Gulab Jamun Cake

• Eggless, Vegetarian
• Flexible recipe, adjust to your preference
• Perfect sweet for parties and holidays

If you are a fan of Indian fusion eggless cake recipes or Indian sweets, you will love my Rasmalai Cake, Kesar Pista Milk Cake, Gajar Ka Halwa Cake, Mango Shrikhand Cheesecake, Tiramisu Burfi, Cookies and Cream Burfi and Kesar Pista Cupcakes.

What is gulab jamun cake?

Gulab jamun cake is an easy eggless cardamom cake baked with readymade gulab jamuns inside.  Once baked, the cake is brushed with a saffron simple syrup (chaasni), just like gulab jamuns are.

I have used a delicious light rose whipping cream to layer the cake and make a beautiful two layer cake.

Gulab jamun is a VERY popular Indian dessert.  It is essentially fried balls of dough/milk powder which are soaked in a saffron / cardamom / rose simple syrup.  This cake similarly soaks a baked cake with saffron simple syrup which gives a similar mouth watering taste.

The primary flavors are from saffron in gulab jamun.  Gulab means rose, so a touch of rose gives it a beautiful rose flavor.

You can also make this in cupcake form, check out Gulab Jamun Cupcakes or as Gulab Jamun Cheesecake!

The cake can be made in a variety of ways which is noted in the Variations section below. 

I had to make an Indian fusion cake as I love making fusion desserts with gulab jamun such as Gulab Jamun Ice Cream and Gulab Jamun Pancakes. 

Key Ingredient Notes

Cake: I make a eggless vanilla sponge cupcake recipe as a base for this using all purpose flour (plain flour) and add in milk powder.  You can use a box mix as well.

Gulab Jamuns: I used ready made canned gulab jamuns by Haldiram.  I like using ready made gulab jamuns because they are not as soft as freshly homemade gulab jamuns.  So, they hold their shape well when you make them in the cake batter.

Oil or Butter: You can use either for this recipe, they both taste great.  If you are using butter do not forget to leave it out of the fridge until it is room temperature. The process is slightly different for butter and is outlined in the recipe card below.

Rose Water: I used Nielsen Massey brand of Rose Water which is strong like rose essence. You may need to adjust dependent on the brand used.

Vanilla extract: This helps give the cake base a good flavor.

Saffron simple syrup (Chaasni):  It makes a very big difference to make your own chaasni instead of using the syrup that comes in the canned gulab jamun.  It is very easy to make.  I like using saffron as the primary ingredient in the syrup and add in a touch of cardamom powder.  The rose flavor comes through in the whipped cream so I don’t add it here as it can be overwhelming.  If you are skipping the rose whipped cream, you could add a little rose water to the syrup instead.

Whipped cream: This is very easy to make at home and I like to make it from scratch so the amount of sugar and flavorings can be controlled.  I add a little cardamom and a hint of rose that gives a lovely floral taste.  You can skip either or both, up to your preferences.

No eggs needed as this is an eggless gulab jamun cake.

Note: The ready made gulab jamuns come in a sugar syrup.  While you can use it, I don’t think it tastes as good as making your own saffron simple syrup.  You can use it in place of making the saffron syrup if you wish.

1. Tips For Making the Cake

Set oven to 350F. Line two 8 inch round cake pans with parchment paper. Drain the canned ready made gulab jamuns to separate them from the sugar syrup.

Mix together dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately.

(To make it easier and get even cake layers, recommend halving the batter recipe and mixing in two different bowls). I put the measurements for 1 cake in the notes section next to the ingredients in the recipe card.

Divide batter by two and pour 3/4 of batter into two sheet cake pans.  Then, place the gulab jamuns on the batter. Top with the remaining 1/4 of batter on each.  Place in preheated oven to bake.

Make the Chaasni (Saffron Simple Syrup)

This part is so simple!

Bring water, sugar, saffron strands and cardamom to a boil.  Let simmer 5 minutes.  Turn off and remove from gas. Set aside to let cool.

Make Rose Whipped Cream

For whipped cream: Bowl and whisk is needed – if you have room in your freezer, stick them in the freezer while you get your ingredients together.  The colder the whisk and bowl, the easier to get the whipping cream to come together. 

1. Add ingredients to a large bowl.
2. Whisk until stiff peaks form.

Note: I used McCormick’s natural food color powder in Berry.  If you use another food color such as a liquid one, I would do 1 drop as the color comes through much brighter.

Assemble the layered Cake

Make sure to give the cake time to cool in the pan or on wire rack before assembling!

You will make the cake with the following layer twice:

1. Cake layer: Poke holes in the cooled cake with a tooth pick.  Brushed/lightly soak with saffron syrup. Don’t soak too much as it will all become mushy.
2. Rose whipped cream: Spread half on the first layer

Add 2^nd half of cake and repeat!

Tip: Store the extra saffron simple syrup.  When serving you can either pour/drizzle in the plate or serve the cake slices with pipettes. It adds that gulab jamun taste and feel for your guests!

Gulab Jamun Cake Design

• Crushed pistachios: Try to pick the greenest ones! Roughly chop and sprinkles in a circle around the perimeter of the cake.
• Dried rose petals/roses: Used the Suncore brand, they have beautiful colors.
• Gulab jamuns: I saved two gulab jamuns from the can.  Just slice and place in a half circle on the cake

Rose whipped cream: I prefer a simple naked cake look so I don’t spread the whipped cream on the sides of the cake. 

Variations

This gulab jamun cake recipe is flexible! There are 3 options to make this cake:

1. Cake + Saffron Simple Syrup Only: Tastes just like gulab jamun, but it is baked! See the blog post for an image of a slice of cake with saffron syrup. I would make single layer cakes, brush each with the simple syrup and also serve a little syrup on the side for guests to pour over right before digging in. You can use pipettes like these.
2. Cake + Saffron Simple Syrup + Rose Whip Topping: Super delicious, the lightly sweetened rose whip topping is easy to make.
3. Cake + Saffron Simple Syrup + Rose Buttercream frosting: Also, delicious.  Uses butter cream instead of whipped topping.

To make a one-layer cake, simple half the recipe and use 1 8 inch round cake pan instead of two.

You can also make this in a bundt cake pan.

Serving Suggestions

This is a delicious cake that can be served on its own.  If you’d like to pair it with an ice cream, I have gulab jamun ice cream and kesar pista ice cream up.

They both have saffron in them and would go well with this cake.

As mentioned above, you can serve a little syrup on the side for guests to pour over right before digging in. You can use pipettes like these.

FAQ

Where can I buy gulab jamun?

You can buy gulab jamun easily at your local Indian store or even online.  There are so many varieties of ready made gulab jamun available. I choose to get Haldiram as the ingredients seemed cleaner than the other and was satisfied with how they held up being baked.

Can I make gulab jamun cake with MTR or other gulab jamun mix?

I have not tried this yet but I plan to make a gulab jamun mix cake soon!

Storing the cake

The cake can be stored in an airtight container for a few days.

Indian fusion cakes are so fun, I hope you enjoy the best gulab jamun cake on special occasions!