Hetal Vasavada's Gulab Jamun Cake
Gulab jamun is the quintessential Indian dessert. Soft, fried dough balls dipped in a sugary sweet syrup. My Shobana kaki (dad's brother's wife) is the queen of gulab jamun. When I was young, we'd go to her house for dinner parties and she'd make homemade gulab jamun, and I had the hardest time keeping my hands away from them. A lot of people don't know it, but making gulab jamun takes a lot of skill. It's all about technique, and sadly it's a technique that I rarely get right. To make it easier to enjoy my favorite dessert, I turned it into an easy cardamom-spiced Bundt cake soaked in classic saffron sugar syrup!
Makes 1 bundt cake or 6 mini bundt cakes
Ingredients
For the cardamom pound cake
1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter, softened, plus 1 tablespoon (15 grams) for greasing
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon (226 grams) granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
1⅔ cups (227 grams) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
For the gulab jamun syrup
1 cup (240 milliliters) water
1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
3-inch (8-centimeter) cinnamon stick
8 cardamom pods
1 teaspoon saffron
2 teaspoons (10 milliliters) rose water
2 teaspoons (10 milliliters) fresh lime juice
1½ cups (170 grams) powdered sugar, optional
1 tablespoon (2 grams) dried rose petals, optional
Method
Grease a Bundt pan liberally with butter. Preheat the oven to 325°F (163°C).
Add the butter and granulated sugar to a large mixing bowl fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on high for 3 minutes; the butter will turn pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well in between each addition. Add the vanilla and salt and mix for 30 seconds. Add the flour and cardamom. Mix until the flour is just incorporated. Spoon the batter into the Bundt pan and tap the pan on the counter 3 to 5 times to remove air bubbles. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the Bundt cake comes out clean.
Ten minutes before the cake is done baking, make the syrup. Add the water, granulated sugar, cinnamon, cardamom pods, and saffron to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the rose water and lime juice. Remove the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods. Reserve ¼ cup (60 ml) of the syrup and set aside. Poke holes into the bottom of the Bundt cake with a fork.
Take the rest of the syrup and pour on top of the Bundt cake while it is still warm and in the pan. It will look like a lot of syrup, but the cake will soak it all up! Let the cake rest for 10 minutes and then turn onto a serving plate.
Take the reserved syrup and add the powdered sugar to make a glaze.
Whisk well and pour over the Bundt cake. Sprinkle with the dried rose petals, if desired.
Reprinted with permission from Hetal Vasavada of Milk & Cardamom
Don’t miss hetal on she’s my cherry pie
Photo by Madelene Farin