You could use readymade mawa or make instant khoya at home using milk powder to use in this recipe. Even, just milk powder works too! Mawa cake belongs to utterly charming Irani cafes of Bombay. Irani cafes were started by Parsi community (an ethnic community with ancestral roots in Persia) in the city. They brought along their cuisine to the subcontinent, Irani cafes are known for their baked goods & breakfast along with the famous sweet irani chai. No surprise, mawa cake is a perfect bite at tea time. I was introduced to this cake during my stay for a couple of years in Pune when I discovered the wonderful Kayani bakery on MG road. This is a amazing cake recipe perfect for festivals, holidays and beyond. It is my little tradition to use leftover mawa after making gujiyas on Holi to bake this mawa cake.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
It is super simple & basic cake recipe. It is a buttery cake which is perfect for snacking, as a dessert or with tea. This cake is not overly sweet. One of my favorite things about it. Since the cake is quite dense and super rich, a small slice will satisfy you. This cake is good as it is, you don’t need to cover it in frosting. You can turn this recipe into individual cupcakes, loaf cake or mawa mini cakes. My recipe is with eggs. Firstly, I feel that eggs provide the richness to the crumb which cannot be replicated using other ingredients. Secondly, mawa cake is decadent and dense and eggs add structure to the cake. However since few of my readers are pure vegetarian, later in the post I have added a note for egg free version for you to try.
What Is Mawa?
Mawa/Mava or Khoya is dried evaporated milk solids which is used extensively in making indian sweets. The traditional process of making mawa is long and time consuming.Milk is slow cooked with constant stirring until all the water content of milk has evaporated and the milk solids remain.The milk solids are pretty delicious and are used in making sweet as well as savory dishes. These days good quality mawa is available in stores and you can pick a packet or buy from halwai(indian sweet vendors). Or you could make instant khoya at home and use in this recipe.
Ingredients
Below are the ingredients you will need for making mawa cake. I like to make my mawa cake bakery style using eggs and simply adding green cardamom for flavor.
How To Make Mawa Cake (Step by Step)
Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease the sides of a cake pan with melted butter and line the base with parchment. The fat content in this cake is quite high, if you are using a good quality non stick cake pan, you might as well omit the greasing. In a bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and green cardamom. In a large bowl, cream together softened butter and sugar. About 3 minutes.
Add in the crumbled mawa. Cream everything together until pale and fluffy. About 2 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time and incorporate.
Add flour and milk and gentle beat for 30 seconds to mix. Finish mixing with soft spatula to form a smooth lump free batter. Do not over mix. Takes about 2 minutes.
Fold in the pistachios. Transfer to a greased pan and top with almonds.
Bake for 28-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. A well baked cake will leave the sides of the cake pan. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes and finish cooling on a wire rack. Slice & serve.
Tips (Substitutions & Variations )
Use room temperature ingredients (like butter, milk, mawa) when making the cake. Once you add the flour, fold very gently or use beater at on slow speed. I recommend serving it slightly warm. Its really delicious. You can substitute whole milk with 2 percent milk. Serve with whipped cream and fresh fruit for a perfect dessert. You can replace green cardamom with vanilla, orange blossom, nutmeg, rose essence, saffron or with thandai masala. You can substitute mawa with milk powder in equal quantity. Use whole milk powder. I like using Nido brand, it is easily available in american or indian stores. Do not use non fat or skim-milk milk powder. To make eggless mawa cake, simply use ½ cup full fat yogurt instead of eggs. Make It Nut free- You can skip all the nuts in the recipe for a nut free version. Fold tutti-fruitti instead if you wish. You can turn this recipe into individual cupcakes, loaf cake or mawa mini cakes.
Storing
You can store mawa cake refrigerated or 2 to3 days. You can leave the cake out on the counter during winter months. Mawa cake can be frozen for 2 months. Thaw and warm a little before serving.
Recipe Tips
Avid using oil instead of butter. Butter and sugar creamed together make the cake fluffy. Oil won’t serve the purpose. You can use low fat yogurt and skimmed milk in this recipe. Use fresh leavening agents and avoid over mixing the batter because too much air build up can lead to a sunken center.
