So it is the husband’s birthday today and I have a special treat of a recipe to share – Eggless Gulab Jamun Cake. I love baking and I bake eggless cakes and goodies throughout the year. But then, I make just one celebration cake every year and that’s for the husband’s birthday. The thought of frosting & decorating a cake still is haunting to me. I have come a long way, but I also know that I have a long way to go 🙂 Couple of years back, I made Eggless Rasmalai Cake and that was my first fusion cake recipe. Last year, after a lot of deliberation I went with Eggless Red Velvet Cake. Both the cakes were really good and that also somehow set the bar higher for this year.
I had my mind set on yet another popular fusion cake with traditional Indian flavors for this year, but I was also equally tempted by the prospect of making a frosted coffee flavored cake like Eggless Tiramisu Cake. You know, when you want something to happen the universe sometimes conspires in bringing everything together. The husband came home with a pack of fresh unsweetened khoya/khova from his last grocery run. Apparently, he was craving for homemade Gulab Jamuns and when he saw the pack, he picked it up. That’s it. A plan was hatching at the back of my mind. I wanted to surprise him not only with his favorite Indian sweet of Gulab Jamuns, I wanted to go an extra step and make an Eggless Gulab Jamun Cake.
Fusion cakes are all the rage now, with every possible Indian sweet flavored cake being sold in patisseries. When I decided to make Eggless Gulab Jamun cake, I realized that it is the most sought after, apart from the Ras Malai Cake. And there are a lot of recipes on the Google, some using ready-to-use Gulab Jamun flour to make the cake and some adding ready-to-eat gulab jamuns decorated on a regular vanilla cake. For authentic taste, I chose to make my own Gulab Jamuns at home. Growing up, birthdays meant homemade Gulab Jamuns and how can I let this year skip by without making some?!
So, what goes into Eggless Gulab Jamun Cake?
The cake base is made similar to that of my Rasmalai Cake, with classic Indian flavor of cardamom. I used vanilla extract along with fresh cardamom powder to flavor my cake and it is best recipe! The cake turns really moist, stays great in the fridge without losing freshness even for a week and slices beautifully. I used Eggless Ermine Frosting in Rose flavor – it is the boiled butter cream frosting, which is very light and airy. While whipped cream frosting can also be used, I preferred to use this simple rose flavored ermine frosting which turned out wonderful! So very light and at the time, delicious too.
Between the layers of my cake, I placed cut homemade gulab jamun slices. The cakes are drizzled with gulab jamun syrup too. And decorated the top of the cake with sliced jamuns. I preferred to keep the frosting to the bare minimum and used slivered pistachios & almonds all over the cake. This added another texture to this beautiful Indian flavored fusion cake. Do try this cake next time when you have a celebration at home! I can guarantee that you will end up pleasing your family immensely 🙂
How to make Eggless Gulab Jamun Cake
📖 Recipe
Detailed step-wise picture recipe of making Eggless Gulab Jamun Cake
Preheat oven at 180°C for 10-12 mins and grease, line two 6” round baking pans with parchment paper.
In a mixing bowl, add all dry ingredients – all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix it really well. It could be sieved as well.
In another mixing bowl, add the rest of the ingredients – milk, curd, oil, vanilla/almond extract and sugar.
Mix the ingredients with a whisk until the sugar has dissolved.
Now make a well at the center of the dry ingredients and add the wet mixture.
Fold it in gently such that there are no lumps. Next add cardamom powder and mix it in.
Pour the batter equally into the greased, lined baking pans.
Bake at 180°C for 30-35 mins until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven. Rest them for 5 mins and then invert the cakes & remove the parchment paper. Let them cool down completely.
Trim the tops off the cake to make it even (optional). Poke ½ an inch holes using a skewer all over the cake and brush liberally with Gulab Jamun Syrup (Rose flavored Sugar Syrup used to soak jamuns)all over the cake.
Spread a layer of the rose flavored boiled butter cream evenly on the cake.
Now placed sliced and cut gulab jamuns all over the cake.
Place the other cake and apply a layer of cream on the top as well as the sides.
Decorate with gulab jamun (sliced/full) and sprinkle finely chopped pistachios & almonds all over. Chill it until ready to serve. Stores well in the fridge for 4-5 days.
Recipe Notes
This makes two 6” cakes or one 7” or 8” round cake. I didn’t want the hassle of cutting through the cake at the center and just used two pans. Instead of the boiled butter cream frosting or ermine frosting, you can also use whipping cream (both non-dairy whipping cream powder or dairy based whipping cream) I used just enough frosting to cream the cake as we are not big on frosting as such. You can increase the amount of frosting depending on the preference. For the rose flavored Boiled Butter Cream Frosting, I added ½ teaspoon of rose water after whipping the butter cream to incorporate rose flavor.
I would be delighted to know if you have tried this recipe, don’t forget to share your feedback and comments below. If you have any questions, you can e-mail me! I am also available on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter 🙂
