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Julab Jamoon cake is a fusion cake that has eggless vanilla cakes layered with chopped gulab jamoons and covered with heavy cream & cream cheese frosting. Sounds interesting, isn’t it? With the flavor of cardamom and the aroma of rose, it for sure tastes as interesting as it sounds, ignore the naive writing on the cake.
Months ago, while browsing through facebook, I chanced upon this cake designed by a lady. I had to save it to recreate someday. And here it is with similar idea and design but slightly different composition.
Serves: 12 to 15
Ingredients:
For Eggless Vanilla Sponge Cake:
All Purpose Flour – 3 cups
Thick Yogurt/Curd – 2 cups
Sugar – 1 1/2 cups
Cooking Oil – 1 cup (or any other vegetable oil)
Rose Essence – 1 1/2 teaspoons
Cardamom Powder – 1 teaspoon
Baking Powder – 3 teaspoons
Baking Soda – 1 teaspoon
Salt – 1/2 teaspoon
For Gulab Jamoon Layering and Frosting:
Gulab Jamoons – about 12 medium sized
Gulab Jamoon Sugar Syrup – about 1 cup
Heavy Whipped Cream – 1/2 + 2 1/2 cups
Cream Cheese – 1/2 cup
Confectioner’s Sugar/Icing Sugar – 3 tablespoons + 3/4 cup (use 1/2 cup if you prefer less sweet)
Rose Essence – 1/2 + 1 teaspoon
Cardamom Powder – 1/2 teaspoon
Slivered Pistachios – 1/8 cup
Dried Rose Petals, crushed – 1/8 cup
For Aid:
Round Cake Board/Turntable
Icing Bag
Method:
Preparing the Eggless Vanilla Sponge Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C/350 F.
- Grease and dust two equal sized round cake tins.
- In a bowl, take yogurt and beat it until it is smooth and there is no lump.
- Add sugar and beat until the sugar melts.
- Now add baking powder, baking soda, cardamom powder and salt to the yogurt mixture. Set aside for 3-4 minutes until it becomes frothy.
- Pour oil and rose essence. Mix gently until well combined. Do not over mix as the air captured in the mixture might be lost.
- Fold in all purpose flour, using a spatula. Mix gently until well combined. Do not over mix.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake tins.
- Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until the skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove the cake tins from the oven and place them on a wire rack to cool down.
Preparing the Frosting for layering (Frosting 1):
- Take 1/2 cup heavy whipped cream, 3 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar, 1/2 teaspoon rose essence and 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder.
- Using an electric mixer, whip the mixture on low speed until it is well combined. Increase the speed to medium and continue to whip until it forms stiff peaks. Do not over-beat the mixture as it will turn into butter. To test, tilt the bowl slightly and the cream should stay intact.
- Refrigerate the whipped cream until you are ready to assemble the cake.
Preparing the Frosting for coating and design (Frosting 2):
- Take cream cheese, confectioner’s sugar and 1 teaspoon rose essence.
- Using an electric mixer, blend until well combined.
- Now add 2 1/2 cups of heavy whipping cream and whip the mixture on low speed until it is well combined. Increase the speed to medium and continue to whip until it forms stiff peaks. Do not over-beat the mixture as it will turn into butter. To test, tilt the bowl slightly and the cream should stay intact.
- Refrigerate the whipped cream until you are ready to assemble the cake.
Assembling the cake:
- Remove the top browned layer of both the cakes. If the surface of the cake has a slight dome, cut it out to flatten the surface.
- Add 4 tablespoons of water to the sugar syrup and mix well.
- Place the two cakes in two plates, drizzle the diluted sugar syrup all over the surface; about 6-7 tablespoons on each half, until the cake layers become moist.
- Now take a dollop of the prepared frosting (Frosting 1), smear it on the centre of the cake board.
- Now place one moistened cake on smeared frosting on the cake board.
- Spread a layer of frosting (Frosting 1) evenly on the surface of the cake.
- Top it with a layer of chopped gulab jamoons, about 7-8 jamoons. Spread to even out the layer.
- Now place the other moistened cake on the gulab jamoon layer. Press gently and remove/ any extra frosting or gulab jamoon pieces that might pop out from the side. Adjust both the cake layers to be placed evenly.
- Now crumb coat the cake by spreading a thin layer of the frosting (Frosting 2) all over the cake. Refrigerate the cake and the left-over frosting for 30 minutes.
- Now spread another layer of frosting (Frosting 2) all over the cake. Pipe out the frosting to form designs of your choice.
- Place 3-4 gulab jamoons on the cake, decorate with crushed rose petals and pistachios on top and side of the cake.
- Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or until you serve.
Note:
- The cake tastes best if you use homemade gulab jamoons. The jamoons in the pictures you see above are store-bought.
- Bake the cakes a day in advance, if possible. That gives enough time for the cake to cool down.
- You can halve each cake horizontally and have 3 layers of frosting (Frosting 1) instead of 1. The cake would then be too heavy. You can layer as per your choice. One layer of frosting like in my recipe above, gives thick layers of cake.
- Dried rose petals are not a must, you can use only slivered pistachios or almonds instead. But rose petals definitely “oomphs” the cake’s beauty and flavor.
Frosting Design Adapted from https://spicesnflavors.com/
