1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees C.
2. Grease a 8 inch by 8 inch baking dish with butter and dust lightly with flour.
3. Soak ½ teaspoon Vilay Saffron threads in 1 tablespoon hot water (for cake).
4. For the Cake: Sift all-purpose flour and baking powder together. Beat butter and sugar for almost 5 to 7 minutes till it doubles and turns creamy. Then add vanilla essence and soaked saffron to the batter and whisk well.
5. Now add the flour mixture little by little and mixing gently to form a slack cake batter. Do not over mix. Pour the batter and spread evenly into the greased baking dish. Bake for 25 minutes and check if the cake is done by inserting a knife in the center of the cake. It should come out clean and the cake is baked. Cool to room temperature and make deep holes with the help of a wooden skewer. This is done so that the soaking milk is absorbed by the cake.
6. For soaking milk: Mix together milk, condensed milk, and cream in a saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside till the soaking milk comes to room temperature. Then pour half or little less (1 cup approx) of soaking milk over the cooled cake. Reserve half of the soaking milk for serving later.
7. For the topping: Place the cream or whipping cream in the refrigerator so that it is chilled while whisking. Now using a cake beater, whip the chilled cream for about 5 to 7 minutes till it thickens. Then add icing sugar and whisk till the sugar is well blended with the cream (do not overmix).
8. spread the topping over the soaked cake evenly and refrigerate the cake for 4 to 5 hours.
9. To serve: Cut the cake into neat squares and place each piece into a deep serving bowl. Pour 3 or 4 tablespoons of soaking milk into the serving dish and serve.