Eggless Gulab Jamun Cake - my cake version take on the ubiquitous and popular Indian sweet Gulab Jamun! This is a scrumptious cake with the flavors of gulab jamun (a deep-fried milk-based Indian sweet or dessert soaked in sugar syrup) but without the extra sugar, fat or guilt of eating something tasty and high in calories!!! Becoming a food blogger has widened my social circles and being a part of different foodie groups has exposed me to many fellow bloggers out there with similar interests as mine. While browsing through one such group, I happened to come across this recipe mentioning gulab jamun and cake in the same dish!!! An obsessive baker that I am, it intrigued me to no end that an exotic sweet like gulab jamun can metamorphose itself into a cake using whole wheat flour and eggless to boot!! I had to try it and especially with 2 packets of Gulab Jamun mix (these are available at any Indian grocery store) lying in my pantry always, there was no excuse to not make it!! In about 15 minutes, the cake was in the oven and after 40 minutes of agonizing wait, the house was filled with the aroma of gulab jamuns. I got my first bite, and voila, the taste and texture floored me! Flavors of gulab jamun but in a cake and without the guilt of eating a deep fried, calorie-laden sweet!
The only change I did from the original recipe was I substituted sour milk for regular milk. In my adventures in baking, I have found that using sour milk (regular milk with vinegar) instead of regular milk gives most cakes a fluffier consistency. You can choose to use just regular milk too. If you do not have gulab jamun mix, you can just flour and milk powder instead to make this cake. Instructions in main recipe notes. The best part in making this cake is it is eggless/egg free and needs no heavy equipment or mixer to mix. Do try this today and I am sure you and your family too will love it and it will become a favorite in your house too!!
FOR THE SWEET TOOTH IN YOU (with syrup):
For Diwali 2023, I decided to make this cake again albeit soaking it a little with some sugar syrup (again, using extra sugar syrup on top is optional) and in my favorite pan, a 6-cup Bundt cake pan!
Using the same recipe, I baked the cake in a well greased (with ghee) 7-inch Bundt pan and baked for 30 minutes (Or until you see a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. If using a Bundt pan, make sure to grease every nook and crevice of the pan with butter or ghee for easy demolding. (For a lovely saffron color for the cake, I crushed some saffron strands and soaked them in a bit of the milk used in the recipe. Added it along with the rest of the wet ingredients to the cake batter).
Meanwhile make a sugar syrup (1:1 water to sugar) with a few saffron strands. Dissolve sugar and simmer for 5 minutes. When the cake is done, remove from oven, let stay in pan 10 minutes and then demold it on to a cooling wire rack. Poke small holes in the cake and gently spoon sugar syrup over the cake. Use just about 4-5 tablespoons only. Too much and the cake will soak up and become mushy. Again, drizzling syrup on top is totally optional. The cake by itself is quite sweet enough for our palette; not too sweet, yet sweet enough. Garnish with nuts (I have used pumpkin seeds) and dried rose petals, let cool completely, slice and enjoy.
Serve plain slices or if preferred drizzled with more sugar syrup on top!
Using the gulab jamun mix (any brand), how about trying making them into doughnuts!
Recipe here:
Gulab Jamun Donuts…
Enjoy and Happy Diwali 2023!
Other cakes you can try from my blog are :
Rose and Pistachio Gulab Jamun Cake (no premix required) Eggless Chocolate Beetroot Cake, Healthy Muesli/Oats Banana Muffins Eggless Dates and Cashew Cake etc.
Step by step method given below. Cook Time: 30 minutes
¾ cup Gulab Jamun mix ¾ cup whole wheat flour ¾ cup powdered sugar 1 cup room temperature milk 1 tablespoon vinegar ¼ cup oil (I have used vegetable oil) ½ teaspoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon baking soda Pinch of salt ½ to 1 teaspoon cardamom powder 2 tablespoons chopped or sliced almonds for garnishing
Instructions Notes I have found that using sour milk instead of regular milk gives a fluffier consistency to many cakes. You can choose to use just regular milk instead. If you do not like the flavor of cardamoms, you can use 1 teaspoon vanilla essence/extract instead. Use any kind of nuts and for a crunch in every bite, stir in some nuts in the batter!!! For people with nut allergies, you can omit the nuts. Gulab Jamun mix is basically milk powder with a little flour and baking soda, so you can substitute the mix with 1/2 cup milk powder, increase the whole wheat flour to 1 cup and baking soda to 1/2 teaspoon. Comes out amazing too, as vouched for by one of my readers!
Step-by-step method to make Gulab Jamun Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 180 degrees Centigrade. Grease and flour or line with foil/parchment paper an 8x8 inch pan. Keep aside. First, we have to make the sour milk. In a small bowl, mix the milk and vinegar and let stand for about 5 minutes. You will notice that the milk would have curdled a bit. This is sour milk. You can skip this step and use just milk if preferred but I find sour milk adds a bit of softness to any cake.
In a large mixing bowl, sift the gulab jamun mix, wheat flour, powdered sugar, salt, cardamom powder, baking powder and baking soda at least once or twice to mix thoroughly. You can use a wire whisk to mix it too.
To the flour mixture, add the sour milk/milk and oil. Fold gently to mix thoroughly. Do not over mix or your cake will become dense; we want a light and fluffy cake.
Gently pour into the prepared pan and smoothen the top with a spatula to level the batter. Sprinkle the nuts on top.
Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and rest in pan for about 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, remove from pan and place on cooling rack to cool completely.
Serve this delicious and amazing eggless cake with the flavors of your favorite gulab jam guilt-free to your family and friends (after taking a bite of it yourself first!!!).
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