Mawa/khoya Cake

Last Sunday when I made this mawa cake for hubby’s friend, little did I know that this would the best and the most delicious cake I have ever made. Some things really make you feel proud of yourself and this cake was one such. Extremely flavourful, soft and delicious. Moreover, who says cakes without eggs

can’t be soft and moist. As always this was not a very sweet cake and if you like very sweet ones, you can add 1-2 tablespoon more of sugar.

I already have an eggless mawa/khoya cake in my blog which was equally good and flavourful. I have used home made condensed milk in that version. This time I have not used any condensed milk. But have used some thick fresh cream, curd and increased the quantity of milk powder as compared to the previous recipe. I love the look of fine pistachio slivers on top of this cake. Pistachios make it look more pretty than almond slivers, according to me.

Always make sure to use fresh khoya/mawa in this cake. It would be all the more nice if you make your own mawa. Please click here for a detailed recipe on how to make khoya/mawa at home. I got around 225-230 grams of khoya from a litre of full cream milk. Making it at home proves to be much cheaper and better than store bought ones. Yes, you need to burn some fuel and spend some time in front of your stove stirring them. But trust me, the end product is going to be brilliant.

Make sure to use the thick part of the fresh cream. Here, I have used the standard blue packet of Amul fresh cream. Also, ensure that your curd is not too sour and fresh. Use all ingredients at room temperature. Butter should not be melted. Use fresh cardamom powder. You can powder them along with the sugar. Sieve the flour, milk powder, salt and rising agents 2-3 times. I have used my 240 ml cup. If you try them, please share your feedback. Happy baking. Btw, this is a perfect cake for this festive season. If you are wondering what I did with the remaining khoya… Well, stay tuned for a delicious gulab jamun recipe soon in the blog 🙂 Another apt cake for this time of the year would be a Rasmalai cake, frosted with saffron infused whipping cream and fresh homemade rasmalai and generously filled with cream and rasmalai pieces. So, what are you guys waiting for? Grab your apron and get baking.  Happy festive wishes to all my readers.

Ingredients:

• All purpose flour 175 gm
• Salt a pinch
• Sugar 150 gm
• Butter 75 gm
• Khoya/mawa 100 gm
• Milk powder 4 tbsp
• Baking powder 1 tsp
• Baking soda 1/4 tsp
• Fresh cream 1/4 cup (60 ml)
• Curd 1/4 cup (60 ml)
• Milk 3/4 cup (180 ml)
• Cardamom powder 1 tsp

Method:

• Preheat your oven at 150-160 degree Celsius for atleast 10 minutes.
• Sieve the flour, salt, milk powder, baking powder and baking soda 2-3 times and keep aside.
• Grease an eight inches cake tin with butter and dust it with flour. Tap out the excess flour.
• However, I have used one six inch tin, a small loaf tin and 2 silicon cupcake mould for the above measurements.
• Powder the sugar along with few cardamom pods.
• In a big mixing bowl cream the butter and powdered sugar till its pale in colour and soft and fluffy.

• Now add milk, thick non sour curd and fresh cream and mix well.
• Now add the khoya/mawa to this mixture and blend well. Make sure there are no lumps or granular pieces of the khoya. You can grate the khoya and add.

• Now add the dry ingredients slowly into the liquid mixture and fold it gently. Do not overmix.

• Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and tap it 2-3 times to remove air bubbles if any.
• Sprinkle finely chopped slivers of pistachios on top.

• Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes or till the top looks golden. You can also check if an inserted toothpick in the centre comes out clean.
• Remove the tin from the oven and allow the cake to cool in the tin for atleast 4-5 minutes.

• Now gently transfer the cake onto a cooling rack and cool it completely.

• Slice and serve to your loved ones. Yummy and flavourful mawa cake is ready.

Notes:

• With the above measurements, you can make a tall eight inch cake. I have made a six inch cake, 2 small cupcakes and a mini loaf cake.
• Each oven behaves differently, so please adjust the timings and temperature accordingly.
• I bake all my cakes at 150-160 degree Celsius. You may choose to bake at 175 or 180 degree Celsius. The top of the cake shoukd have a nice golden colour.
• Please check your cake after 30-35 minutes.
• Please do not open your oven during the first 25-30 minutes of baking. Place your cake tin in the middle rack of your oven.
• I place it either in the middle or the fourth from top of my oven. My cooking range has five racks.
• Do not overmix the batter. Use fresh mawa. Preferably, use home made mawa. If going for store bought ones, please use unsweetened and really fresh ones.
• This cake tastes much better the next day, when the entire flavour of cardamom and mawa is absorbed by the cake.
• Allow the cake to cool well before you slice them.