Last Updated on February 28, 2024
Indian culture and heritage are closely connected to celebrations and festivals. Food in any kind of form plays a big part in these kinds of events, especially when it’s festival season. However, the sweet Indian dishes, also called Mithai, are especially popular in the moments of joy and happiness in Indian celebratory events.
There are many popular Indian sweets (Mithais), such as the milk and cardamom Gulab Jamun cake which is popular across South Asia, while others are regional favorites.
There are two types of Indian sweets: milk-based desserts like Kalakand, Rasgulla, Rasmalai, Kalakand, and Burfi, and flour-based desserts like Gulab Jamun, Malpuwa, Halwa, and Ladoo.
The one that really stands out in this list is the Gulab Jamun, it’s one of the most popular choices because of the way it’s cooked and the bite-sized pieces it’s cut into.
Although the Gulab Jamun originally is made with dried milk solids and the dough is cut into a tiny piece that is friend fried, today we are going to cover a different approach to this sweet Indian recipe.
In this Gulab Jamun Cake recipe, we are going to cover the milk and cardamom Gulab Jamun cake. So, you are wondering how can a festival sweet be transformed into a cake? Then we got the answer covered in this recipe, check it out!
What is a Milk and Cardamom Gulab Jamun Cake?
Gulab Jamun is a traditional Indian dish that everyone should experience. The simple definition of this Indian recipe is soft fried dough balls dipped in rich sweet syrup. However, many people are unaware that cooking Gulab Jamun needs a great deal of talent.
It’s all about the skill, and unfortunately, not everyone has it, especially seldom home cooks. So, we’ve created a simple recipe for a baked cardamom-spiced cake drenched in typical sugar syrup to make it even easier to enjoy this great delicacy!
Milk and Cardamom Gulab Jamun Cake Recipe
So, firstly we are going to cover the ingredients you need for our version of the milk and cardamom bundt cake. The ingredients although are pretty much the core of every Milk and Cardamom Gulab Jamun Cake. Let’s check them out!
Ingredient list
- 1 cup non-fat milk powder
- 1/4 cup plain flour
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1/4 cup whole milk (room temperature)
- pinch of baking soda
- 1 3/4 cups of granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups of water
- Coarsely crushed cardamom seeds
- Oil for baking the cake
This dose of ingredientsfor my cake recipes is for around 2.2 lbs of dough. So, bake it in a cake tray that has a capacity of 2.5 lbs and above. Why is that? Because in the baking process, the cake can rise and we want to avoid any problems in the baking process.
Step-by-step Guide
Firstly, we need to make the dough for the milk and cardamom Gulab Jamun cake. The dough is nearly the same as the Gulab Jamun which is fried. For the dough, you should follow the next steps.
Step 1: Mixing powders and butter
Combine milk powder, flour, and baking soda in a mixing dish.
Then, add the butter.
Step 2: Stir
Stir in enough milk to produce a soft dough. There is a possibility that the dough is going to be sticky, so you can throw some flour on the table.
Step 3: Let it rest
Set the dough aside for a few minutes. The surplus milk will be absorbed by the milk powder. Add extra milk if the dough is dry, as the dough should be soft.
Step 4: Kneading time
Get ready to knead your dough, do this once you’ve greased your hands. Once is ready, pour it into a greased bundt pan and let it rest for another 10 minutes.
Step 5: Prepare the oven
Preheat the oven to around 302°F.
Step 6: Bake time!
Bake the cake at around 302°F to 347°F for 35-40 minutes.
Step 7: Remove your cake
Take the milk and cardamom gulab jamun cake out, and let it rest for 15 minutes.
Step 8: Making the glaze
While the cake is resting, proceed with the sugar-glazing syrup.
How you can do sugar syrup for glazing?
Step 9: Make the syrup
To make the syrup, combine the water, sugar, and ground cardamom seeds in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil the syrup for one minute before removing it from the heat.
Stir the sugar into the syrup until it dissolves. Once it thickens, remove it from the heat and set it aside.
Step 10: Remove the bundt cake from the bundt pan
Remove the bundt cake from the bundt pan and put it on a plate.
Step 11: Drop it like is hot!
You can proceed to cover the bundt cake with this sweet syrup and wait for it to dry.
Step 12: Enjoy!
Slice it and enjoy the bundt cake with your friends.
This guide is extremely simple, the preparation time of the dough is around 10 to 15 minutes, and the process of baking is around 35 to 40 minutes.
Lastly, you need to put the sugar glaze over the bundt cake, although remember to cool off the bundt cake first then apply the sugar glaze.
The sugar glaze is made in 5 to 10 minutes if you follow the steps we mentioned.
Take a look at this other recipe in the next video for more ideas!
Conclusion
In conclusion, the milk and cardamom Gulab Jamun cake is the perfect choice if you want to go for a dessert that is different and has a really special meaning to the Indian community. The taste is awesome, the process of making it is extremely easy, and the best part? You don’t need many ingredients to make the bundt cake. We 100% recommend you try this dessert and taste the awesome sweetness of Indian cuisine.
For other culinary topics, check our other articles. I hope you liked this recipe about milk and cardamom Gulab Jamun cake. And as always, thank you for reading!
FAQ
Can we use dairy whitener instead of milk powder in gulab jamun?
Well, if you want to achieve the best taste and look of the milk and cardamom gulab jamun cake, it's best to use milk powder or even milk. The whitener in general has more sugar, meaning the cake will taste sweeter than usual.
Is gulab jamun good for health?
Depending on how much you eat, if you eat a balanced amount of gulab jamun, you won't feel any health issues. However, if you eat too much gulab jamun expect some issues which are related with eating sweet products and consuming sugar.
Is gulab jamun warm or cold?
There are two ways of consuming the gulab jamun. You can fry the gulab jamun and wait for them to cool off, then glaze them with sugar syrup and eat them. The other way is to consume them when they are hot, directly from the frying pan. Usually, the second way is served with cold ice cream or some cream that stayed in the fridge.
Which country invented gulab jamun?
The gulab jamun is a sweet dish which relates to the Indian culture the most. However, other South Asian countries make this dish and consume it on a regular celebratory occasion. Other countries where you can find the gulab jamun are Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, and Myanmar
Milk and Cardamom Gulab Jamun Cake
Equipment
- 1 cake tray 2.5lbs capacity +
Ingredients
- 1 cup non-fat milk powder
- 1/4 cup plain flour
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1/4 cup whole milk (room temperature)
- pinch of baking soda
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 cups water
- Coarsely crushed cardamom seeds
- Oil for baking the cake
Instructions
- Combine milk powder, flour, and baking soda in a mixing dish. Then, add the butter.
- Stir in enough milk to produce a soft dough. There is a possibility that the dough is going to be sticky, so you can throw some flour on the table.
- Set the dough aside for a few minutes. The surplus milk will be absorbed by the milk powder. Add extra milk if the dough is dry, as the dough should be soft.
- Get ready to knead your dough, do this once you've greased your hands. Once is ready, pour it into a greased pan and let it rest for another 10 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to around 150C.
- Bake the cake at around 150C to 175C for 35-40 minutes.
- Take the milk and cardamom gulab jamun cake out, and let it rest for 15 minutes.
- While the cake is resting, proceed with the sugar glazing syrup.
For the sugar glazing syrup follow the next steps:
- To make the syrup, combine the water, sugar, and ground cardamom seeds in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil the syrup for one minute before removing it from the heat. Stir the sugar into the syrup until it dissolves. Once it thickens, remove it from the heat and set it aside.
- Remove the cake from the pan and put it on a plate.
- You can proceed to cover the cake with this sweet syrup and wait for it to dry.
- Slice it and enjoy it with your friends.
My name is Ania, and I am very glad to see you here. I have always loved cooking; even some of my earliest memories are flipping through a cookbook and making pudding standing on a stool because I was too small to reach the stove.
You should know that I am not a professionally trained chef, just a big food lover who grew up in a family obsessed with cooking and focused on what we eat.
