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Mawa cake
Cardamom khoya butter cake
Irani-café cardamom butter cake made with khoya
Walk into an old Irani café in Mumbai or Pune at teatime and the glass jars on the counter will hold squat, golden mawa cakes, each crowned with a single cashew. The crumb is close and buttery, heavy with milky khoya and perfumed with cardamom, somewhere between a pound cake and a barfi. Locals dunk a slice in cutting chai or eat it with a bun maska on the side. This version uses eggs, as the classic bakeries do; eggless versions swap the eggs for yogurt or condensed milk and are just as popular. The usual slip is adding the khoya in hard lumps, which leave greasy pockets in the cake, so grate it and rub it smooth before it meets the butter. Chef's tip: warm the cardamom seeds in a dry pan for a minute before grinding; the aroma doubles and carries right through the bake.
- Total time
- 65 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
For the cake
- 5 ½ oz khoya (mawa)unsweetened, grated
- 5 ½ oz unsalted buttersoftened
- 5 ½ oz caster sugar
- 3 eggsat room temperature
- 6 ½ oz plain flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp green cardamom seedsabout 12 pods, freshly ground
- ¼ cup milkwarm
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
To finish
- 1 tbsp icing sugar (optional)for dusting
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What you'll need
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Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 350°F (325°F fan). Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases, or grease and line a 20 cm square tin.
Step 2: Warm 1 tsp green cardamom seeds in a dry pan over low heat for 1 minute, then grind it fine in a mortar.
2 minStep 3: Rub 5 ½ oz khoya (mawa) between your fingers in a bowl, or mash it with a fork, until there are no hard lumps left. If it is very firm, warm it with 2 tbsp milk for a few seconds first.
Step 4: Beat 5 ½ oz unsalted butter and 5 ½ oz caster sugar with an electric whisk for 4–5 minutes, until pale and fluffy. Beat in the smooth mawa until combined.
5 minStep 5: Beat in 3 eggs one at a time, then ½ tsp vanilla extract and the ground cardamom.
Step 6: Sift 6 ½ oz plain flour, 1 ½ tsp baking powder and ¼ tsp salt over the bowl and fold in with a spatula, adding the rest of the ¼ cup milk to loosen it to a thick, dropping batter. Stop as soon as no flour shows; overmixing makes the cake tough.
Step 7: Divide between the cases (about two-thirds full) and press a 12 cashew halves half lightly onto each.
Step 8: Bake for 22–25 minutes for small cakes, or 35–40 minutes for a square tin, until deep golden at the edges, springy when pressed and a skewer comes out clean.
25 minStep 9: Cool on a rack. Dust with 1 tbsp icing sugar if you like. They keep for 4 days in a tin and taste better on day two.
10 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 280 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 29 g
- Fat
- 16 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does mawa cake take?
- About 65 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of unsalted butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
- What can I use instead of caster sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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Perfect for:Tea-time