Eggless Sooji or Semolina Cake

Last few days my facebook and insta feed have been buzzing with pics of various cake recipes. With almost everything locked down, many cooking and baking ingredients are vanishing off the supermarket shelves. But hey, that is no reason to not bake.

This easy Semolina cakes uses ingredients that are available in any Indian pantry and even comes out great in this Eggless version. All you need is some semolina (medium fine) and the basic baking ingredients. You can use butter or vegetable oil - both work equally well. If using egg, omit the curd and use 2 medium sized eggs instead

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cup semolina / sooji

• 0.5 cup whole wheat flour

• 1 cup powdered sugar

• 0.5 cup vegetable oil or melted butter

• 0.5 cup curd

• 0.75 cup milk

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 0.5 teaspoon baking soda

• 2 teaspoons vanilla essence

• 0.5 teaspoon cardamom powder

• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped dry fruits (cashews, almonds, pistachios)

Method:

1. Coat and 8-inch round baking tin with butter and line with baking paper

2. Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl - semolina, flour, cardamom powder set aside.

3. Beat oil/butter, curd and sugar for 3-4 minutes till it is smooth running consistency

4. Add 1/3rd of dry ingredients to the sugar mix and gently mix with a spatula

5. Add a splash of milk, followed by more dry mix. Repeat this till all dry and wet ingredients are incorporated. By this point, we have used all ingredients except vanilla, dry fruits and the raising agents

6. Cover the batter and keep aside for 20-30 minutes. This step is very important as it helps semolina to soak up all the moisture and fluff up

7. Add vanilla and baking powder plus baking soda and quickly mix in with 2-3 folds using a spatula.

8. Pour in the baking pan/tin and sprinkle the dry fruits on top

9. Bake for about 45 mins in a convection oven at 180 degrees or for about an hour if baking on gas-top without oven (For steps on how to bake on a gas top, please refer to the Banana Walnut cake recipe)

10. After baking, wait for 10 mins before demoulding the cake

11. Slice and serve with tea