Ginger Jaggery Wholewheat Tea Cakes #inspiredbaking
Ginger Jaggery Wholewheat Tea Cakes. These were delicious little babies. Light, warm, spicy, moist and just right for the season. This time around no chocolate. They were still divine; apt for holiday baking which should be in full swing now!
The folk from Asahi Kasei, a Japanese brand, sent me a selection of Cooking Sheet or silicon coated parchment paper, Premium Wrap {popularly known as Saran Wrap in the US} and Frying Pan Foil to use. The products are being marketed in India and it’s really nice to see how good the quality is. 
While the cooking sheet or parchment caught my eye, it was the frying pan foil that had me fascinated. Silicon coated on one side, it fries, or rather cooks, without oil, making food a lot healthier especially for people who are diet conscious or need to avoid oil. Obviously the easiest way to experiment was to fry an egg. Felt like child’s play. The Frying Pan Foil required no oil, cooked the egg sunny side up to perfection, and it slid off like a charm. Magic! And guess what, no wash up as the pan stayed clean. 
The Premium Wrap is really good quality too. Essentially it is Saran Wrap, the most popular plastic wrap in the US, and the best selling one in Japan. I have tried different varieties of cling wrap here locally. This one was markedly different; has the same Saran Wrap mark of quality. 
It’s great to freeze food in, wrap half cut fruits etc in to refrigerate, as also to use in the microwave. In my kitchen it’s a wrap for bread or cookie dough, or for left over salad. Use it and experience the feel. Screams quality.
Then came time for what I use the most, baking parchment or Cooking Sheet as it is called at Asahi Kasei. Really good quality parchment, silicon coated on both sides which prevents the food sticking to it. I had bookmarked these little tea cakes from Cookaroo. Instead of using Nordic ware mini bundt tins for the whole batch as initially planned, I used a combination of dessert rings and a bundt. The sheets turned out as good as can be. Nothing stuck, clean peel off – a JOY to use.
The good thing about these cooking sheets is that they work really well in the microwave too. You can steam marinated fish with vegetables, maybe just vegetables in a light marinade, or interestingly even cheese and sesame crackers! Like all Japanese products, the whole range is top on quality and easy to use. I love the bright cheerful packaging too.
Back to the bakes. I changed the recipe as I went along. Made it whole grain, added pie spice and the zest of an orange and everything came together really well. These are best served warm from the oven, though can be reheated before serving. A drizzle of unsweetened single cream makes them more special. Next time, I might add walnuts to the recipe, maybe dried cranberries.
Recipe: Ginger Jaggery Wholewheat Tea Cakes
Summary: Light, warm, spicy, moist, delicious and just right for the season, these Ginger Jaggery Wholewheat Tea Cakes come together in next to no time. Serves 6-8
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients:
- 100g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 135g jaggery granules {or jaggery, chopped fine}
- 45ml honey
- 30ml water
- 1tsp dried ginger powder {saunt}
- 1 tsp pie spice {or cinnamon or 1/2 tsp garam masala}
- Zest of 1 orange {or 1/2 tsp orange extract}
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 eggs
- 175g wholewheat flour {aata}
- Dried orange crystals or demerera sugar for sprinkling over
Method:
- Preheat oven to 180C. Line a baking sheet with parchment and lightly grease 5 mini cake molds, {or line one 6-7″round baking tin}
- Place the jaggery, butter, honey and water in a heatproof bowl. Heat in microwave for a minute, until the butter has melted. Whisk well with a balloon whisk until the jaggery and butter have combined.
- Add the ginger powder, pie spice, orange zest, vanilla extract, baking powder and baking soda. Whisk well to mix.
- Whisk in the eggs one by one. Now fold in the whole-wheat flour gently.
- Ladle into prepared tins, sprinkle over dried orange crystals. Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes until risen and light golden brown {40-45 minutes for a larger cake}. Use tester to check if done.
- Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then gently loosen sides to demold. Serve warm as is, or with a drizzle of unsweetened single {low fat} cream.
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Deeba @ PAB
About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.
33 Comments
Saylee
How many eggs?
Deeba @ PAB
Eggs 2. Below the baking soda. Right there. Have underlined. They are in order of usage.
Deeba @ PAB
100g unsalted butter, room temperature
135g jaggery granules {or jaggery, chopped fine}
45ml honey
30ml water
1tsp dried ginger powder {saunt}
1 tsp pie spice {or cinnamon or 1/2 tsp garam masala}
Zest of 1 orange {or 1/2 tsp orange extract}
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
175g wholewheat flour {aata}
Dried orange crystals or demerera sugar for sprinkling over
Jayasri
Gorgeous clicks as always, Deeba you have left out the eggs in the recipe, I want to try this out
Deeba @ PAB
Thanks Jayasri. No, haven’t. Eggs right there. Below the baking soda. Right there. Have underlined. They are in order of usage.:-)
Deeba @ PAB
100g unsalted butter, room temperature
135g jaggery granules {or jaggery, chopped fine}
45ml honey
30ml water
1tsp dried ginger powder {saunt}
1 tsp pie spice {or cinnamon or 1/2 tsp garam masala}
Zest of 1 orange {or 1/2 tsp orange extract}
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
175g wholewheat flour {aata}
Dried orange crystals or demerera sugar for sprinkling over
Komal
These look divine! Love the photography and definitely going to try these out soon. But I must ask, were these as light or with a texture and density close to that of cake made with maida? I have tried using aata before, but it turned out pretty dense! 🙁 Maybe I mixed it a lot… don’t know.
Personal question aside 🙂 would you like to review a few products for an Indian food company? It’s a good brand. Please email me if it interests you.
Deeba @ PAB
The texture is light and moist when warm. Spongey too. Don’t overbake them. You cannot compare it to a cake with maida because the latter gives a much lighter cake. Reheated for 30 seconds, they are good, light, moist again. Will mail you re review.
Gayatri
Hi Deeba! These look amazing and I can’t wait to try them 🙂 Just a quick question, can I use the same amount of powdered jaggery? Is that the same as jaggery granules?
Deeba @ PAB
Thank you Gayatri. Yes, same weight should work fine
Gayatri
These turned out yummy, Deeba! The orange zest was the most brilliant idea! I also added some dried cranberries on top 🙂 Just wanted to check if it’s ok that the batter was very thick, almost like cookie dough so the cakes didn’t spread much, but developed a beautiful crust. I followed the recipe exactly so just wanted to know if that happened to you too 🙂
Deeba @ PAB
Thank you Gayatri. Yes, it’s a thick batter due to the wholewheat. I loved the crust too. Cranberries seem just the right addition. So glad you enjoyed them.
Kirti
Not the eggs but the honey seems to be left out while you write the process. I presume it has to be added along with the water. What if it indeed is omitted , as many dont like to cook the honey?
Deeba @ PAB
Hi Kirti, the honey needs to be melted with the jaggery, butter and water. It adds natural sweetness and moisture to the final bake. It doesn’t contribute significantly to any outstanding flavour since the spices and ginger are more pronounced.
Dolphia Nandi
I am not sure what to look – whether to look at your astounding photography or your gorgeous recipe! This is so new Deeba, I can’t wait to try it. As usual your photographs are inspiring 🙂 Pinning few for future styling.
Deeba @ PAB
Dolphia, you are the sweetest. Thank you for making me feel so good! Hugs
RenuArya- CelebratingAwesomeFood
Love all your photos. And love the combination of jaggery and whole wheat. Having baked with whole wheat a lot this year, I understand how difficult it is to come up with the right ingredient proportion to get a moist end result. Please visit our space if you get a chance. Thank you!
Deeba @ PAB
Hey thank you for your sweet words Renu. Will do
madhuri
tried the ginger jaggery cake. foolproof, an absolute hit with my husband. thanks and God bless you
madhuri
your ginger jaggery cake was a hit with my husband. Thanks and God bless you .
Deeba @ PAB
Yay. Thank you for trying it Madhuri. 🙂
Nidhi
I tried this out last night. It turned out yum !!
Prabs
Deeba, the cake looks lovely and it has a
Lovely mix of ingredients. Does this cake have eggs? If yes, how many? The ingredients do not list them but the process calls for whisking them in.
Deeba @ PAB
Hi Pratibha, The recipe has 2 eggs. For some strange reason I think it isn’t showing up in the mobile version.
Sujatha Pai
Hi Deeba, just baked the Ginger-jaggery cake on a whim cos it’s so healthy and can be made with whatever ingredients I have at home. Turned out beautifully, tasted so yum and instant hit with the family. Thanks a ton! Keep baking, writing and posting!
Chirag Dua
Hi Deeba, Good Morning, I am back on your after ages so I read this recipe.. Ginger jaggery cakes Sounds and I thought it would be good in taste.. anyway thanks for sharing ingredients.. 🙂 and Method to bake..
Ansh
I have to try this cake. I don’t eat processed sugars or anything anymore so baking has been going sloweeeeer than I ever imagined. But this cake is calling my name! Thank you foe inspiration as always!
swati jain
Hello, is it possible to substitute eggs with something else? I cannot use eggs in my home.
Deeba @ PAB
Hi Swati,
Flax seed or applesauce is supposed to be a good substitute, though different bakes need egg in them for different reasons. I would suggest you check the net for the exact amount for substitution, and then bake a small batch only to experiment. Yogurt works well to at times, 50g yogurt iso 1 egg.
The use of eggs in baking contribute to moisture, texture, height and flavour. If you substitute eggs with banana, you will definitely see a decrease in height/rise. Also as you experienced, a brownie like texture. While you cannot get the same height and texture while using bananas for eggs, you can experiment by increasing the rising agent from 25% to 50%. That will give you marginally better height. However it might also result in a slight difference in flavour, or undertones of the rising agent.