Banana cake with rava (Eggless)
This recipe is from Deepa. Just 4 months back, I didn’t know about her. Since then, I interacted a few times and absolutely loved to get emails from her. When I came to know she is from my neighboring state Goa, I requested her to send some authentic Goan recipes. She sent two recipes, one was the prawn balchuan and the second was ‘banana cake’. She even mentioned that “It’s a different way of making a cake, with rava instead of flour”, but somehow, I just missed that line. But last week I was going through some of my old emails and I read more cautiously this time and was amazed to see a cake recipe without flour.
I have been going through different food blogs and saw dishes from different parts of India. But couldn’t find any Goan recipes. So this is my entry from beautiful Goa for the Independence day parade.
I baked this one today, just to be sent to the parade. I wanted to decorate it like Indian flag, but didn’t manage to get it right. When I bought different colored icings from Walmart, the lady on the counter asked me - “planning to decorate cake?”. I said “Yes, I am trying to learn”. She said “Don’t worry, however it looks, it will taste great”. That time I was 100% sure that I can decorate it well. Today I realized whatever she said was correct. I think I still have to try a lot before learning to decorate :(.
Before this, I tried two varieties of banana cakes, this and with Pushpa’s recipe. Both were amazing. What makes this cake different is the amazing aroma of cardamom and no egg in it.
Ingredients:
Ripe bananas 3
Rava (wheat sooji) 1 cup
Sodium-bi-carb(baking soda) 1/2 tsp
Cardomom powder 1/2 tsp
Coconut milk 2 cups
Sugar 1/2 cup
Cashewnuts 1 tsp
Salt
I did not add salt and used 1 tea spn baking powder instead of baking soda.
Method:
Roast rava over low heat in a kadai until aroma wafts from pan. Soak the rava in coconut milk for 2 hours.
Mash the bananas and add to rava along with sugar. Add soda, salt and cardamom powder. Mix the cashews. Apply little ghee to cake mould (I used parchment paper in the baking tray), pour in the mixture.
Preheat the oven at 350F for 10mins. Bake for around 35mins at 350 F or until a knife put in center comes out clean.
Decorate in whatever way required (optional).
Makes 8 pieces
Preparation time : 10min (excluding the baking time).
Would not have thought in my wildest dreams that you can make cake with sooji..awesome
August 14th, 2006 at 7:34 pmHavent heard that u can bake a cake with rava and that too without egg. The recipe also is very simple and easy … would love to try it. thanks for the recipe
August 14th, 2006 at 8:33 pmWow shilpa, cake without egg is just amazing. I don’t take much egg and always search for recipes without egg:) This is something I can try—the Sooji flour thing is really new to me:)
August 14th, 2006 at 10:11 pmBeautiful. Well done to u & Happy indepedence day.
August 15th, 2006 at 12:48 amHi Shilpa,
August 15th, 2006 at 2:09 amNice recipe. Thanx for sharing.
No eggs and flour ! This is a great recipe. Thank you so much for sharing
August 15th, 2006 at 4:45 ami have tried this cake,and it taste really good.the bananas have to be very ripe.Also you can add walnuts or cashews in the dough itself rather than toppings.I make this cake without the coconut milk as well,that is not bad either,but if you chose this path,you have to make sure to leave the banans and sooji misture to raise for atleast 5-6 hrs
August 15th, 2006 at 6:34 amGreat recipe Shilpa! Thanks for sharing.
August 15th, 2006 at 8:00 amHi Shilpa nice entry for the parade. Sounds easy and cake without egg and with sooji is interesting.
August 15th, 2006 at 8:12 amShilpa…..My MIL too is from Goa and makes a banana cake in the cooker (on the gas stove in cake cooker which is used in Goa, havent seen it anywhere in stores) It tastes excellent. I donno the recipe, but i know she does not use coconut milk. Her cake is brownish in colour with no egg. Need to try this one and get her recipe as well.
August 15th, 2006 at 8:15 amHi Shilpa,
August 15th, 2006 at 9:52 amVery different cake…with rava & without eggs…..should try this. Thanks for the recipe. Happy independence day.
Hey Shilpa… thats super easy & so yummy… I have so many vegetarian friends & they have to always forfeit cakes during any birthday celebrations. This ones going to be on my list now for such occassions. BTW, I also tried out ur eggless dates cake & it turned out really good. Sorry, I could’nt take a pic. My friends pounced on it as soon as it was out of the oven.
I will try this banana rava cake soon.
August 15th, 2006 at 10:33 amHey that looks beautiful! Who said you didn’t do it well? When I decorate a cake, I would overdo it and make a mess. You did it neatly.
August 15th, 2006 at 10:58 amAnd thanks for bringing out this recipe.
Shilpa dear, this is one good looking cake,and such a unique recipe ! I am adding it to my recipe collection and will try it out soon. Thank you so much for bringing in such a precious find from our homeland.
August 15th, 2006 at 2:04 pmHi Shilpa,
August 15th, 2006 at 2:30 pmCake looks yummy.Beautiful and color looks cool .
I love goa.
I like d your chakli .Nice demo,Shilpa.
Thanks for sharing.
Vineela
eggless and rava cake! This is a discovery
thank you for sharing.
August 15th, 2006 at 5:15 pmWow! simply Great…….so many goodies in one go, shilpa,I liked your chakli’s too.
August 15th, 2006 at 7:00 pmWow..a cake without flour…Will definitely give it a try…
Thank you Shilpa… It looks yummy!
August 15th, 2006 at 8:06 pmHey Ashwini,
August 16th, 2006 at 12:55 amI have eaten ‘Rava cake’ as a child. At one of my relatives place. Thank you so much to you and Deepa for sharing this recipe. I know, it’s gonna taste wonderful. I remember the taste. Will try it as soon as possible and will let you know.
Thanks all for the lovely comments. I am honored.
August 16th, 2006 at 1:24 pmhi
August 17th, 2006 at 10:46 pmi have to thank you for this wonderful recipe as i am not much for white flour and such a veg cake would be a treat for my mom-in-law who does not have eggs and hence cakes . i usually make the cucumber cake which is a goan speciality and it is enjoyed and eaten by everyone now its the banana cake. i will try it blog about it and let you know
thanks again
Hi
August 19th, 2006 at 7:06 pmEggless cake with rava … really looks different and interesting. I am planning to bake it today. I havent tasted cakes so far because we are strict veggies. please do post in some more interesting eggless cake recipes…
I love banana cake. It was nice of you to post this receipe. Its really great to know that a cake can be done of sooji. Thanks a lot.
August 21st, 2006 at 9:38 amhi dear , i have microwave with micro, grill and combi options. this is not of convection mode. can i bake cake and pizzas in this . please help me
August 24th, 2006 at 6:27 amNidhi, I have never used microwave for any kind of baking :(. So can’t help much in this regard, you might have to try. I found this when I googled about baking cakes in microwave. Have a look.
August 24th, 2006 at 6:38 amHi supriya,
August 25th, 2006 at 7:39 amCan u please tell me what liquid you used instead of coconut milk.Thanks.
Nasim, Supriya in the above comment mentioned about using milk instead of coconut milk. But as she said, with milk you have to leave the sooji in it for around 5hrs.
August 25th, 2006 at 9:01 amI made cake with cocnut milk and baking powder. I soaked the toasted rava for 2hrs in coconut milk and somhow the whole cocnut milk was not absorbed by the rava or i didn’t see the rava risen,there was some cocnut milk still on top. Anyway after baking the cake,it came out like the sheera/uppama consistency and not like a cake. Do u know what went wrong?
August 25th, 2006 at 11:31 amDid you add the soda (or baking powder)? That is the only thing that can go wrong. It is okay if rava does not rise.
August 25th, 2006 at 11:34 amI added baking powder. Another thing what I notiched was the batter was sort of watery and not thick like regular cake batters.
August 25th, 2006 at 12:37 pmWhatis the difference between parchment paper and wax paper and aluminium foil ?When do we use these?Is all for non-stick purpose?
August 25th, 2006 at 1:12 pmNasim, I have no idea what could have gone wrong. Because it is the same proportion deepa sent me and I have tried it myself with the same proportion. May be you should try once more.
As far as my knowledge goes Parchment paper and wax papers are used for baking. You can read more about them aluminium foil, Wax paper, Parchment paper
August 25th, 2006 at 3:12 pmHi Shilpa,
This is such a tasty looking cake and I have to say that the icing makes it look so much more yummy!
I was just wondering whether you could email me the recipe for the icing. I really want it to look as good as yours!
Thank you!
September 6th, 2006 at 7:23 amGauri, I used Whipped cream from “Betty crocker”, blue decorating icing from “Cake mate” and Red, green, desert sprinkles crystals(Great value). I got all of these from Walmart.
September 6th, 2006 at 7:28 amHi Shilpa, I have tried your recipe . It was very good. Thank you very much .
September 12th, 2006 at 8:36 amHi Shilpa, Thank you very much for your recipe. I have tried your recipe . It was very good
September 12th, 2006 at 8:38 amHi Shilpa!
I tried your eggless banana cake and it was very good in test. When I cooked it came out stiky..i don’t know why? I want to know why we need to soak rava for 2 hours? I soked only for half an hour. Please let me know where I did mistake? I am crazy for eggless cake becaue I dont have eggs.
Thank you!
October 17th, 2006 at 6:16 amKrupa,
When it is soaked for 2 hours, the rava absorbs the coconut milk well and it does not become sticky after baking. After soaking well, the rava becomes thick and I think that helps to make it pluffy.
If you like eggless cakes, try date cake also. That is also amazing….
October 17th, 2006 at 1:48 pmHi Shilpa,
Thanks for the prompt response. I will try your egg-less banana cake once again and I guess this time it will come out good. I tried your Egg-less date cake twice and it was yummy. Thanks for the post. Please send me the recipe of Pineapple Egg-less Cake because I love Pineapple.
October 19th, 2006 at 12:45 pmHello,
I tried the banana cake today. I cooked the cake nearly an hour and still it was sticky in the middle. I used the whole wheat rava and soaked it in coconut milk for 2 hours. Still the batter was little thin. Should we have to soak the rava when it is still hot? Did I do anything wrong?
Thank you,
October 20th, 2006 at 7:09 amHema
Hi Shilpa
I tried this cake yesterday. I used 1 cup coconut milk and 1 cup milk. I soaked the rava for about 5 hours. The batter was quite thick. The cake took an hour to bake but it was still sticky and heavy.
Any idea what I did wrong. I used 1 tsp baking powder.
Thanks
March 27th, 2007 at 3:04 amShefali
Shefali, this cake is bit sticky compared to any other cake. It might be because of rava. It does not rise as much as normal cakes. One more thing of concern might be the roasted rava. If it is not roasted properly, the cake might get sticky.
March 27th, 2007 at 7:08 amHi Shilpa,
Thanks for your suggestions. I made this cake again today.I roasted the rava properly. It came out lovely and not at all sticky.
Thank you again.
April 11th, 2007 at 9:12 amHi Shilpa,
I made this over the weekend. And it was excellent. My 1 year old daughter loved it.
Thanks very much for this recipe.
Chandrika
April 23rd, 2007 at 9:31 amHi Shilpa
The receipe is too good . I make no. of cakes using rawa . I always put milk instead of coconut milk & soak for about 3/4 hrs. It turns out fantastic.
Laxmi
April 23rd, 2007 at 9:37 amHi Shilpa,
One query. Are you using the thin rava or thick rava for this cake. Pls let me know as I intend to bake it in this week end.
Vanessa
April 24th, 2007 at 4:27 amVanessa, I used the fine rava for this.
April 24th, 2007 at 6:49 amHi Shilpa!I tried out this cake and it turned out beautifully!thnx! the recipes here are amazing!
-Ashwini
May 17th, 2007 at 1:26 pmhi shilpa!!
That was a wonderful recipe, my MIL makes this kinda cake all the time, but in the pressure cooker, but I did it in the in oven and it turned out to be as good as the one baked in the pressure cooker.
May 31st, 2007 at 7:53 pmThanks…
Hi.. Shilpa..
Its really nice 2 see such a good site 4 home made recipes.. i visited 4 d 1st time.. an i’m impressed d way site is desinged an recipes offcourse..
Awesome.. Cake using rawa..!! i shall surely try dis cake.. Looks yummy..
!!
One small request.. Pls let me knw how 2 do icing to d cake.. any simple method 2 do icing..??
Gald 2 knw ur answer..!!
Thank you..
June 5th, 2007 at 10:55 amArchu Pritish
Hi Shilpa,
I am new to ur blog. I tried the Rawa eggless cake, and followed all instructions, but added almonds instead of cashews (since I didnt have any almonds at home).
The cake didnt rise very well, and is slightly sticky. It tastes okay, but seems like it could have been fluffier. I did add baking soda.
July 23rd, 2007 at 7:17 pmHi, the rava cake looks yummy!. Whenever you bake a cake, try adding a spoonful of roasted rava well before baking and the end product is yummy!
I made one with rava and coconut powder in it, and it came out sooo well!!!
July 29th, 2007 at 8:57 pmHello Shilpa,
do you know whether I can bake the cake in the microwave?
I donot have a oven here, but still I would like to try this out… Will it still turn out good?
I found some recipes over the net http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1729,145163-226200,00.html
I am yet to try out this weekend, and will update
Thanks!
August 17th, 2007 at 3:09 amRava cake its very nice, and different taste, really i enjoy to make it. and also its very helpful for my carriar
September 3rd, 2007 at 11:20 pmHi Shilpa,
It was jst 2 days back that i found this gr8 site n im becoming a fan of ur gr8 recipies..!!
I am a Maharashtrian,n i like ur Konkani style food also v.much.In fact many of d names that u pronounce in Konkani language are similar to marathi names that we often use.It was nice to learn dis fact.Also som of d recipie making procedures are also common.
This cake recipie too looks gud..n will try this out.
I jst wntd to kno that can i use milk completely instead of Coconut milk.?In case i use milk shd i soak it for ard 4-5 hrs.? Also, which other fruit can try apart frm bananas..(will oranges be ok ..!)pls suggest n lemme kno.
I wud like to post a simple ice-cream recipie also wh i tried out n is lovely..pls inform whr n hw to post it.
Thnks n Regards
Meenal.
Shilpa: Yes, if you use milk, soak it for 4-5hrs. I am not sure about any other fruit because I have not tried it, sorry :(.
September 27th, 2007 at 7:57 pmWow,,,
Looks yummy…..
should try this….
thanks
September 30th, 2007 at 1:10 pmHello Shilpa…..
Thanks for sharing such a good recepie….
I tried it last week….it really came out well…it tastes yummy!!!!!!!!
I used milk instead of coconut milk..n soaked it up to 6 hrs.
As we r pure veggies,,,,this is perfect….
pls share recepies of this type….
Thanks….:-)
October 3rd, 2007 at 10:26 amThere is this great website called http://www.astray.com where a lot of microwave cake recipes are given. Have tried the microwave chocolate cake, banana cake, pumpkin cake, carrot cake,marble cake,mango cake as well as the basic microwave plain cake……all have turned out great.Plus its really,really quick.Once you are hooked on to microwave baking,you would never want to return to the conventional.
October 6th, 2007 at 3:14 amShilpa ji,
Greetings from Suva Fiji
Awesome I could have never imagined that suji could be used for banana cakes. Will have to try it out.
October 7th, 2007 at 2:25 pmHi Shilpa,
I hav a general query abt storage of all cakes, including this one n the dates cake tht i baked jst yestrday….Actually all ur cakes tht i tried were so yummy that they gt finished up instantly..!! But still, wud like to kno..How many days/time can d cake remain fresh outside after we hav baked it..N when do we nid to refrigerate it..
Thnks n Regards,
Meenal.
Shilpa: Meenal, usually cake remains good outside for 2-3 days. I don’t suggest keeping it more than that. When refrigerated, they become hard, so I prefer keeping them outside.
October 18th, 2007 at 3:43 pmThnks alot Shilpa for d info….Kip posting all such gr8 recipies of urs….its like a feast always for all of us….as all ur recipies are a great hit..they just turn out perfect..
Meenal.
October 18th, 2007 at 11:00 pmhey just read the recipe n the mrning and i am trying it now………
November 26th, 2007 at 7:11 ambtw is there any1 whom u know who stay in finland….. coz i stay there……if yes just let me know…
Hi Shilpa,
I loved ur site. I am from Goa. I hav one more similar recipe to share with u.
Mix 1 cup rawa, 1 cup curd, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup milk and elaichi powder. Add cashew nuts and bake.
December 7th, 2007 at 3:17 amhey shilpa..
so what plans fr goan independence day?me too a goan..and m missing home soo much..:(..ya this cake wud be my second one after the first one frm yr site itself..ie simpke egg cake..came out amzing…danke schon!!
Shilpa; Anisha, sorry, I am not a Goan. This recipe was from my Goan friend. What do you do for independence day?
December 15th, 2007 at 2:22 amI’ve tried this receipe. Its really good. Thank you for sharing it.
December 22nd, 2007 at 3:07 amcan imake it in a pressure cooker
January 1st, 2008 at 4:53 amhi shilpa, myself and my daughter tried this recepie.It is really tasty. The only thing is that iam not able to set the temperature for baking the cake since i hav an OTG.
January 5th, 2008 at 1:25 ammade this cake now. tastes nice, looks good. But it is dark brown in colour(like a chocolate cake). Took a long time to cook than the other normal cakes.i use the microwave convection oven. Is that the reason of the colour. followed the same procedure as you have suggested.
January 27th, 2008 at 11:58 pmHello,
its great seeing that you have diffrent ideas on how to make cake….with sooji. But i would like yo know if you know any eggless & milkess cakes? please do get back to me if you do or not.
Thankz
January 30th, 2008 at 3:48 pmShilpa: Dolly, so far whatever eggless cakes I had, I have posted here. If I get something in future, I will surely post it.
Hi Shilpa,
I finished making this cake just now looks great… I thought of giving it to my husband & friends for snacks now. I added milk 1 cup & coconut milk 1 cup with badam pd….
Hey its too good.
Thanks.
January 30th, 2008 at 5:18 pmi just read this recepy and i think it will be very testy once i prepare.now onward i will keep visiting this websites and i think that hoever visit this website,will become a fan of it .this is really a lovely website .
vandana
February 1st, 2008 at 10:54 pmwow shilpa
very amazing recipe. as i was in search of such egless cake recipe. my sisters son Tuvyha is one and half months old. and i like to cook him this cake . This is healthy for kids as well for us.
i am going to try it very soon.and will let you know
thanks a lot for sharing this to us .
keep sharing your recipes . good luck
February 12th, 2008 at 10:22 amHi
Looks great. I take 1 cup sugar,1cup milk and l cup rawa add 1 banana, mix together and keep for 2-3 hrs and prior to bake , heat 2 tsp ghee and add 1 tsp baking soda in it and pour in above mix and then in a greased tin pour the above and beak
Regards
Madhumati
February 24th, 2008 at 1:55 ami would like to know how to decorate cake. i have heard that we have to use butter and sugar. but i don’t know the preparation. also i am new for cooking, we have purchased a new oven & so i am going to start preparing cakes and biscuits. ur web site is very handy and useful for me, i am away from home town,so ur web site helps me as a mother. thanks and hats off to you.
i went through some recipes and tried , it have come out really well. thanks a lot. i am expecting ur reply.
Shilpa: Please check out Wilton.com for decorating tips.
February 28th, 2008 at 5:42 amhi,
March 7th, 2008 at 3:55 ami m planning to purchase a microwave oven(with convection) this weekend. can u suggest me a good one coz i m really confused. main purose is baking n grilling. thanx.
Looks great, Will try tonght. Also tried your rava idli
March 11th, 2008 at 5:54 pmlooks beautiful too..
March 12th, 2008 at 5:47 pmHI SHILPA LOVE YOUR CAKE THANKS FOR SHARING YOUR RECIPE MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!
March 29th, 2008 at 6:18 amHi,
April 6th, 2008 at 5:21 amI just wanted to know wheter I can make this banana cake by substituting oven for a pressure cooker
amazing
April 12th, 2008 at 1:57 pmam not so fond of cooking but i tried the eggless banann rava cake it came out really good.
thanks.
Hi,
April 14th, 2008 at 2:09 amFirst time on your blog. You must be a very methodical person going by the arrangement - clean, simple, and beautiful! I have never heard of a recipe with rava! Must try this out!
Hi Shilpa,
May 12th, 2008 at 5:56 pmYesterday only I read this receipe and tried today. It came out awesome!! Iwas scared of the combination. so tried with 1 banana only. But now I can make it with 6 also..:)
Thanks a ton!!