Light, soft and irresistibly delicious eggless sooji mawa cake with rose and cardamom flavours is pure bliss! This recipe of sooji mawa cake is simple, easy and pantry friendly too. Mawa brings rich taste and amazing texture in this sooji cake. This melt-in-mouth sooji cake is perfect sweet treat for any occasion.
Looking for eggless cakes? Then, check my Gingerbread Loaf Cake, Eggless Chocolate Chunk Cake and Eggless Black Forest Cake (In Idli Cooker), Eggless Mango Cake
About This Recipe
If you are looking for simple cake recipe or easy cake recipe with few ingredients, then this one is for you. You can easily make this sooji mawa cake with pantry staples. This sooji mawa cake is Indian version of Mediterranean semolina cake Basbousa.
There are many variations of sooji cake available on internet. The recipe I am sharing with you today is very much tried and tested by me. Sooji cake is one of the popular tea-time cake recipe in South India.
During first Ramadan, after marriage, my husband bought this sooji cake from Iyengar bakery. I fell in love with the aroma, taste and porous texture of the cake.
The cake was light, airy and rich. Upon asking, he said – this is sooji cake, a speciality of Iyengar bakery. Over the years, I tried many recipes but none was giving me the desired results.
Finally, after lot of trying and testing, I came up with this recipe of eggless sooji mawa cake. If you are a regular reader of my blog, then you know my obsession for eggless cakes. So, here is an easy yet delightful homemade sooji cake recipe.
Eggless Sooji Mawa Cake
With the aromatic flavours of rose essence and cardamom powder, this sooji cake is a charm. You need no fancy ingredients to make this cake. Even though, you have no prior experience in baking, you can easily bake this cake with ease.
The richness in sooji cake is from mawa. Mawa adds taste and texture. The combination of rose essence, cardamom powder and mawa works wonders in this cake.
Sooji cakes are different in texture than regular flour cakes. They have porous and light texture. Use fine semolina to get perfect sooji cake.
Sooji cake is best tea-time snack. You can even pack this in snack box for office and school.
Eggless Sooji Mawa Cake Ingredients
Sooji | Suji | Rava | Semolina | Bombay Rava – Use fine variety sooji. Better to use unroasted variety of sooji for making this cake. The total texture of the cake depends on semolina.
If you are not having fine variety of sooji, then pulse the sooji for a second and use it.
As there are different names for sooji, depending on place this sooji cake is also called by different names like, Rava Mawa Cake, Rawa Mawa Cake, Suji Mawa Cake, Semolina Mawa Cake, etc.
Mawa – This is easily available in grocery stores. Check in freezer section. You can even order online too. More on this in recipe notes below.
Curd – Is the best egg replacer. I always prefer using homemade curd. The combination of curd and baking powder will give a good airation to the cake batter. Instead of curd, you can use yogurt too.
Butter – Helps in bringing richness and tenderness in cake. You can easily substitute this with any flavourless oil like refined sunflower or rice bran oil. I never tried making sooji cake with oil. When I try one, I will surely make a post of it.
Sugar – Yet another main ingredient in making sooji cake. Use castor or fine sugar. These are easily available in grocery stores. Castor or fine sugar is mainly used in baking because, when we mix sugar and butter, the mixture should turn creamy.
If you have granulated sugar at home, then make a dry coarse powder of it in a mixer. If the sugar and butter are not mixed well, then the cake can turn gritty and chunky.
Milk – Keeps the batter moist, adds color and flavour.
Rose Essence – Adding rose essence is purely optional. But, if you have it at home, add few drops to the cake batter. Rose essence will bring delicate floral aroma which wonderfully compliments the aroma of cardamom and nutty taste of mawa.
Cardamom Powder – The intense and slightly sweet aroma and flavour of cardamom powder will bring, warmth and sweetness in sooji cake. Check recipe notes below for homemade cardamom powder recipe.
Other Ingredients
Baking Powder – Helps in increasing the volume and lightens the texture of cake.
Pistachios & Rose Petals – Perfect for garnish. You can use almonds and cashews too.
NOTE: When baking, it is important to use the ingredients which are at room temperature. If curd, butter and mawa are in fridge, then take them out and leave them on kitchen counter for at least 30 minutes, prior to baking.
Recipe Notes
What Is Mawa?
Khoa | Khoya | Khowa are different names of mawa. Mawa is a dairy product widely used in Indian savory and sweet recipes.
Traditionally, mawa is made by boiling full cream milk in a pan without lid. Once the milk starts to boil, reduce the flame and leave to boil. Time to time scrap the sides and bottom of the pan till milk is reduced to 20% of its consistency.
My dad use to say, mawa is a savory product and khoya is a sweet product. Generally for curries and cakes mawa is preferred.
Mawa is creamy in color, grainy in texture and mild nutty in taste.
Can I Substitute Mawa with Milk Powder?
Yes, you can but there is a difference in the taste and texture of sooji cake.
How To Store Sooji Mawa Cake?
Store leftover cake in a clean and dry air tight moisture free box. Stays fresh for 2 days. You can even refrigerate the cake and re-heat it in microwave before serving.
How To Make Cardamom Powder?
In a warm pan, dry roast handful of cardamom for 2-3 minutes on low flame.
Leave to cool completely. Remove the shell and add these cardamom pods to a mixer or spice jar.
Grind till smooth. Store this in a clean and dry moisture free jar. You can refrigerate cardamom powder in a clean and dry moisture free aroma lock jar.
Upon refrigeration cardamom powder stays fresh for 5-6 months.
I sometimes add 2 tsbp. of sugar to pods and grind. This will help in getting fine cardamom powder.
Instant Cardamom Powder
If you want to powder only 2-3 cardamom pods then remove the shell and add the pods to mortar and pestle. Using pestle grind and make a smooth powder. Add as required.
Recommended,
Mango Semolina Cake (Microwave Version, Ready in just 1 minute)
Sooji ki Kheer – Rich and creamy Indian dessert with semolina.
Thari Kanji – Kerala style semolina dessert recipe.
Tharikachiyath – Tempered semolina milk
Eggless Sooji Mawa Cake Recipe
Light, soft and irresistibly delicious eggless mawa cake with rose and cardamom flavours is pure bliss! This recipe of sooji mawa cake is simple, easy and pantry friendly too. Mawa brings rich taste and amazing texture in this sooji cake. This melt-in-mouth sooji cake is perfect sweet treat for any occasion.
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups Fine Sooji | Rava | Semolina
- ¾ cup Mawa, at room temperature
- ½ cup unsalted Butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup Milk, at room temperature
- ½ cup Curd, at room temperature
- ¾ cup fine Sugar | Castor Sugar
- 1½ tsp. Baking powder
- ½ tsp. Cardamom powder
- 1 tsp. Rose essence
Garnish
- 10 Pistachios, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp. dried Rose petals, optional
Instructions
How To Make Eggless Sooji Mawa Cake Recipe
Step 1: Prepare Cardamom Powder
If cardamom powder is not readily available at home, then check the post for instant cardamom powder recipe.
Prepare and set aside.
Step 2: Pre-Heat and Line The Loaf Tin
Line the cake tin with butter paper.
Or alternatively, you can brush the inside of the loaf tin with butter and then sprinkle some flour over it.
Coat the insides of the cake tin with flour. Tap the cake tin, upside down to remove excess flour.
Now, pre-heat the oven on 180°C for 10 minutes.
Step 3: Combine Curd and Baking Powder
In a bowl add curd, whisk until lump-free, To this add baking powder.
Set this aside.
Step 4: Combine Wet Ingredients
In a bowl add butter and sugar. Whisk until smooth and creamy.
To this add above curd and baking powder mixture.
Combine well. Now add milk, mawa, rose essence and cardamom powder. Combine and set aside.
Step 5: Add Sooji (Semolina)
Now combine fine sooji with the above mix. Whisk until smooth and well combined.
Step 6: Baking
Slowly pour the batter in the prepared cake tin.
Spread the batter evenly. Tap the cake tin gently on the kitchen counter.
Sprinkle finely chopped pistachios or any nuts of your choice. Using a spatula, press them gently in the batter.
Place the cake tin in pre-heated oven and bake for 40-45 minutes on 180°C or till skewer comes out clean.
Step 7: Cooling
Once the skewer comes out clean, remove the cake tin from oven and place it on the cooling rack to cool.
After 10 minutes, run the knife along the sides of the cake tin and flip the cake on a plate.
Leave the cake to cool completely before serving.
Add love to make this Eggless Sooji Mawa Cake taste 'Yummy'.
Notes
Serving Sooji Mawa Cake
As you can see, I have baked this sooji mawa cake in ramekins and in a square cake tin.
For sooji cake baked in ramekins, I just ran a knife along the sides and served directly with ramekins.
For the one in the cake tin, I cutted it into equal pieces and served.
You can serve sooji mawa cake with evening tea or coffee.
Sooji mawa cake is the best after meal dessert too. Perfect for festivals like Holi, Diwali, Eid, etc.; and best to celebrate events like kitty party and weekend family gatherings.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 208Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 91mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 1gSugar: 16gProtein: 4g
The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
Christina says
That cake looks so incredibly moist and delicious! I’d love to try that sometime.
Kushigalu says
This sooji mawa cake looks gorgeous. Thanks for the recipe.
Ned says
What a delicious cake! Thank you for the great recipe!
Stephanie says
My father was allergic to eggs and he would have certainly loved this! There were very few baked goods he could eat.
Sweta Sinha says
Which inches cake container is good for baking this all measurements .
lubnakarim06 says
I used Borosil Rectangular Dish of 240 x 145 x 35 mm.