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    Home > Cakes

    March 6, 2020

    Mawa Cake

    Decadent, delicious and arguably the butteriest delight, mawa cake is a must-have delicacy for the festive season.

    Mawa Cake | Parsi Mawa Cake | Easy Eggless Recipe

    If you’ve been to a Parsi café, especially in Mumbai or Pune, you know their love for food and delightful baked items. But the one that deserves special mention is mawa cake - a sumptuous plateful of calorie-laden indulgence.

    The iconic tea-time snack that the community introduced to us is not merely an Irani specialty it is a time capsule of an era gone by. Enter any Parsi café and mawa cake will be on the menu. 

    With the festivities in the air, I wanted to cook something simple but steeped in tradition, and I thought what better than a mawa cake. Though, laying all my cards on the table, I did add a little personal twist to the recipe.

    Mawa Cake | Parsi Mawa Cake | Easy Eggless Recipe

    How to Make a Traditional Mawa Cake?

    When you are making something that is literally a bite right out of history, it takes time. With mawa cake, it is the khoya that adds the hours.

    What’s khoya (or khoa)? It is evaporated milk solids.  When the Parsis came to India in the 19th Century, there were no refrigerators. It meant café owners had to boil their milk, again and again, to keep it from being spoilt. The constant heat slowly reduced the milk to solids, giving birth to khoya! 

    If you have time at hand, I recommend making it at home from scratch using this wonderful recipe. If you can’t be bothered, khoya is readily available in the market. FYI, this is the easy twist to mawa cake recipe – buying soft, crumbly khoya from a nearby store.

    Now on to the recipe…

    Beating the sugar-butter mixture

    In a mixing bowl take regular, salted butter and raw sugar. Beat them together till you have a light, fluffy mixture. You can use regular sugar, but I’ve been baking everything with raw sugar lately, and it works like a charm. 

    To this, whisk in some yogurt. Word of caution - make sure the yogurt is at room temperature otherwise your mixture will curdle.

    Process of making Mawa Cake

    Assembling the mawa cake batter

    In another bowl, sift the dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, and baking soda.

    The conventional mawa cake recipe doesn’t have any other spice except cardamom powder, and it is more than enough to give the buttery cakes the quintessential “Indian” scent.

    Because I am making the cake for Holi, indulgence was very much called for. So, along with the cardamom, in went a few strands of luxurious saffron and a light touch of desiccated coconut. Both are absolutely optional ingredients, but they do give the cake a bouquet of flavors. 

    Mawa Cake | Parsi Mawa Cake | Easy Eggless Recipe

    Baking the mawa cake

    Fold the dry ingredients into the butter-sugar mixture and then add the crumbled khoya to make the cake batter. Pour it into a pan, top it off with thinly shaved slivers of almond and pistachio and then let the oven do its magic.

    Mawa Cake | Parsi Mawa Cake | Easy Eggless Recipe

    Serving the Mawa Cake

    Not too sweet. Decadent with saffron. And laced with just the right hint of cardamom and coconut. The buttery mawa cake is ultra-soft. The khoya brings an intense, fragrant, sort-of nuttiness to it while keeping every morsel moist and spongy.

    Don’t be fooled by the photos, the mawa cake only looks airy and light. With one divinely caramelised bite, you realise it is a rich, rich dessert and one slice goes a long way. 

    Mawa Cake | Parsi Mawa Cake | Easy Eggless Recipe

    In my home, we don’t bother with any garnishing and serve it as is with a spiced cup of tea or coffee. It is a perfect #TAFEverydayCake. But if you really want to take things up a notch, serve the mawa cake with saffron-flavored whipped cream, which is quite amazing.

    Nice, simple, wholly doable and somehow reminiscent of the sweets I used to demolish by the fistfuls in childhood, the eggless mawa cake is the perfect recipe for Holi. I genuinely hope you try your hand at making these lovelies!

    Mawa Cake | Parsi Mawa Cake | Easy Eggless Recipe

    I’d love to hear from you! Please tag me on Instagram @tashasartisanfoods, using the hashtag #tashasartisanfoods. You can also FOLLOW ME on INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST for more fabulous recipes! Do subscribe to Tasha’s Artisan Foods so you’ll never miss a recipe!

    Mawa Cake | Parsi Mawa Cake | Easy Eggless Recipe
    Print Recipe

    Mawa Cake

    Not too sweet. Decadent with saffron. Laced with just the right hint of cardamom and coconut. This buttery rich, mawa cake is a must-have delicacy for Holi.
    Prep Time20 mins
    Cook Time50 mins
    Total Time1 hr 10 mins
    Servings: 8 servings
    Calories:
    Author: Natasha Minocha

    Ingredients

    • 1/2 cup Butter, softened I used regular salted butter
    • 1/2 cup Raw Sugar
    • 1 cup Yogurt, at room temperature
    • 1 cup Wholewheat Flour
    • 1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
    • 1.5 tsp Baking Powder
    • 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
    • 2 tbsp Desiccated coconut Optional
    • 1.5 tsp Cardamom powder
    • 1 tsp Saffron strands Optional
    • 1/2 cup Crumbled Khoya /mawa This is about 100gms of khoya
    • Pistachio and Almond Slivers for Topping the cake

    Instructions

    • Preheat your oven to 180C. Grease an 8" cake tin.
    • In a large bowl, beat together the butter and raw sugar until light and fluffy.
    • Whisk in the yogurt.
    • Sift the flours, baking powder and baking soda in another bowl.
    • Stir in desiccated coconut, cardamom powder, and saffron.
    • Fold in the dry ingredients into the butter-sugar mixture. Gently stir in the crumbled khoya.
    • This is a thick batter. Scrape into the prepared pan and top with pistachio and almond slivers.
    • Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for a few minutes before turning out on a cooling rack.
    • Serve at room temperature. Enjoy!
    • You can store the leftover cake in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
    Mawa Cake | Parsi Mawa Cake | Easy Eggless Recipe
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Saral Baijal says

      March 06, 2020 at 11:30 pm

      Beautiful beautiful recipe...can't wait to try it

      Reply
      • Natasha Minocha says

        March 07, 2020 at 8:28 pm

        Thank you so much Saral! xx

        Reply
    2. Devaki Bhadgaonkar says

      March 07, 2020 at 9:05 am

      Do we use greek yogurt? Or regular curd will do?

      Reply
      • Natasha Minocha says

        March 07, 2020 at 8:29 pm

        Greek yogurt would be good here, but I used homemade dahi /yogurt just the thick part. 🙂

        Reply
    3. Prachi says

      March 07, 2020 at 11:43 am

      What is raw sugar ? Does aamul butter work? Also how will it turn out with ghee instead ?

      Reply
      • Natasha Minocha says

        March 07, 2020 at 8:32 pm

        Raw sugar is less processed than regular white sugar. Nutritionally though, there isn't much difference. Yes, Amul works just fine. That's what I used here. I'm sure it will be great with ghee as well though I haven't made it with ghee. Happy baking! 🙂

        Reply
      • Hana says

        March 26, 2021 at 6:18 pm

        Hi
        This looks amazing!
        Can we use skim milk powder instead of mawa?

        Reply
        • MOUSUMI BISWAS says

          April 02, 2021 at 9:23 am

          Can I use oil instead of butter to make the cake

          Reply
          • Natasha Minocha says

            April 05, 2021 at 4:43 pm

            Yes, I suppose so. I think that will work. 🙂

            Reply
    4. Monika Prashant Khamar says

      April 28, 2020 at 6:12 am

      Can we add milk powder instead of mawa?

      Reply
      • Natasha Minocha says

        April 28, 2020 at 12:43 pm

        Hi Monika, I'm not sure as I haven't tried that. 🙂

        Reply
    5. Monica says

      August 01, 2020 at 12:31 pm

      Cup size you used 200ml or 240 ml

      Reply
      • Natasha Minocha says

        August 01, 2020 at 1:17 pm

        Hi, the cup size I use is 240ml.

        Reply
        • Monica says

          August 01, 2020 at 6:24 pm

          Thank you

          Reply
          • Natasha Minocha says

            August 02, 2020 at 11:49 am

            Sure! 🙂

            Reply
    6. neeta mohandas says

      November 18, 2020 at 12:30 pm

      hi...I'm jst abt to make ur cake...the last line said " the batter is thick "
      hopefully the cake doesn't turn out hard?? or can we add a lil milk to make it dropping consistency??

      Reply
      • Natasha Minocha says

        November 18, 2020 at 4:15 pm

        Hi Neeta, this was a thick batter. If it's feeling really doughy, then please add a couple of tablespoons of milk to it. This will loosen up the batter a bit. Its not a soft dropping consistency batter. Hope this helps. Happy baking and looking forward to your feedback.:)

        Reply
    7. sneha says

      November 24, 2020 at 3:25 pm

      Hi the oven has to be set at what temperature and for how much time ? This would be the first ever cake am gonna try! Got a new oven so no clue about all this ????

      Reply
      • Natasha Minocha says

        November 24, 2020 at 6:32 pm

        Hi Sneha, the cake should be baked in a preheated oven at 180C for 45-55 minutes. All the very best for your baking! xx

        Reply
    8. Shital says

      December 09, 2020 at 5:43 pm

      Hi..
      Can we use oil instead of butter?

      Reply
      • Natasha Minocha says

        December 10, 2020 at 11:05 am

        Hi Shital, I haven't made this with oil, but I think you can use it in place of butter. 🙂

        Reply
    9. Deepa says

      March 26, 2021 at 5:28 pm

      Can I replace khoya with grated paneer?

      Reply
      • Natasha Minocha says

        April 01, 2021 at 12:46 pm

        Hi Deepa, I think paneer may change the consistency and texture of the cake. Not sure if that will fit in well here. But now I'm curious too! 🙂

        Reply
    10. Hana says

      March 26, 2021 at 6:19 pm

      Hi
      This looks amazing!
      Can we use skim milk powder instead of mawa?

      Reply
      • Natasha Minocha says

        April 01, 2021 at 12:45 pm

        Thank you so much Hana! I really don't know as I haven't tried that out myself. I'm sure you will get a nice, rich taste though. Happy Baking! xx

        Reply
    11. Sharon says

      June 29, 2021 at 8:31 pm

      Hi,
      Instead of desiccated coconut, can i use fresh coconut or coconut milk powder?

      Reply
      • Natasha Minocha says

        July 01, 2021 at 12:31 pm

        Hi Sharon, I think fresh grated coconut will work well here. 🙂

        Reply
    12. box of cake says

      August 02, 2021 at 11:45 am

      5 stars
      really i appreciate, you made and guide properly regarding cake recipe now i want to try this recipe pictures also looking very awesome

      Reply
    13. Urvee says

      December 02, 2021 at 6:52 pm

      Can we use all WWF n no APF...?if yes do we have to change anything else..??

      Reply
      • Natasha Minocha says

        December 04, 2021 at 11:04 am

        Hi Urvee, yes, that should not be a problem at all. You may need to increase the quantity of yogurt to adjust. Happy baking 🙂

        Reply

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