Vanilla Cupcake Base
- In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Add sugar, milk, egg, and vanilla, mixing until just combined (some lumps are okay).
- Pour in melted butter and whisk until the batter is smooth.
- Line a cupcake tray with liners. Add a whole JimJam biscuit to some, a 50-50 biscuit to others, and leave a few plain for different toppings.
- Fill liners ¾ full with batter and bake at 175°C (350°F) for 10-15 minutes. Do not overbake.
- Allow cupcakes to cool completely before assembling.
Bourbon Cupcakes
- Make the ganache: Pour hot cream over chopped milk chocolate with coffee powder. Let sit for 2 minutes, then whisk until smooth.
- Set aside some ganache for the filling. Chill the rest, then whip until light and fluffy.
- Fill cupcakes with ganache, pipe whipped ganache on top, and garnish with half a Bourbon biscuit.
Hide & Seek Cupcakes
- Make the chocolate whipped cream: Whip cream, icing sugar, and cocoa powder until medium-stiff peaks form.
- Drizzle melted (but not hot) chocolate over the cream and refrigerate for 5-10 minutes. Give a final whisk to incorporate the set chocolate into the whipped cream.
- Pipe onto cupcakes and top with a whole Hide & Seek biscuit.
JimJam Cupcakes
- Make the jam-infused whipped cream: Whip cream with icing sugar until medium-stiff peaks form. Swirl in the jam without fully mixing.
- Cut a hole in the center of each JimJam cupcake and fill it with strawberry jam. Pipe the jam-swirl whipped cream on top and finish with half a JimJam biscuit.
Chai & Parle-G Cupcakes
- Make the chai-soaked cupcake: Poke holes in a plain vanilla cupcake (as soon as they come out of the oven) and pour 2-3 tablespoons of sweetened chai over it. Let absorb and cool.
- Make the masala whipped cream: Whip cream with icing sugar, cardamom, and cinnamon (or chai masala powder) until medium-stiff peaks form.
- Pipe the whipped cream on top and garnish with a Parle-G biscuit.
50-50 Cupcakes
- Make the 50-50 whipped cream: Whip cream, icing sugar, and finely crushed 50-50 biscuits until medium-stiff peaks form. Pipe onto cupcakes and top with a 50-50 biscuit.
Little Hearts Cupcakes
- Make the caramel sauce: Heat sugar and water in a saucepan without stirring until deep amber. Add cream, whisk, and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, add butter and salt, and blend until smooth. Cool completely.
- Make the whipped cream: Whip cream and icing sugar until medium-stiff peaks form.
- Cut a hole in a plain vanilla cupcake, fill with caramel sauce, and pipe whipped cream on top. Finish with a Little Hearts biscuit.
Notes
Tips & Tricks
💡 Cupcake Baking Tips- Measure Ingredients Accurately – Use a kitchen scale for precise measurements, especially for flour and cocoa powder, to avoid dense cupcakes.
- Don’t Overmix – Overmixing the batter can lead to tough cupcakes. Mix just until the ingredients are combined.
- Fill Cupcake Liners Correctly – Only fill the liners ¾ full to prevent overflow while baking.
- Check for Doneness – Use a toothpick to test the center of the cupcakes. If it comes out clean or with a few crumbs, they’re done.
- Bloom Cocoa & Coffee – Hot water enhances the cocoa and coffee flavors, making the chocolate cupcakes richer.
- Smooth Ganache Every Time – If your ganache is too thick, warm it gently and whisk. If too thin, let it chill before whipping.
- Avoid Grainy Whipped Ganache – Make sure the ganache is completely chilled before whipping to achieve a stable texture.
- Stabilize Whipped Cream – To prevent frosting from deflating, chill the bowl and whisk before whipping.
- Jam Swirl Perfection – Swirl jam into whipped cream instead of fully mixing for a beautiful marbled effect.
- Chai Infusion Tip – Pour chai onto warm cupcakes so they absorb the flavor better. Avoid adding too much liquid to prevent sogginess.
- Crunchy Biscuit Garnishes – Add biscuits on top of the cupcakes just before serving to keep them crisp.
- Pre-Crush for Smooth Frosting – When using biscuits in whipped cream (like 50-50 cupcakes), crush them into a fine powder to avoid clogging piping tips.
- Patience is Key – Don’t stir the sugar-water mixture while making caramel or it may crystallize. Swirl the pan instead.
- Cool Before Using – Ensure caramel has cooled before filling cupcakes to prevent it from soaking into the cake too much.
These cupcakes really feel like my childhood in a box, and they taste absolutely delicious. If you make these for your desi friends, they will love you even more!
If you give this recipe a try, don’t forget to let me know how you liked it in the comments. And of course, share it with me on Instagram.
Until next time!
