Eggless Semolina (Rava) Cake

An old-school classic that will remind you of the Iyengar bakery style cake that you’re sure to have eaten at some point if you grew up in India.

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Growing up in India, we didn’t eat a lot of cakes/baked goods. Baking at home wasn’t common, ordering in food unheard of, and even if you did, where would you order a cake from? There were very few bakeries and the only patisseries were the ones in high-end hotels. Thus cake for us was something you ate mostly at birthdays or on other special occasions.

When I started baking first, I heard a lot about “Iyenger style cakes” and had no idea what it meant till I came to find out about the iconic legacy of Bangalore’s Iyenger bakeries and how after being nearly a household name in the Southern parts of the country, had suddenly started cropping up in other regions as well, most dominantly, Mumbai – the city I live in.

It wasn’t until I tried their cakes did I understand what the hype was about. Soft, tender, and delicious – the cakes were simple – old-school, without any jazz but so memorable!

However, it’s one thing to appreciate something and another to know that it’s not the best for you on a regular basis. As much as I loved their stuff, I found myself doubting the level of hygiene at nearly all the outlets I visited, and also the quality of ingredients they used given their shockingly low prices.

So it was that my love affair with the Iyenger bakery came to an end even before it had properly started. They say necessity is the mother of all invention and in this case it turned out to be true. I was so smitten by their rawa cake that I couldn’t come to terms with the idea that I may never eat it again. And so I set off on a mission to recreate the same in my own kitchen.

The first few trials gave me something similar – honestly it is such a simple cake that it wasn’t too difficult to create it. But it still lacked a certain flavor and texture I was looking for. A few changes finally led to the perfect recipe with minimum effort! It gives me no little joy to be sharing this recipe here with all of you reading this!

The cake needs only a few simple ingredients that are pantry staples –

• Yogurt (thick, strained or hung yogurt. Home-made or store-brought will work)
• Sugar
• Oil
• Semolina, also known as rava or sooji
• All-purpose flour (without it the crumb doesn’t hold as well together)
• Baking Powder & Baking Soda
• Milk

A few things to know before you bake

• I use coarse raw semolina as it is – no roasting or grinding.
• The resting time is important for the batter for the semolina to absorb the liquid. A lot of recipes in fact suggest soaking the semolina overnight in butter. However, I found that it made no significant difference even when the semolina was soaked for only an hour. I also prefer to use oil because it keeps the cake soft even after a few days.
• The cake despite not having a specific flavor tastes great. If you are keen, you could add zest (lemon/orange), extracts or essences, nuts, choco-chips or anything else you like to the recipe.
• I’ve made the cake plain and also with some nuts added to the top before baking and it tastes wonderful both ways although my family prefers the version with some nuts.

So head on over and try this wonderful ‘Iyenger style Semolina Cake’ – a simple, no fuss recipe that produces a gorgeous cake – one for the times!

If you make this, do send me your pictures and I will give you a shoutout on Instagram.

A few other tea-cakes you will like

• • Orange Almond cake
  • Banana Walnut Bread
  • Lemon Loaf
  • Masala chai cake
  • Date Walnut Cake
  
  Print Recipe
  Semolina Cake
  An old-school cake made with semolina flour that one can never have enough of!
  Makes: One 7-8 inch round
  Prep Time10 mins
  Cook Time35 mins
  Resting Time15 mins
  Total Time1 hr
  Keyword: cake
  Ingredients
  • 1 + ¼ cup Semolina (200g)
  • ¼ cup All-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup Caster sugar
  • 1 tsp Baking Powder
  • ½ tsp Baking Soda
  • ⅓ cup Oil
  • ½ cup Yogurt
  • ½-¾ cup Milk
  • zest of one lemon (optional)
  Instructions
  INSTRUCTIONS
  • Grease or line a 7-inch round pan or a loaf pan and keep aside.
  • In a bowl, mix the semolina, flour, sugar, oil, yogurt, 1/2 cup of milk and lemon zest and mix well. Cover and leave it to rest for 15-20 minutes. Start the oven after 5 minutes to pre-heat at 180 degree C.
  • After 15 minutes, add the baking powder, and baking soda to the batter. whisk well and if its too thick add the remaining 1/4 cup of milk, little at a time to check the consistency. You don't want a very thin batter.
  • Pour it into the pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
  • Let it cool slightly then remove and transfer to a cooling rack. cool completely before slicing.
  Notes
  For measurement conversions to grams and ml, refer the conversion guide here – Measurements Conversion Guide