Soft, eggless orange cake

Eggless Orange Suji Cake

Here’s a quick recipe for baking a soft, delicious, eggless orange cake. You could also call it an eggless orange, suji cake, because part of the all-purpose flour (maida) is replaced by semolina or suji. If you’ve never baked an eggless cake before, this is a good one to start with.

And with oranges still in season, now’s a great time to enjoy an orange cake without having to add any artificial essence. This is a simple recipe that needs just the orange juice and zest, without the hassle of extracting the pulp.

Ingredients

½ cup (80g) semolina (rava or suji)

½ cup (60g) all-purpose flour (maida)

½ cup + 1 tbsp fine castor sugar

(Or granulated sugar, coarsely ground)

¼ c (60 ml or 4 tbsp) orange juice (from approx. 1 ½ oranges)

¼ cup thick yogurt

¼ cup oil

Approx. 1 tbsp milk (if necessary)

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

1 tsp orange zest

2 tbsp chopped almonds and pistachios

Procedure

1. Grease a 6″ round pan and line it with parchment paper.
2. Extract the juice of around 1 ½ oranges and filter it. (You’ll need just 4 tbsp of the juice to start with.)
3. If you don’t have a zester, make orange zest by using a peeler or grater.
4. Transfer the semolina to a bowl, and add 4 tbsp of orange juice to it. Set the semolina aside to soak for around 10 minutes.
5. Add the thick yogurt to a mixing bowl and whip it till it’s smooth and free from lumps.
6. Add in the sugar and mix it well with the yogurt.
7. Add the oil and whip everything well till the mix is light and airy.
8. Mix in the soaked semolina till it gets well incorporated into the batter.
9. Sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda into the mixing bowl and fold these dry ingredients into the batter.
10. Check the consistency of the batter. It should fall in ribbons. If it’s a little too thick, add some milk or orange juice to it to adjust the consistency. Stir in the orange zest.
11. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Tap the pan to level the batter and then sprinkle the chopped nuts on it.
12. Bake the eggless orange cake in a kadai that’s been preheated on the gas stove on medium to medium-high heat for around 6 – 7 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and bake the cake till a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cakes baked on the stovetop tend to brown more on the sides and bottom. The cake could take around 35 minutes to bake. It could also be baked in an oven preheated to 180 C (350 F) for around 25 to 30 minutes. The cake will brown properly on the top too when baked in an oven.

Enjoy!