Rose Gulab jamun Rava Cake (Semolina cake with Rose and Gulab jamun flavor)

Hello friends, I am back with another successful kitchen experiment (yay). Rose Gulab Jamun Rava Cake or Semolina cake with Rose and Gulab jamun flavor!!! This cake is egg-less, flour-less and 100% vegetarian.We had a potluck where it was decided to get some cake for kids and other adults who do not usually go for Indian desserts. After browsing through many recipes of Gulab Jamun cake, I wanted to try something novel, so decided to add rose flavor along with Gulab jamun flavor and semolina instead of the traditional cake flour.

Friends, the aroma wafting through the whole house while baking the cake bought both my kids to the kitchen and they could not wait to try it. I can assure you that it is really easy peasy to make. If you are new to baking, this will be a good cake to try.

So here is the recipe. 

Ingredients: For cake: Very fine semolina (unroasted) - 2.5 cups , whole milk - 2.5 cups, yogurt whisked and at room temp - 3/4th cup, salt - 1/8th tsp, oil (unflavored)- 1/3rd cup, powdered sugar - 2.5 cups (Adjust per taste) plus some for cake decor, gulab jamun mix - 1.5 cup, rose essence - 3 tsp, cardamon powder - 3 tsp, baking powder - 1.5 tsp, baking soda - 3/4th tsp. For Syrup: 1/3 cup water, 1/3 cup sugar, cardamon powder - 1 tsp, rose essence - 1/2 tsp.

Method: For Cake: Heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Meanwhile, sieve the semolina along with gulab jamun mix and powdered sugar. Warm the milk and add room temp whisked yogurt to it and whisk together. Slowly add to the sieved semolina mix and stir. Check the consistency. If too thick, add more warm milk to thin it. Add the cardamom powder, rose essence, oil, baking powder and baking soda and mix. Pour it in a baking pan (I used a 9 x 16 inch rectangular tray to bake.) and put in 350 degree F oven to bake for 35-40 minutes. Take it out and check if done by inserting a knife into the cake. If it comes out clean, it is done. 
For Syrup: Take a pan and add sugar and water and boil for 8-10 minutes till the syrup turns into 1 string consistency. Add cardamom powder and rose essence and mix. Drizzle on top of the warm cake. Drizzle powdered sugar on top of the cake. Cut into pieces and enjoy!!! Needless to say that my whole family fell in love with this novel cake and I am sure yours' will too :)

Here is a picture of my cake right out of the oven and the other one is sliced and ready to eat:

Till my next post everyone, take care.

Notes: 
1. Check for sweetness when you mix the batter (adjust sugar per your taste). Remember that you are drizzling sugar syrup on the cake too.
2. You can grind and add almond or cashew powder and also some saffron to the cake. I forgot to add this time but would surely do it the next time.

Water Chestnut Flour (Shingada), Almonds, Walnut and Date Cake (Sugar and Egg free)

Recently we celebrated my mom's birthday. She is a diabetic and can no longer enjoy sweet desserts. All through our growing years, she unfailingly and enthusiastically baked a variety of delicious cakes for us at home. So, I wanted to do something for her this time around. So I literally thought of all healthy things she could eat and baked them into a cake, and that is how this cake was created :) It is diabetic friendly: sugar free, gluten free, and egg free (vegetarian friendly) healthy cake.

Ingredients: Water Chestnut Flour (Shingada or Singoda): 1 cup, Almonds: 5-10, walnuts: 5-10, dates: about 20-25, yogurt: 1 tbsp, baking soda: 1/2 tsp, baking powder: 1 tsp, vanilla essence: 2 tsp, cardamoms: 5-6 pods crushed (optional).

Procedure: Soak Almonds, walnuts and dates in milk for about an hour. Grind to a fine paste (along with the milk they were soaked in - remove excess milk  while grinding - it should be about 3/4th cup while grinding). Grease a baking pan. Sift the Water Chestnut Flour (Shingada or Singoda), add baking powder and ground paste and yogurt. Mix thoroughly. Add vanilla essence and crushed cardamom pods (optional) and mix. Now add baking soda. Mix well and pour into greased pan (I used a loaf pan) and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35-40 mins. Insert toothpick and check if the cake is done. If not bake for additional 5 mins on 300 degrees F. Let it cool. When the sides of the cake start leaving the pan, flip it over in a flat dish. Cake is ready to enjoy.

Tip: This cake can be made with sugar too if desired for non-diabetic people. It is really healthy. You can add 1/4th cup sugar or 1/2 cup condensed milk since it already has dates. Adjust sugar/condensed milk quantity as per desired level of sweetness. 

Till my next post, take care everyone.

Angry Birds Cake!!

After a long time, Hello again everyone. I have started working and hence not able to devote time for the blog. I will definitely try to be regular from now on......

Anyhow, coming to today's post, I just wanted to share a birthday cake I made for my younger one. My kids are huge angry birds fans! So when it was time for the birthday cake, it was a no brainer - Angry Birds Cake of course :))

I wanted to keep it simple, so took advantage of the ready made cake mix. The cake itself is Pillsbury Funfetti flavor cake and I decorated it with frosting. Added green food color for the background and used marshmallows to create the birds and the pig. They are colored with food colors and I also used various candies for eyes, crest, feathers and eggs. The grass is dessicated coconut colored with food color.

The expression on my little one's face after seeing this cake was priceless :))

Till my next post, take care everyone.........

Banana, Coconut and Coffee Cake

Normally I don't like to bake. But one rainy day when I had nothing better to do, I decided to try this recipe. I added bananas, coconut and coffee to the original plain cake recipe I got from a magazine long ago (have the cutting but not the name, sorry) and it turned out to be really good!  I also substituted whole wheat flour for the all purpose flour. The aroma filled the whole house and the warm just baked cake tasted divine with tea. Surprisingly the flavors of all ingredients blended in with each other really well.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick melted unsalted butter
3 mashed bananas (ripe)
1/4 cup dessicated coconut

2 tsp Instant Coffee Powder
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Procedure:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, coffee powder and salt. Add butter, mashed bananas, dessicated coconut, eggs, and vanilla. Stir and mix thoroughly, I did it with a hand mixer. Pour in a greased 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Line the baking pan with parchment paper so the cake comes out clean. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Insert a knife in the center of the cake, if it comes out clean that means the cake is done. Enjoy!!

This also looks like a perfect recipe to send to: A Veggie/Fruit a month Event originally started by Priya of Mharo Rajasthan's Recipes who also happens to host it this month!!

This recipe also goes to Easy and Tasty Recipe's HCC (Healthy Cooking Challenge) -Bakes originally started by Smitha.