Gulab Jamun Cake As Made By Hetal Vasavada

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 the 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 cla

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the cardamom cake: Preheat the oven to 325°F (163°C). Grease a 10-cup Bundt pan liberally with 1 tablespoon of butter. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour and milk powder together until well combined.

2. 2

   Add the butter, sugar, and ground cardamom to a separate large bowl and mix with a hand mixer for 5-7 minutes; the butter will turn pale and fluffy. Add the salt and vanilla and stir to combine. Add 1 egg at a time, beating well between each addition. Add the flour mixture. Mix until the dry ingredients are just incorporated.

3. 3

   Spoon the batter into the Bundt pan and tap the pan on the counter 3–5 times to remove air bubbles.

4. 4

   Bake the cake for 35–40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

5. 5

   10 minutes before the cake is done baking, make the syrup: Add the water, granulated sugar, saffron, cardamom pods, and cinnamon stick to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and whisk in the rose water and lime juice. Remove the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods from the syrup and discard. Reserve ¼ cup (60 ml) of the syrup and set aside.

6. 6

   Poke holes in the bottom of the Bundt cake with a fork. Pour the rest of the syrup over the Bundt cake while it is still warm 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, then invert it onto a serving platter.

7. 7

   In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and reserved syrup to make a glaze.

8. 8

   Pour the glaze over the Bundt cake. Sprinkle with the dried rose petals, if using, and pistachios.

9. 9

   Slice and serve.

10. 10

    Enjoy!

Comments