Eggless Mawa Cake: If you take a closer look then you will find that most of the Indian desserts are made up of some of the common and popular items such as Cardamom, rose, and saffron. And these flavors are extremely common in Indian sweets such as burfi, ladoo, peda, etc, they are not very often used in cakes and pastries.
However, there is one cake that uses these flavors and is also quite popular in Indian people and that’s the Mawa Cake. This cake is very popular in Parsi and Iranian bakeries and cafes in Mumbai and Pune.
This is generally a cake that you can have during your tea, it is lightly sweetened and goes well with a cup of tea or coffee. And what’s more, you don’t even need any icing or frosting for this cake.
What is Mawa or Khoya?
Mawa or Khoya is made by cooking the milk until all the liquid dries off, commonly used in many Indian Sweet desserts. It is made of either whole milk or milk by heating till it becomes thick in a open pan. This entire process can take several hours! If you don’t have the patience to make it at home, then you can surely get it from the local store.
What is Mawa Cake
Mawa cake is made up of mawa/khoya which is nothing but milk solids and flavored with cardamom, saffron, rose petals and garnished with dry fruits.
Mawa is commonly used in most Indian sweets like gulab jamun, gujiya, Gajar ka Halawa etc. You can also make mawa using milk powder and cream, this is called the instant mawa. You can go for this if you can find a traditional mawa at the store or if it is unavailable with the store. This cake does not have its origin in India, but it was brought to India by immigrants and has been popular ever since. Below are the process and ingredient which you can use for making your Mawa cake.
Ingredients Details
Maida: This cake is entirely made from maida (All purpose flour)
If you want to add whole wheat flour, I would recommend adding only 50% and the rest 50% you can use maida (all-purpose flour).
Cardamom: This is the main flavoring spice for this cake. To get a good aroma make sure that you use a good quality cardamom powder. You can also add some cardamom essence to the cake but if you don’t have it then you can skip adding
Leavening agents: This recipe uses both baking powders as well as baking soda. The soda reacts with yogurt in the recipe which acts as a replacement for egg. Baking powder and baking soda help in making the cake rise and making it light.
Saffron: Adding this is on your personal choice and not compulsory.
Butter: I have used salt as well as unsalted butter, it all depends on your choice
Sugar: You have to use granulated white sugar (the one that we get in the US) or caster sugar in this recipe. The sugar that is available in India is not fine and hence you should pulse it a bit using your food processor and then use it in the recipe.
Mawa: Mawa or khoya is the key ingredient for this cake. You can either make it yourself or can purchase it from local stores.
Yogurt & milk: Those are the two liquid ingredients in the recipe. The yogurt reacts with soda to rise the cake.
Garnishes: For this, you can use cashews, pistachios, almonds.
Delicious Mawa Cake
Print RecipeIngredients
- 1 1/2 cups Maida or all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp each cashews, pistachios, almonds for garnishing
- 3/4 tsp Cardamom
- 1 tsp baking powder
- Saffron
- ½ cup (120 gm) butter
- 1 cup (150 gm) powdered sugar
- 3/4 cup Mawa or Khoya
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- Salt for taste
- 3/4 cup whole milk
Instructions
You have to Pre-heat the oven to 350 F degrees and spray an 8-inch round pan with baking spray and set it aside.
- In a large bowl you have to mix flour, cardamom powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. After mixing everything keep it aside.
- Using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer (or use your hand mixer), you have to beat butter with sugar and saffron strands (crushed) until creamy.
- Add some cardamom essence mix it again.
- After that add whisked plain yogurt and mix well.
- After that, you will have to add half of the flour mixture and mix until combined.
- It is then followed by all of the milk and then the remaining flour. Mix until it gets combined but do not over-mix.
- Put the crumbled mawa and mix it well
- After that transfer the mixture to the prepared 8-inch round pan. Put some chopped pistachios, slivered almonds, and some dried rose petals. Bake the cake at 350 F degrees for 45-50 minutes or until once you insert the toothpick in the center should come out clean. Once it is done you can transfer the entire cake on a wire rack to cool it. After this has cooled down, you can make a slice of mawa cake and serve them up with a cup of chai or coffee to your friends and family.
Now that you have got an idea as to how to make mawa cake, then it’s time to get up and make one for yourself.
