Mawa cake sliced and served on a white platter

Published: Dec 9, 2021 by Richa · This post may contain affiliate links.

Jaggery Mawa Cake | Parsi Mawa Cake

Name: Jaggery Mawa Cake
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: ½ Cup Butter (at room temperature, 110 grams); ¾ Cup Jaggery Powder (110 grams); ¾ Cup Khoya (grated, 105 grams); ½ Teaspoon Ground Cardamom; ½ Teaspoon Vanilla Extract; 1 Cup All Purpose Flour (or maida, 125 grams); ½ Cup Whole Milk (125 ml); ½ Cup Curd or plain Yogurt (100 ml); ½ Cup Semolina (sooji or bombay rava, 90 grams); 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder; ¼ Teaspoon Baking Soda; ¼ Teaspoon Salt; 1/4 cup sliced Almonds

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If you’re big on Indian sweets, this one's for you! The jaggery mawa cake was ‘love at first bite’ for me. This rich and delicious cake, mixed up with creamy mawa (evaporated milk solids), nuts and all the aromatic flavours, tastes just like mithai. A cup of chai, with a slice of this buttery, cardamom scented cake is my go-to on a rainy evening.

This recipe is essentially a simple vanilla cake, infused with mawa, flavoured with cardamom, and topped off with nuts. It’s a Parsi delicacy and a favourite tea-time indulgence. You wouldn't usually find these at most outlets other than the Iranian cafes & bakeries across Mumbai and Pune. It's so good, I would go looking for this every time I visited!

I’ve put together a super easy & simple eggless mawa cake recipe, to make this downright amazing dessert at home.

It's a simple recipe made with ingredients that are easily available
The mawa cake is outrageously tasty; not too sweet, and has a very subtle flavour profile
It can be served as is; no extra icing or accompaniment required.
Its eggless which makes it a great option for vegetarians

Ingredients for Mawa Cake

You only need 12 ingredients for this delicious eggless cake which makes it a winner!

Powdered Jaggery - I like to substitute jaggery with sugar in desserts sometimes because its healthier and adds a caramelised, nutty flavour. But you could stick to granulated or castor sugar.
Khoya - Mawa or Khoya, is evaporated milk solids, which is a result of cooking the milk until all the liquid dries off, and is a common ingredient in most Indian sweets. If you have the patience to make mawa at home - great, or you could use store-bought mawa like I did.
Curd & Milk - Whole milk and curd give the cake its soft and fluffy texture. It also ensures the cake is moist.
Semolina - This is what's responsible for the airy texture
Flavouring - I have used cardamom, because I enjoy a hint of spice. You could also throw in some saffron, nutmeg or rose petals for added flavour.
Garnish - Top the cake with chopped almonds, pistachios, or nuts of your choice for that extra crunch.

Step by Step Recipe - Eggless Mawa Cake

Step by step picture collage to show how to make mawa cake

1. Add butter and jaggery powder to a bowl. Make sure the butter is at room temperature

2. Cream together until pale and fluffy using a hand mixer or stand mixer with whisk attachment on high speed for about 3-4 minutes.

3. Add grated khoya, ground cardamom and vanilla extract. Continue to beat on high speed until combined, about two minutes. Ensure there are no lumps.

4. Add whole milk and curd and combine on low speed for about 2 minutes.

5. Add semolina or suji to the bowl and mix well. This helps the sooji swell up slightly

6. Sieve all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda into the mixture and mix well

7. Pour this batter into the prepared cake tin

8. Top with sliced almonds and bake in the pre heated oven at 180C/356F for approx 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean

Richa’s Top Tips

Substitute for Khoya: If you’re unable to get your hands on khoya, you could just substitute it for ricotta cheese or even homemade paneer. The cake will taste different, but is sure going to be a hit, nevertheless!
Use bombay rava or another fine semolina for best results. The coarser sooji makes this cake really crumbly
You can substitute all-purpose flour with some amount of whole wheat flour, to give it a healthier touch, but the cake will be denser. I don't recommend using 100% whole wheat flour in this recipe
If you’re whisking these up for your next party, mawa cupcakes would taste great too.

Closeup of a slice of mawa cake to show the texture of the crumb

Let me warn you beforehand; the smell of mawa cake baking is beyond irresistible! You will need all the will power you’ve got to wait for it to cool down before stuffing your face.

This is an amazing festive dessert, the one I end up making every holiday. And it's always a hit!

More Indian Inspired Desserts

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