“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. “- Samuel Beckett.
My mum is not a very big cake person. But this last Christmas , when she saw a promotional ad for Cochin bakery in the paper , she said she had heard a lot about their ghee cake. I picked up a slab on my very next trip out of the house. We were bowled over by the cake. The aroma of the ghee as we opened the packaging was intoxicating. The cake itself was tender and deliciously ghee – ey.
And since then started my quest to recreate this cake. I am no good at recreating stuff ( brings to mind KFC) but I was sure I would find several recipes online. I did. But recipe after recipe went into my oven
Then finally , I came across a recipe tried by an online friend whose work I always admired. So I knew if she had liked this, it ought to be good. The recipe is from an old blog called Claypot Maladies and is essentially similar to a pound cake made with ghee instead of butter.
I halved it ( because by this time I had realised I had wasted enough ghee ) and just added whole eggs to the batter instead of splitting them and beating the whites separately ( just lazy there ) . I also skipped the zest but added the juice. Not sure what it does in the recipe though. The results were still very very good!
From all my trials with ghee cake , I can tell you two things that are of importance – the quality of ghee and the consistency. Use the best possible ghee you can buy and make sure it is in solid or semisolid form. Liquid ghee just won’t work here !
Ghee cake
Ingredients
- 125 grams or 1 cup all-purpose flour or maida
- 1/2 tsp baking Powder
- Pinch of baking Soda
- 125 grams or 1/2 cup pure Ghee in solid form
- 100 grams or 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 1 tsp fresh lemon Juice
- 60 ml or 1/4 cup milk at room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 C / 350 F.
- Grease and dust with flour a 9 x 4 inch loaf pan .
- Sift or whisk together the flour, baking soda and baking powder. Keep aside.
- Using a electric mixer or wooden spoon, beat together ghee and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add to this , the eggs ONE BY ONE, and beat well after adding each egg.
- Add the lime juice and beat for a minute.
- Alternately add the flour mixture and the milk , starting and ending with the flour mixture . So 1/3 of flour mixture - beat- half of milk- beat - 1/3 of flour mixture - beat - remaining half of milk - beat - remaining 1/3 of flour mixture.
- Pour batter into pan and smooth top.
- Bake for 38- 45 minutes until cake springs back on touch and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- cool in pan for 5 minutes , unmould and cool completely on wire rack.
Notes
I used a 240 ml cup.
This cake is very lightly sweet. Add 2-4 tablespoons more sugar for a sweeter cake
A while after the batter went into the oven , the aroma itself told me that I had hit the jackpot with this recipe .It is light and just sweet enough , really yummy with a pure ghee flavour.
It is almost like the iconic ghee cake from Cochin Bakery .I say almost because I wouldn’t lie to you guys and their ghee cake really IS something else. But I m really happy with this one.
My quest for the perfect ghee cake rests here !
I am unable to print the recipe, and I really want to try it. Do you know why I may not be able to print. The recipe and picture of cake looks so yummy
I had been searching for cake recipe using ghee as I was short of butter. Thanks for your recipe, the outcome was awesome. Cake is over in just one sitting. I made slight changes. Didn’t add 1/2 cup of ghee. Separated the eggs and added the them. Thanks again.
That’s great to know Sharon…! Thanks for taking the time to leave the feedback. Appreciate it!
How many eggs to be used
Hi Ashwathy.. This has two eggs..
Tried this out today after work..I liked the fact that its quite quick,its spongy and just so right in everyway..
Doing the happy dance Ria!
I have made this cake 3 or 4 times now…both as sheet cake and cupcake…it came out so perfect every single time. The flavour is so close to the original ghee cake. Love this recipe!
Hi,
Tried your ghee cake recipe nd came out really well. I am excited as this was my first baking experience. Thanks a lot for sharing. Wishing you many more successful baking experiences.
Hi Akshatha,
What an incredible recipe. I was baking ghee cake myself from many years but I found this to be more simpler and even more tastier than that. This took me back to the days when we used to buy this from our hometown as gifts for neighbours. This tastes exactly like that. In love with the texture. My cake is not this light. Highly recommend the readers to definitely go ahead and make this cake. Like you have mentioned in ur post I too have to say the same, that my quest for ghee cake rests here. Thank u so much for sharing the wonderful recipe. Definitely a keeper. Thanks again.
One of the best reviews ever Hajra.. Thank you a ton for taking the time to make the cake and to write such a lovely comment. You made my day!
I tried your ghee cake. I think it has very strong ghee smell and flavour, me and my family didn’t like it that much. 🙁 any suggestions?
Hey Harini – actually the USP of this cake is the aroma and flavour of ghee! If its not to your taste , you can use butter instead for a classic pound cake or you can check out my cream cheese pound cake recipe… !
Tried your ghee cake with slight variations. Like less sugar, used very little wheat flour as well and no baking soda because of which it did not rise but the cake tasted heavenly. Over in a jiffy. Will soon try with double measurements.
Thanks for the perfect recipe. 🙂
thats great to know Vimala ! Thanks so much for trying and letting me know!
Any substitute for eggs?
Sorry Urvi- i did a trial without eggs but it didnt turn out well.
Thanks for the recipe. So, as I understand refrigerated ghee is not a problem. Also pls let me know, what round pan size will be ideal.
A loaf pan is ideal Susmita- 8 x 4 or 9 x 4 inches. If you dont have one, a round 7 or 8 inch pan will do – check from 35 minutes onwards .
Hi..
Quite eager to try this cake out 🙂 . If the ghee is in liquid form,can we jus chill it for a while to a solid state n use? Its so hot now n room temp ghee is always in liquid state 🙁
Hi Raji… yes… when you use it, it should be in solid form , thats all! Let me know how it turns out !