I have always loved delving into the goodness of pastries, cakes, chocolates, cookies and sweets. These have always served me when I crave for something sweet to lift my senses. As a little girl, the only cake I used to get to eat, the plum cakes that used to be passed on to me through friends. Occasionally my father would get the christmas plum cakes for us. I knew very little about the ingredients that went into cakes and the method of preparation. I never even imagined that I would get into baking cakes in my life.
When I started learning about baking, I dived deeper into this activity. I read many books about baking and its science. It is really interesting of how a sticky batter turns into a soft spongy sweet cake under a high temperature. But my concern was, how healthy could a cake be? I came across many recipes that used maida, lots of sugar and butter.
Maida has been used in many parts of India extensively for making breads, rotis, naans, cookies and cakes. I was forced to dig deeper to know more about maida flour and its properties. Long back our ancestors used to feed a lot on food made from maida flour. This flour is not easily digestible due to lack of fibre. One needs to exercise and workout extensively to digest maida.
As everybody is aware, during the age-old days, people used to burn out calories and fat very easily through their physical hard work. Most of their food digested immediately. Even today, our Indian wrestlers and other sportsmen consume a lot of butter and ghee to attain the required body strength. They hardly suffer from high cholesterol levels since they workout extensively. But considering the desk jobs that people have today, one really needs to limit the intake of maida. To make the sinfully tasty recipes from maida, a lot of additional greasing is required.
I had always felt guilty of baking cakes of maida and butter, since one needs to put in a lot of effort for its digestion. Taking consideration of our present lifestyle, it forced me to find an alternative way to bake a cake. It might surprise you, that it is possible to bake a basic eggless cake using wheat flour (atta), jaggery, water and vegetable oil and still get a very soft and spongy cake. Thanks to the wonderful info given here on whole wheat flour baking! The outcome was a big surprise for me. I had to share this wonderful recipe here.
The inspiration for me to bake a cake out of wheat flour was the sri lankan jaggery cake and a recipe from here. Sri Lankan Jaggery cake is made from jaggery, which is combined with either wheat flour or semolina (rava) and the cake uses some extra ingredients like dates, coconut, cinnamon, cardomom and pumpkin.
Another challenge was, I had to make this cake an eggless version. To bake this cake, I had tried different combinations of wheat flour and liquid and the cake used to fail me. The previous mistakes were taken into consideration, but each time I used commit a new mistake. It took me a long time to realize that wheat flour cake requires lesser fat.
The last time I tried baking this cake, my joy knew no bounds. I looked into the cute, tiny, old-fashioned round oven of my MIL in which the cake was baking. The cake had risen beautifully with a dark color, the top was adorned with those cracks! Thats when I learnt that patience can eventually give me something I long for. I didn’t have to struggle to make the cake rise. The success of this cake gave me immense satisfaction that, I found a way out to serve a guilt free version of a basic vanilla cake, using wheat flour and jaggery..
Kadai Vegetable with Jeera Rice
- Masala Corn is a spicy snack made from steamed sweet corn kernels which is spiced with extra flavors.
Ingredients
-
Dry Ingredients
- 1.5 cups – Wheat Flour
- 3/4 cup – Powdered (You can use 1 cup for more sweetness) – Jaggery
- 2 tsp (Use Double-Acting baking powder) – Baking Powder
- A very small pinch – Table Salt
- 250 ml (1 cup) – Milk
- 1/2 cup – Vegetable Oil
- 1 tsp – Vanilla Extract
- 7 inch round cake tin –
- 1/2 tsp (For greasing the cake tin) – Vegetable Oil
- 1 tsp (For dusting the cake tin) – Wheat Flour
Wet Ingredients
Others
Directions
- Grease the cake tin throughout with oil. Dust 2 tsp of wheat flour throughout and tap the cake tin so that the cake tin is evenly dusted with the flour. (The wheat flour sticks to the greased cake tin and this ensures your cake doesn’t stick to the cake tin while unmolding.) Keep the cake tin aside.
- Pre-Heat the oven to 180°C / 350°F for 10 minutes.
- Dissolve jaggery in Water completely. If there are any impurities or dusty particles, strain the jaggery+water liquid through a sieve. Mix in the vanilla extract. Keep this aside.
- Sift Wheat flour, salt, baking powder (Dry Ingredients) through a sieve at least 3-4 times.
- Once sifted, mix all the dry ingredients thoroughly using a spoon. This is just to ensure the salt, baking powder are evenly distributed through the wheat flour.
- Make a depression in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the water+jaggery+vanilla extract liquid, that was prepared in step 1. (You can also add a teaspoon of cardamom powder at this stage for a better flavor)
- Gently bind the ingredients with a spoon. Please don’t use any whisk or beater for this. Over beating will make your cake very dense and heavy. Next add in the oil. Again combine the mixture gently. The batter might form a few clumps. But that won’t come in your way.
- Pour this batter into the prepared cake tin. Tap the cake tin on the counter to ensure the batter levels out.
- Put this into the pre-heated oven and bake at 180°C / 350°F for 20-25 minutes or bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. (The baking time depends on the oven. Mine took just 15-17 minutes to bake. While other ovens may need 20 – 30 minutes. So you need to start keeping a tab on the cake after 15 minutes.)
- After the baking time, allow the cake to cool down completely. If the cake is done well and if the greasing and dusting of the cake tin is correct, your cake will unmold by just inverting the cake tim upside down onto a plate.
- You can cut and serve this cake just plain or you may top it with any icing or chocolate syrup.
Hi the cake was awesome…finally baked my 1st cake ..super happy with result… Crackles top.. I used coconut oil instead of refine oil..
Awesome Vani :) Coconut oil would’ve tasted great. Thank you for the review! :)
Hello pratibha,
I tried your recipe. It tastes good, however, the batter inside is very soft. Outer part is crisp as cake should be but inside it is soft unlike your cake picture.
I followed ur recipe step by step but don’t know what is missing. Could you help?
Thanks in advance!!
Apologies for my late response Sakshi. There could be issues with the leavening agents, cake pans used, the position of the pan in the oven (top, middle or bottom rack) or the oven settings. All these three factors are important too. I’ve found most of the times cake pans and leavening agents pose a lot of issues while baking.
Do try next time again and let me know :) Thank you. :)
Shall I substitute wheat flour with bajra flour or any other millet flour?
I haven’t tried baking with other flours for this cake. I advise you to use wheat flour itself for this cake.
Hi mam i tried it yesterday as i have never baked with jaggery.i have been baking since i was 14 yr old .everyone in family was excited about the idea that we will have some guilt free cake this winter.however i was really shocked.it is turned out so bitter.i put so much nuts also.i dont know why it happened.all my cakes turn out super yummy.this is first time anything tasted bitter,can u advise wht to do now
Dear Malti, I’m sorry the cake went bad for you. I would suggest you to follow this recipe to the ‘T’. Do let me know what all ingredients you added to make this cake. Check if the baking powder or soda is fresh. Also, you must add good quality ingredients when it comes to jaggery or wheat flour. Kindly try once again and let me know.
Is their any alternative for baking powder
No Kavitha. There isn’t any direct replacement.
How many calories in this cake?
Can u help me 7tablespoons of oil in cups?
That will be close to half a cup Sumi.
Hi Ma’m
Previously also I have posted to you. Anyway, can you please let me know if this recipe can be made in microwave as I don’t have OTG. Your recipe looks really delicious. Really want to try it out.
Waiting for your reply.
Thanks…
I’m sorry for the late response to your query. Somehow I miss few comments and go past them for months. :) Really sorry :)
Coming to your question. Microwave wouldn’t be a good option. I would suggest you to use a pressure cooker instead. I would like you to go through my comment here. https://foodforjoy.in/2012/12/jaggery-cake-a-basic-vanilla-sponge-cake-using-wheat-flour-and-jaggery/#comment-282821
Hi Mam,
I really wish to try out this seemingly yummy cake. But, I don’t have an OTG. Instead, I have a microwave, so, can you please guide me as to whether this same recipe will work in microwave with same results OR do we have to do some adjustments here and there and what will be those adjustments like.
Will be waiting for your reply.
Thanks
Just tried this cake out of curiosity, never baked with jaggery before. It was a quick one but the power went off for 1 hour in between but even then the end product was a super soft and yummy cake. I am happy to have stumbled on your blog today :)
Thanks a lot. super easy and tasty cake.
Looks lovely, cannot wait to bake it with my daughter (who’s allergic to egg) tomorrow, she will be thrilled – thankyou so much for making this blog and so pretty with photos and your stories. Lovely
:)
Hi mam,
I tried your recipe. The outcome was a spongy cake but one big disaster happened. The cake was not sweet at all. I added 1 cup of jaggery. also milk instead of water.
Could you please advise on where it would have gone wrong.
Thank you.
Hi Vaishnavi,
I’m not able to figure out what could have gone wrong. 1 cup of jaggery has to actually give the required sweetness. Do check the amount of wheat flour you have added. Always remember I use a 250 ml cup for my measurements.
wow.looking yummy.tempting.your presentation is too good.i didn’t know how to make cake using Whole Wheat Atta.i will try this recipe.thank you
*what could I be missing ma’am? The auto correct in my phone playing games:).
Thanks for this lovely healthy recipe of cake. My daughter loves cakes. I used to make cakes made of Maida before marriage. But for her, I wanted something healthy. My last try at such a cake was a disaster. This recipe made my day. Thanks again, ma’am.
Hello ma’am, I tried this cake yesterday. I added 2 eggs, 3/4th cup milk and one cup jaggery and 2 tsp baking powder. I didn’t have vanilla essence at hand, so used cardamom powder as you suggested. I made the cake in my cooker. The cake tasted lovely, my daughter and my family loved it. They finished the entire cake yesterday. But I observed that it wasn’t fluffy though. What could u be missing ma’am?
Hi Lekshmi, This recipe doesn’t call for any eggs. Skip the eggs and try it again as per the given ingredients. :)
Can I use sugar instead because I think I haven’t got any jiggery?
No. Sugar wouldn’t give you the required flavour. Some have used brown sugar and found success. You can find jaggery in almost every general store these days. You can also buy them online too.
Hey There. I discovered your blog using msn. That is an extremely neatly written article.
I’ll be sure to bookmark it and come back to learn more
of your useful information. Thanks for the post.
I will certainly comeback.
Thanks for the recipe :) You are awesome!
Thank you Sneha :)
Hi Pratibha,
Awesome post. Nice to see healthy cakes. Since I am not vegan, can I use butter instead of veg oil? If yes, can I use the same qty? (7 tbsp. butter) Also, does adding eggs make the cake fluffy? TIA.
Hi Niranjana. I’m not sure about adding eggs. But yes, you can use the same quantity of butter.
HEY…………. I tried it and……….. it came out good………….thanks for the recipe….
Thanks for the feedback :)
Hey… After reading u r method of preparing jaggery cake and the good comments and viewing u r for measures I have decided to try it for my father and i hope that it will come great…..Doing it with lots of hope.
:)
Thank you for your recipe. I have tried this cake changing a bit and it was awesome. I have added two eggs, 3/4 cup milk and 1 cup jaggery. Covering with aluminium foil, steam cooked it for 45 minutes and i could get really soft cake. Thanks again.
Thank you for the feedback :) You have explored quite well. :) Thanks again.
Hi Divya, When u added the eggs for preparing did u use baking powder also. Plaease reply
Hi, your receipt is superb . I tried the cake but it wasn’t browny like yours. I baked it for 25 to 30 mins. And still middle of the cake isn’t baked. And I used aashirvad wheat flour , is tat a mistake? And cake batter aft baking didn’t rise well. What should I do. Can I use eggs in this cake?
I hope you used an OTG or a good conventional oven for this. Most of the time the baking powder acts as a culprit. Use the fresh stock of baking powder always.
Hello.. Thank you so much for the receipe.. :)
#Can you advice on how to prepare the cake in Induction?
#can we bake the cake in pressure cooker by using water & cover the tin with foil?
Hi Pratiba,
I chanced upon your blog while searching for healthy cakes. I tried this cake today and it came out great!
Thanks for this awesome recipe!
Thank you Deepti :)
Hi, I made this with olive oil
It came out nicely. When I made second time I reduced the oil from 7 to 5 tbsp. Its taste nice. Thanx for the recipe
Thank you so much Bhanu :)
Hi , just wanted to ask you what do you mean by double acting baking powder ? Is this the same as normal baking powder or a different one ? Thank you .
Pingback:How Do You Make A Vanilla Cake | healt.stool.me
Hi , its good to see a version of jaggery cake…even I was searching for the same version…Thanks for posting this recipe…Also one doubt, usually for wheat cakes Baking soda also will be there, but here I did not see that…Is it bcoz of double acting Baking powder?
Hello Surya, I’m being too late in my reply. Sincere apologies for that.
Coming to your query, 2 tsp of DA Baking powder is sufficient to make the cake rise. Baking soda isn’t required here. Hope you try the recipe. Thanks and good luck. :)
Thanks for ur reply….Yes..I tried this cake more than thrice…Its a good cake for evening snack…and I tried your recipe with less oil :) It came out well…
That’s great. Thanks for the feedback ☺
hi prati, Tks for the recipe I tried it but sorry to say after adding 1 cup water it became like a ball of dough so then i kept adding a tablespoon of water and mixing I used 5 tbls to get a batter consistency but the cake was a failure it was dense and did not rise at all. firstly i used the scoop tbs to measure so I took 16 tbs + 8 more for 1.5 cups same way took 16 tbs water and the small tsp scoop to measure the baking powder but the b.p. was more as it had a little bitter taste.
maybe trying to mix it to make it into batter too much mixing also I used the spoon like u said. I prefer making wheat flour cakes as they are healthy so can u tell me what went wrong bcoz I am going to try again Tks.
Hi Ninette. Apologies for my late reply. I guess I overlooked so many comments on the blog. Missed yours too.
Coming to the recipe. First of all, over mixing can ruin cakes, specially this particular cake. I had failed once with his cake because of over mixing. Rest looks good to me. Your measurements look fine too. Sometimes the baking powder plays a mischief too. Try the one that comes from Weikfield. If you are a non – vegan then try this cake with a cup of milk. I hope you didn’t forget to add the oil. Still if you have no luck do let me know. Its an easy cake :)
Thank u for sharing such a wonderful, guilt-free n easy recipe of cake… Frankly speaking I m very bad at cooking n worst at baking…I have tried lots of maida n wheat cake recipes but all in vein.. But today I tried this cake n it tasted yum… I m so happy.. Thanks a ton.. But mine cake didn’t turn brown n I think it was not as fluffy as yours.. Can u tell where did I make mistake? Going to make tomorrow again.. Thank u once again..
Hi Namrata, Make sure you make this cake at the right temperature and for the right amount of time. I suspect the cake was taken out very quickly or the baking powder didn’t do its job. While baking, make sure the proportions and measurements are followed well.
I find many recipes using less oil, so I think 7 tbls is bit too much, pls clarify whether it is needed for your ingredients. Tks
7tbsp of oil is required for this recipe. Comes up to nearly half a cup. Check this page https://foodforjoy.in/cooking-weights-and-measures/ if you have any doubts regarding measurements.
it would be nice of you to post pictures of recipe step wise
Hi Parvathi,
There were some issues with the image links. I’ve fixed the images. Thank you!
Hi,
I like to know how to use cooker for baking cake instead of oven.wats time,and how cake will b cooked fully and taste too
Hello Nandu, Thanks for dropping by. Add sand to fill 1/4th of the cooker volume, remove the whistle cap and the gasket. Pre heat by shutting the lid and turn on to a high flame for 5 minutes. Then put in the cake and bake for 1 hour on a low flame. Check by inserting a tooth pick after 45 minutes, if its not done then continue to bake for 15 more minutes.
Hi Pratiba,
I to tried this recipe and its was awesome. Thanks for your contribution for adding this to my healthy food basket and also for creating awareness on Maida :)
Thank you Ganesh. Appreciate your feedback :)
Can I use jowar flour, instead of wheat, as I am not much open to gluten, also again with this can I use jaggery an vegetable oil??
Hello Supriya: I cannot guide you on this as I haven’t begun using Jowar flour in cakes. But I do have plans of experimenting with Jowar flour. It is quite a good alternative for baking cakes. Will definitely post it up when I’m successful.
I tried making tis cake last evening n it came out perfectly. On my first browsing of wheat cake recipe I landed up to ur blog n on my first attempt itself the cake came out so nicely :) though I have made plus minus in da ingredients…..Thanks Prathiba…. Looking forward for more recipes from ur blog.
Also I would like to add that I have made this cake in a microwave oven for 10 mins ( 5 mins on medium and 5 mins on high)
Akum: Thank you so much. Much surprised that it came out well in a microwave as well. :) Glad about that. :) Thanks for the feedback. Really appreciate it. :)
Hi prathiba,
This looks really tempting and love the way its made…totally guilt free recipe. Im gonna try this soon. But before that i had a question abt the oil used. Can the veg oil be replaced with sunflower or evn bettt olive oil…to make it evn more healthy?
Loved ur writeup and the pics..
Thanks in advance :)
Thank you Hema. :) Yes you can replace it with sunflower oil. I cannot guide you much about olive oil since I haven’t used it till now in cakes. You can definitely try olive oil with chocolate cakes but I’m not quite sure with vanilla cakes.
I tried this cake today and I must say Pratibha that it taste’s great… but mine didnt bake well from inside. It stayed sort of sticky from inside.. not wet though. I baked it for 30 mins. Also it did not turn out the lovely brown that is in you photos. What might I have done wrong?
I’m glad that you love reading my writings. Thank you so much :)
Coming to the recipe. There can be many reasons for the cake to get sticky. One reason could be, a high temperature. If the oven is too hot, then the cake remains uncooked from inside and crisp from the outside. Another reason could be, too much of leavening agents in the cake batter (i.e. either baking soda or baking powder).
Apart from this, If your cake was lightly colored from outside then I guess you could have baked the cake for a longer time. One of my readers reported to me that it took an hour to bake the same jaggery cake in her oven.
There could be more reasons why cakes don’t turn out as expected, since cake making is often called as a baking science which requires exact measurements. :) Do try it out next time carefully with exact measurements. I’m sure it’ll turn out good.
Hi Pratiba!
Thanks 4 ur receipe! just nw baked this cake & hd it to! I m a cake -o-olic, this was one of the best receipe i’ve come across, i’ve baked atta chocolate cake with brown sugar, but this jaggery receipe, takes the cake ;) had also taken pics of the cake, ddn’t knew how to post them to u!
Thanks again, if u hv any receipe for atta mathri, then do share!
Thanks for the feedback. I’m glad that the cake turned out great. I can sense your excitement looking your comment. :) You can mail me the pics to this ID (pratiba317@gmail.com). We make Shankar Poli at home. Haven’t tried Atta Mathri. Will make it at home. Have heard its popular. Thank you once again :)
ur receipe was really intresting, so i tried it immediately, my cake looked perfect, timings and measurement was all ok, but my CAKE SUPER BITTER, ive no clue wat went wrong, may be bocoz i used baking soda instead of baking powder.
Hello Shobha. Baking soda and Baking powder are completely different ingredients and we CANNOT use them interchangeably. I suspect you would have added too much baking soda which would have made the cake batter soapy which will in-turn make the cake batter bitter and the cake gets very crumbly. Too much baking powder or soda will give a nasty bitter taste to cakes.
I hope that solves the query :-) Hope you try it again with good results. All the best.
hi pratiba..
this is the second recipe i tried out from your blog. even though i made a few changes to the recipe it came out delicious!
i just love the way you write and your pictures. i am a nature lover. i just feel so calm and peaceful when i take a stroll in the mornings. reading some of your posts gave me the same feeling!
keep up your good work
thanks,
sri
Thank you Sri :)
I landed in your blog while searching for healthy cakes, i made cupcakes with this recpie, it turned out well! Thank you for inspiring me to bake after I stopped baking as it involved maida and sugar. No one found out that I added jaggery:)
I feel happy to see people trying whole wheat cakes :) I’m still trying to find ways to make better cakes using wheat flour. I hope to come up with better textured wheat cakes.
Pratibha,
The recipe seems perfect for me as I have been advised to avoid maida / sugar / butter / eggs / yoghurt.
Is it possible to make this recipe without the baking powder – possibly some substitute, since I am not allowed use of baking soda / powder.
Would appreciate if you could offer a solution. Thanks in advance.
Hello Chitra, In eggless baking, that too with Wheat Flour, it is a must to use baking soda / baking powder. I wish I could be of some help to you. Vinegar would help you in this case. I still doubt if you could get the same texture. If a small amount of baking soda is allowed in your diet, then I would recommend this measurement. 1 teaspoon baking powder = 1/4 teaspoon baking soda + 1 teaspoon vinegar. Do let me know if this seems ok to you.
Hi Pratiba,
I’ve been wanting to bake a cake for a long time and I have spent so much time on the internet try to find out recipes that would suit me and finally I stumbled upon your blog today!
And guess what, I tried out your recipe and it came out so well :)
Thanks a lot!
Kartik: Thats great! This is one my favorite cakes. :)
Hi mam,
Shall we use pressure cooker for preparing wheat flour, jaggery cake?
please let me know.
Yes you can. One of my readers has tried it in a pressure cooker.
Hi,
Yesterday i baked the cake and used 6tablespoon oil but still feeling like more oil.And it took 45 min .The cake came out spongy and oily.I used tissue paper to absorb those oil.Just want to know how much oil in ML one should use if i am using organic jaggery.The cake taste is good but i am confused about the right measurement of oil.
Thanks in advance as i have asked you many things ;)
A tablespoon of oil is 15 ml. 6 tbsp of oil would be 90 ml. You can check my page on cooking weights and measures. https://foodforjoy.in/cooking-weights-and-measures/. I’m puzzled as to what might have gone wrong. Over mixing can possibly release excess oil. I hope it comes out good next time. :)
Hi,
Can you please let me know the wheat flour in grams? bcz when i finally added the 7 tablespoon oil ,i felt like more oil on top..
1.5 cup of wheat flour in grams would be nearly 200 grams.
HOW DO U SAY 1.5 CUPS OF WHEAT FLOUR IS NEARLY 200 GMS WHEN (AS PER YOUR OWN WEBPAGE https://foodforjoy.in/cooking-weights-and-measures/ ) 1 CUP IS MENTIONED AS 160GMS WHICH MEANS 1.5 CUPS =240GMS & NOT 200GMS PLEASE CLARIFY.ALSO, I DO NOT HAVE KITCHEN WEIGHING SCALE, I AM HAVING RICE COOKER CUP-IS IT SAME AS CUP INDICATED FOR CAKE.ALSO WHAT IS D.A BAKING POWDER AS BAKING POWDER AVAILABLE IN GROCERY STORES DOES NOT INDICATE D.A
Hello Milind, DA baking powder is nothing but Double acting baking powder. I guess its a typo in the cooking weights and measurements section. 1 cup of WWF weighs 120 grams. So 1.5 cups of WWF sums upto 180 grams. Thanks for pointing out. I’ve made the required changes.
Hi Pratibha!!
Thank u very much for a healthy cake recipe.
Just wanted to know what is a powdered jaggery. Jaggery generally comes in blocks and we melt it. to use..so i m a bit confused
If you are using jaggery blocks, then just grate the jaggery. You’ll get jaggery crumbs (or the powder) use a cup of these crumbs in this recipe. Let me know how it goes.
I finally prepared d cake today. IGreated the jaggery but had to like smash it while mixing with milk.
But my major confusion was was how to prepare it in a microwave. Tried reading online to get some tips and finally tried 5 mins power level. The cake was well cooked. spongy enough but not brown and lil crisp outer layer like a normal cake. :(
But the taste has come out so well. Thank u again. Do suggest if there is anything I should do when I prepare next time in the microwave.
I finally prepared d cake today. I grated the jaggery but had to like smash it while diluting with milk.
But my major confusion was how to prepare it in a microwave. Tried reading online to get some tips and finally tried 5 mins power level. The cake was well cooked. spongy enough but not brown and lil crisp outer layer like a normal cake. :(
But the taste has come out so well. Thank u again. Do suggest if there is anything I should do when I prepare next time in the microwave.
Dear Shradha, I never bake cakes in a microwave except for my chocolate mug cake. I haven’t tried any other cake using a MW. You need to use the microwave in a convection mode. Even better, use a conventional oven, an electric oven or an OTG for baking cakes. Only then you’ll get that beautiful browning on cakes. Microwave does not brown the cakes, it only steams the cake. I hope you make this again using any of the above mentioned options. Thanks for the feedback. :)
i tried this cake and it came out well. thank you.
Dr. Parvathy: Thanks for the feedback. :)
I tried this out and came out very fluffyy. Though i used half cup jaggery and half cup brown sugar.. felt less of sugar. I also felt little sour as the day passed. I feel its may be cause of baking powder. I had used weikfield baking powder. Please suggest which brand is good.
There is a certain type of jaggery that has a slight tart flavor. I suspect it could be that. Baking powder will not bring the sourness. Weikfield is a very good brand. I wish I could see the cake too.
i tried this cake .but my cake is too soft .. too much .. what could b the reason mam.
Hi Meenu. There could be many reasons why the cake would have turned overly soft. 1) Over Mixing or 2) Leavening agents might have not worked well or 3) Too Low temperatures. or 4) Too much liquid in the batter. or 5) The cake was taken out of the oven much earlier. These are the possible reasons. Keep these in mind. I hope it comes out good next time. Thanks.
thnkuu mam
hii this pankaj ,, pllzzz help me to make sugarfree cake
send me recepy
Hi pratibha
Nice to have landed here, I am from shimoga as well. Will definitely try out this recipe! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Pratiba, the cake is very healthy and I got it perfectly, I used groundnut oil, next time need to use orderless oil, i used just 2 tsps though.
Thanks for the feedback. :)
nice thought of making cake with wheat flour but i am little confused by the way u have written the recipe. In wet ingredients u have mention 7tbsp of oil when should i use it and another one is about baking soda, u have not mention about baking soda in dry ingredients and directly added in the method. Please clarify
Sorry, many have helped me by pointing out a few errors after I did some editing on this recipe. I had updated the ingredients but missed to make changes in the instructions. Soda is not required. I’ve made the changes now. Thanks for pointing out :) The addition of oil has been mentioned in step #7.
thank you so much for this recipe. i am really keen to try this out. i enjoy baking but shy away due to the extensive usage o9f refined flour and sugar. i cannot wait to make this but I’m confused with the mention on cornflour in the instructions. would appreciate if you could clarify it so that i can make it and enjoy the lovely flavors
Thanks.. Corn flour isn’t needed here. I missed making the required corrections in the instructions. Thanks for pointing out.
Thanks pratiba. I made the cake as muffins and we enjoyed them. They reminded us of the halwa we make at home. Would you mind if I share the recipe on an online group?
Nisha: Thanks for the feedback. Sure you can :)
Hi pratiba’,
I am very keen to try this recipe as I love jaggery and avoid bakery products cause of sugar n maida. I had the same doubt as meenakshi, m stil slightly confused about the cornflour. Could you pls clarify as I really want to try this!
Me and a friend are venturing into a organic cafe and ur cake just nailed it. Thanks a tonne.
A general query is if I want to replace jaggry to sugar in every recipe, what should it be?
Most welcome. You could choose brown sugar (1 cup powdered) in this recipe. Haven’t tried this recipe with normal sugar yet.
yesterday I tried this cake and the result was nice soft cake. wonderful recipe. thanks pratiba.
Thanks Divya. :) Appreciate it. :)
i made this. it came out really nice.. i had a batch of chocolate chips. just floured them and tossed them in and i had a wonderful chocolate chip cake. made two muffins out of the remaning batter as my tin is a little tiny. they came out perfect. thanks a lot!!!!!!!!
Thanks a lot for your feedback. :)
hi i just read ur recipe very carefully….i found the quantity of 2 ingredients missing ..1 is of corn flour and baking soda. kindly let me know so that i can also try. thanks
Meenakshi, I am so sorry for the inconvenience. Two weeks back I was editing the recipe while trying out with corn flour and by changing the quantity of soda. I shouldn’t have done those frequent changes here on the website. My bad. :( The current recipe works out fine. It was using milk earlier. Just made a few changes and made it dairy free now and there is no need of soda. Instead it is 2 tsp of baking powder. I’m sorry again. I hope you try this out. Do let me know how it went.
Prathiba,
Nice thoughts, Nice way of putting the scenario of experiences with faiures & success :) I’m truely inspired reading through your blog as I too the zeal for blogging which I never spent time for & which my friends suggest I’m good at. I need a help here.. Do you know if the same cake mixture can be used in the pressure cooker or any adjustments required? I do not have a oven , so trying to see if the cake comes out good with pressure cooker..
Sireesha, Thank you:) I would urge you to start writing as well. One of my readers had prepared the same cake in a cooker. She said, a cake generally needs 1 hour to get baked in a pressure cooker. You must add sand to fill 1/4th of the cooker volume, remove the whistle cap, and pre heat on a high flame for 5 minutes. Then put in the cake and bake for 1 hour on a low flame. Check by inserting a tooth pick after 45 minutes, if its not done then continue to bake for 15 more minutes.
Olivette: Thank you for your update. Allspice adds a good flavor. Good one. Thanks again.
Meera: Sure:) Happy that you liked it. Thank you.
Hi I loved the recipient and tried it today itself it turned out amazing and as it has whole wheat flour and jaggery I will pass this recipient to all the moms I know.
i baked this yesterday. the first time was an epic failure. . you wont believe i was skeptical about using whole wheat flour for baking. yesterday’s try came out perfect. you could ad in some allspice powder for a complete taste.
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I need help here. i got down to baking this cake this morning. i could not get a smooth batter using spoon. so i mixed the batter in a mixie then baked it but it all fell apart. what do i do ?
No no please don’t use mixie for making any cake batter. That would be a disaster. Read step 7 really carefully. It is fine to have a non-smoothy texture for this batter. You need not try to make it lump free. Read the instructions and ingredients carefully:) All the best.
hi i used make this cake with brownsugar. replaced with jaggery after seeing ur recipe. baked it in an 8” square pan.. came out exremely soft n tasted wonderful. thanks for this recipe. your recipes are reliable. ur beetroot thambuli tasted awesometoo.
What kind of oven do you use? Convection or OTG? I halved this recipe. I baked in convection. But the color didn’t turn out as good as yours. came out whitish and not brown. On the other side the cake tasted really good. added some cinnamon powder.
This cake should work fine for a convection oven. Not sure as to why it didn’t work out for you. Could you tell me the time and temperature you applied? I use the traditional round oven. It was bought by my MIL two decades ago and works like a charm for baking.
you use a round oven? goodness i thought nobody uses it these days. it really works well for cakes. i applied 180 degrees for about 25 minutes. I do have an OTG as well, but I thought I shall try in convection first. but as i said it tasted really good and came out spongy as well. just the color differed.
I always use the round oven for baking so I cannot give you my best advice on this. If you have an OTG then I would suggest you to use it for all your bakes. Still in case you use a convection oven for this cake then try reducing the temperature by 20-25 degrees and increase the heating time to about 35-40 minutes. Let me know if I could help you more. All the best.
PS: The oven that I use, browns all my bakes very quickly. It all depends on the kind of gadgets we use.:) So just don’t concentrate on the color. The texture and taste matter the most.
ok ma. Thank you so much for your kind assistance. i shall bake it in my otg and check out. Planning to make it for grandson’s birthday coming week. So i was just doing some practicing :) it waas nice having a discussion with you. will update soon.
Dear Pratiba,
I am very glad to let you know that my grandson’s birthday yesterday went very well with your recipe. I made a two layer cake by baking one cake in otg and the other in the convection. I didnt have any problem this time with color. Both of the cakes came out soft well risen and brown like yours only. I made a simple lemon cream cheese topping and everybody were very happy that it was eggless. my GS loved it a lot. a million thanks to you. let God bless you.
Dr. Ajantha: Thank you so much for getting back with the feedback. :) I really appreciate your efforts.
Shyama: Thank you for your feedback :)
I tried this cake last evening. It was unbelievable at first. i just topped it with chocolate syrup iut tasted just awesome. my children were very excited and they loved it a lot. thanks for this recipe da. im happy… ill keep making this for my kids bdays.. thanks pratiba.. you are wonderful..
Thats wonderful! I’m truly touched. Thanks Arundhati.:)
Runnergirlinthekitchen: Thanks :) Wish you the same. You must try jaggery in wheat cakes.
Dr. Ajantha: Thank you so much. I’m happy you enjoy reading through. Its all because of the constant support from readers like you :)
Disha: Thanks! Baking is a messy affair for me too. But when the outcome is beautiful you will enjoy cleaning up all the mess at the end. :)
ufff!!!!
am so impressed with the neatness U have maintained. Baking is hell for me… I mess up the whole kitchen when am about to bake.. U make it look so easy. how do u manage to be so neat neat??
PS: lovely props and shots! B-)
It is so amazing to see food through a photographers’ eyes. i am really amazed at what is created at food for joy! the word ‘beautiful’ is an understatement for your work. as days go by your posts just touch my heart. very calming ambience and you seem to kind of put me in a trance through your writing. Superb Pratiba. you have a very bright future ahead.
Happy New Year.
Love wholewheat cakes they taste really good :)
Have not tried one with jaggery yet :)
Priya: Sure. Do let me know when you have done it. All the best :)
Anvitha and Divya: All thanks to your support :)
Looks yummy Pratiba!! Gonna try it tomorrow!!
my mom makes cakes using maida flour. this looks more spongy than what she makes. must recommend this to her. nice photography maam. visually very inviting. and i must say your family is lucky to have you around. thanks for this.:)
I am totally awed with your vocab. i just read this post twice already. beautiful theories pratibha. the pictures of the cake has come out beautifully. best till date:)